News
What's New Upper West Side?!?! February 02 2018
As we come to the end of January, I find it hard to believe that we’ve moved so fast into 2018. The good news is there are lots of good events coming and more new things to get excited about.
Yesterday, I received two very exciting emails. One was from my husband letting me know that Van Leeuwen Ice Cream Shop is going to be opening two blocks from Julie’s Beet. Hopefully the shop opens quickly, and I’ll be able to stop in all summer to get my fill of hand crafted ice cream. The second email came from my brother-in-law, letting me know that Make My Cake, a popular Harlem Bakery, is making the move to the Upper West Side a mere six blocks from my apartment. I’ll be able to get my fill of cupcakes and cookies not too far from home. It is a good thing that I like to exercise, so I can eat what I want!
The good news from these emails is that even with a lot of businesses closing there are still many artisan businesses that are thriving. As a small business owner, I make a point to support other small businesses whether is be the local ice cream shop or a friend who sells stationary. I know it might cost slightly more but the impact is far greater on the small business than it is on the big business. I’ve made a goal this year to collaborate with more small businesses to provide you all with some unique experiences. We’ll be launching our first one just ahead of Valentine’s Day so stay tuned.
Happy Friday,
Julie
Getting Fancy at the Food Show June 30 2017
This past week the food scene took over New York when The Summer Fancy Food Show arrived at the Javits Center. In case you haven’t been the Fancy Food Show highlights amazing food products from around the world. I love going to see what is new and hot in the food world and to search out some amazing culinary artisans and products for our marketplace. This year’s show did not disappoint. There were two floors filled with food and there were not two booths that were the same.
I was able to check in with some of our current artisans at the show and find out what is new and exciting with them. I don’t want to give too much away but you’ll be seeing some new olives in the marketplace straight from Hellenic Farms. Hellenic Farms is an amazing importer and distributor of Greek foods and they took great care to keep the olives of the highest quality on the market. Tiny But Mighty Popcorn has an amazing new package design and also a new flavor of microwave popcorn! They also found a way to make the butter popcorn taste more buttery! The Matzo Project now has Matzo Ball Soup Mix available and they are debuting some chocolate covered Matzo in the fall. There is a lot of excitement to come with these great vendors.
I also had some time to explore and look for new gems amongst the many exhibiting at the show. Marshmallows, pretzels and cookies were among the favorite new lines I tasted. I also sampled a lot of different salsas looking for the perfect one. The show was filled with a variety of cold brew coffee options which kept me going as I marched through the many aisles. There is a trend currently of green or raw products. I also saw a lot of food produced for specific diets … paleo, gluten-free, etc. While it is amazing what they can do with some food ‘substitutes’ I definitely like to keep our products full of real ingredients. I’ll be sure to post about new products when they hit the marketplace. If you subscribe to our newsletter you’ll also be one of the first informed.
My legs and feet are glad the show is over. My taste buds are excited and my mind keeps imagining all the new gift sets we’ll be able to offer for your needs once the new products arrive. Until then….
Happy Friday,
Julie
The Knead for Bread March 20 2015
Recently at Julie's Beet the topic of conversation has been good bread, so we thought we would share our findings with you. As quoted by James Beard “Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.” and we couldn't agree more.
Our first preference was to bake a loaf at home. We started out with a beginners recipe which requires no special ingredients, equipment or technique, although like any good bread it did take some time. This recipe was created by Jim Lahey from Sullivan Bakery and is one of the easiest but still tastiest recipes out there. It's called the No-Knead Bread. The recipe was original published by the NY Times and still remains one of their most popular recipes to date. However, one of our favorite illustrations of the recipe is here:- So easy a four year old can make it! It truly is a great easy recipe and the bread turned out delicious, especially right when it came out of the oven.
Moving to the other side of the difficulty scale is Chad Robertson's bread recipe. Chad is a world renown baker and runs a famous bakery called Tartine Bread in the Mission area of San Francisco. His loaves of bread consistently sell out within an hour. If any of you are planning on making a trip down there soon, please bring us back a loaf :) He has published his famous technique which has been perfected across years of baking in the book Tartine Bread. The basic bread recipe alone is 38 pages!! It's hard to believe combining flour, water and salt could become that complicated. Creating your initial starter can take up to a week! This being the case, we're sorry to report, we haven't tested the recipe yet, but we'll be sure to update you on how it goes. For now we are still studying the book. If you are interested in learning more, here is a link.
Well, as we are all quite busy and may not have the time to bake any bread, we've rallied up our favorite bakeries in New York City.
- Maison Kayser: There are a couple around the city, but our go to is the one at 921 Broadway. Their Olive Bread is the best!
- Sullivan Street Bakery: 533 W 47th St, New York, NY 10036. They are famous for their Pane Puglise.
- Il Buco Alimentari E Vineria : 53 Great Jones Street, New York, NY 10012. Best Ciabatta around and dipped with 5 Olive Oil is the perfect pairing.
- Bouchon Bakery: Columbus Circle, Rockefeller Center, Las Vegas, Beverly Hills & Yountville. Have a baguette or an epi bread and pile on your favorite condiments.
- Lafayette Bakery: 380 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10003. A great place for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner & bread. You can even pre-order online.
Hope everyone is having a great week and happy eating!
The Team at Julie's Beet
Jam-Packed Pie March 16 2015
We just celebrated a very special Pi Day(3/14/15) and that got us thinking about all of the delicious pies there are… pizza pies, meat pies and sweet pies(our favorite). After the brutal winter we’ve been having, our thoughts immediately turned to the staple of every summer barbecue, strawberry pie. We searched through our cookbook library for the perfect recipe. This strawberry pie needed to be extra special to get us excited for the spring and summer ahead. We turned to expert Martha Stewart for the recipe. We left out the cranberry juice and half of the sugar and mixed in a half cup of Sassy Redhead - Strawberry Ginger Jam, as an extra treat. Click here for the original recipe.
Making a great pie takes talent. One of my fondest memories from growing up is eating Strawberry Pie made by my great grandmother. Even with her recipe, the strawberry pie still doesn’t taste quite the same. For those who aren’t interested in baking a pie, here are some suggestions on where to find great ones in New York City.
Sweet Pies – Momofuku Milk Bar(multiple locations but you’ll find us at 561 Columbus Avenue at 87th Street most Saturdays at 1pm for their cake walk!). As for their pies, they do call it crack pie for a reason.
Savory Pies – Myers of Keswick(634 Hudson Street) The pies taste just like they did over in London!
Pizza Pie – Grimaldi’s(multiple locations, but worth the trip over the Brooklyn Bridge to 1 Front Street) Just plain cheese is the best!
One tip to making any sweet pie taste better, serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Now that really gets us excited for warm weather.
Happy Eating,
Julie
