Hooray! Red Hook Lobster Pound is Back!

 This weekend was a real treat. Red Hook had a wonderful weekend for sure with the much anticipated return of Fairway Market. For me the most important event was the return of Red Hook Lobster Pound. If you remember I wrote a post way back when Hurricane Sandy "graced" us with its presence. Since then Ralph, Susan and their staff have been working tirelessly to get their store back up to working order. It was wonderful to see the place back to business and making its mouthwatering lobster creations. If you had not managed to make it to this place yet I definitely say you must. The food these guys make is insanely delicious and made by some of the nicest people you will ever meet. Susan and Ralph here is to you and your incredible spirit. Love you guys. We'll be back for more soon :)

Some of the Wonderful Lobster Crew

Lobster Rolls and Lobster Mac n' Cheese ready to consume.

My camera apparently agrees with me that this is food porn.

Sunny's Bar Red Hook - Help Them Out

Getting back to the matter of Sandy and relief efforts. Sunny's would look like a dive to an outsider, and yes in a way it is. To those who inhabit Red Hook and have been there for the long haul, this place is much more than that. It is an institution, a long time resident that has witnessed the history of this quaint neighborhood, and a place with real character. The ever surly Anthony Bourdain featured it in the last ever episode of his series No Reservations, which aired after Sandy devastated it.

My husband and I drove by it many a time and swore that we would drop off our munchkin one day so that we could come out and have drinks there. This, unfortunately, has not come to pass. If there is anything my husband and I share, it is a love for going to out of the way places. The types that only locals love and know about and that are snubbed by those keep up with the Jones' types.

As you may have guessed Sunny's needs help to restore their bar and here is where you can go to contribute to their cause. Help to bring back this Red Hook institution and maybe some day you too can come and have drinks and go back in time at this neighborhood institution.

I apologize for the lack of photographic material, but apparently I need to buy storage so that I can continue to add pictures to my posts. This will be addressed.

Red Hook Lobster Pound - Give 'Em Love

I think this is one of the first places that I heard about during Sandy. They were desperately seeking a place to put about $65,000 dollars worth of stock that would be lost if they could not relocate it. What happened after that has been all over papers, twitter and facebook. They took a hard hit. One that would have made any other person waver, but we are learning very fast that Red Hook is a place where people don't give up, and Ralph Gorham and Susan Povich (the owners of Lobster Pound) are no exception. Their spirit is truly contagious, which is exactly what you need around you when things are as bad as they have been for so many businesses all around as a result of this storm.

Lobster pound has been making the mouths of many New Yorkers water with their wonderful selection of lobsters and their legendary lobster rolls. Sandy has really put a dent on their business because it not only took out their store front, equipment and lobster tanks but it also took their awesome food truck. In order to raise funds to recover from all this damage and loss they have devised a fantastic system. They are selling certificates ranging in price from $28 to $1000 which entitle the bearer to a cornucopia of great food and experiences. Please go to their Small Knot Page and check out the certificates and get yourself one. Bringing them back is not only bringing back a place where you can get some of the best lobster rolls in the NY metropolitan area, but also helping those who work here to get back to providing for their families. I know you all have heart.

Thanks for reading. I promise I will start posting new recipes again soon. I have a few new curry ones inspired by the Brooklyn Brewery's Curry Experiments.

Red Hook Does it Again - Baked = Bakers' Heaven

I don't know if it seems obvious yet, but I love a well made baked good. Today I would like to give some love to a place I have been infatuated with for almost a month. That place is Baked in the Red Hook area of Brooklyn. I first became aware of them through Cooking Channel's show Unique Sweets because everyone on the show was talking about their sweet treats, but in particular they were talking about the Brooksters (what you get when you marry one of Baked's brownies and one of their chocolate chip cookies). I thought this place needed to be checked out, so I decided to enlist my husband on the quest to keep an eye out for it since we are already going there to go shopping at the Fairway in Red Hook anyway.

Finding them was super easy, and so was falling in love with the wonderful food that they make. While it is mostly sweet treats that you will find here, there are some savory tidbits to be had and they are beautifully executed. I have tried the Brooksters and they are indeed good, but I think that my weak spot is for their PB Krispy Bar, because it is chocolatey, peanut buttery crispy goodness. Their brownies are what every brownie should seek to be, gooey chocolatey perfection, particularly the salted ones. Their coffee is also great so it is a winner in every sense. I recommend you try them if ever in NYC and, it does not matter what you have to do to get there, YOU MUST GO IF YOU LOVE BAKED GOODS. They will not let you down (unless you go when they are closed).

Baked storefront on Van Brunt Street

 A great array of sweets and drinks

 Salted brownie with a marshmallow on top

The PB Krispy Bar