The storm of blogs and websites offering approachable recipes for home cooks has sparked a more mindful approach to eating. And while these informal digital sources are often on par with those found on the newsstand, there’s still something to be said for the satisfaction of poring through the “pages” of a magazine, whether it be on paper or on an iPad. Hence, a mounting army of new food titles are preserving the spirit of the periodical while celebrating the DIY spirit of the Web.
Kinfolk: Kinfolk is proof that one need not display the homemaking swagger of, say, Martha Stewart in order to be the kind of entertainer from whom friends covet an invitation. The quarterly pub, available in both digital and print formats, revels in the elegance of simple, intimate gatherings rather than fussy banquets only achievable by a catering company. Kinfolk is more than just a piece of reading material, however. It’s also a community of artists dedicated to promoting casual, yet still creative, assemblies of friends over a thoughtful meal. The Kinfolk dinner series is bringing artisan feasts to different cities, including Brooklyn, Austin and San Francisco, every month.
The global population is expected to top seven billion sometime next week. Of that massive population, a significant percentage is taking up residence in cities, propelling a considerable urban boom. In response, new projects are emerging to crowdsource locals’ ideas on how to make congested urban spaces more hospitable and habitable.
Place Pulse: A sort-of Fashism for urban planners, this “hot-or-not”-style site seeks to uncover and analyze the spatial and architectural characteristics of a city that immediately affect visitors’ impressions of it. Developed at the MIT Media Lab by the Macro Connections Group, its function is simple: snapshots of two distinct city scenes are displayed, and a user clicks to cast his or her vote on which place looks safer, more unique, or more upper-class. The mass crowdsourced survey has received more than 560,000 votes, and the resulting data has been aggregated and organized to provide a visual starting point for city planning and urban renewal projects.
While the apparel choices of cyclists have long captivated Europeans, bicycle fashion is just now becoming a point of interest stateside. Commuters, no longer confined to Lycra athletic gear, are pedaling through towns across the country in high fashion. The Sartorialist regularly snaps pics of cycling fashion, and other photographers have followed with a growing crop of street style blogs that exclusively feature subjects on two wheels.
Downtown from Behind: The streets of lower Manhattan are teeming with beautiful people whose preferred way to get around the city isn’t in a cab, but rather on a bike. Downtown from Behind founder Bridget Fleming, an Australian-born photographer, stealthily snaps New York City’s cycling fashionistas, designers, artists, and musicians by shooting them from behind. These “non-portrait portraits,” as Fleming calls them, cleverly turn the concept of urban transit on its head by capturing these freewheeling creatives in seemingly quiet commuter moments. Moreover, DFB offers a wide-angle view of the most picturesque downtown neighborhoods, conveniently catalogued by street. A DFB book is scheduled for release from Abrams Books this March.
Fashionable sunglasses and no-fuss footwear are obvious summertime accoutrements, but for many sun worshippers, the defining warm weather accessory is something that refreshes, rather than adorns, the body: namely, iced coffee. The days of complicated combinations of froth and flavors are over, however, with simple cold-brew concentrate reigning as the caffeinated drink of choice this summer.
19 Charles Street: This NYC-based delivery service is designed for local gourmands who love to cook but are too busy to shop for groceries. Ingredients from vendors such as Murray’s Cheese, Raffetto’s and Ronnybrook Farm Dairy are delivered weekly, after which subscribers use them to craft simple (under one hour) recipes developed specifically for them. One of their more popular items this season is their house brand iced coffee concentrate. Sold in liter bottles for just $15, the elixir is cold-brewed New Orleans-style with chicory. After being diluted with water, milk or cream, each bottle yields approximately 10 cups of coffee. Now, from where can we order some beignets to go with it?
In keeping with current foodie tendencies toward simple eats, diners are discovering a newfound love of currywurst. This popular German street food consists of sliced pork sausage doused in curry ketchup, a humble preparation that has nonetheless risen to museum-level standing in Berlin. Now restaurants are popping up from coast to coast (and across the pond) to prepare the street staple in all of its unrefined glory.
Berlin Currywurst: This husband-and-wife-owned enterprise opened in LA in February to such a strong showing that a second location is rumored to be in the works—and a competitor has already emerged. The snack-stand-inspired space boasts a minimalist design and a simple mix-and-match menu: customers choose one of eight sausage varieties, and can opt to flavor their curry sauce with additional spices, including chipotle, garlic, and ginger-orange. Brave curry-lovers also have the option to amp up the heat, choosing levels of intensity that range from 1 (Berlin Calling) to 4 (Break the Wall). Levels 3 and 4 are deemed dangerously spicy, so eat at your own risk.
