Yesterday was Brooklyn Reconnaissance day. I had not been to eat at any of the press-ridden foodie meccas or shopped at any of the stores that feature artisinal products made in the borough. It got to the point of embarrassment when the 10th person asked if I had eaten at Marlowe & Sons. I could only answer a simple “no”, because I had run out of excuses. There were a bunch of places that I wanted to check out, and so I reserved a chunk of time to survey the food movement that is getting so much attention.

My partner in crime was the talented graphic designer Alice Tang of think/feel studios. We started out with lunch at Marlowe & Sons. I am critical at restaurants, not because I like to play the devils advocate, but because I find that a lot of food in Manhattan is often overrated for what it is. Everyone and their brother had told me about Marlowe, and so I was kind of expecting to be underwhelmed. Not so. The food was great and very well priced. We ordered a bunch of appetizers and the grilled cheese sandwich to split. The apple salad was my favorite dish. I had just done a recipe for an apple salad for next week’s greenmarket demo, and I was excited to try another recipe. The one at Marlowe & Sons had scallions (cut lengthwise!) and red onion, and lots of herbs and different greens. The dressing was creamy- not because of actual cream, but because of the perfection of well mixed dressing thickened with pureed garlic or crumbled nuts. I honestly could not figure it all out, but I was happy not to, because nothing was overpowering enough to take over the dressing and overwhelm the dish.

After Marlowe & Sons we poked our heads in at Marlowe & Daughters, and then headed over to the Bedford Cheese Shop. My new favorite thing to accompany cheese is the from La Saison in the Napa Valley. The wheel is made of dates, reduced wine, and California pecans, and goes great with strong, aged cheeses. I decided to pick out a couple of cheeses at the shop to pair with the date wheel. I bought an aged Zamorillo from Spain, which is a mixture of goat, sheep, and cows’ milk. I also bought a very strong Cashel Blue cheese. I also picked up some Mast Brothers Chocolates, whose packaging is divine. I have decided to gift those chocolates, so I will have to go back in order to try them for myself.

Alice took me to her new favorite place- Saltie on Metropolitan and Havemeyer. They make THE BEST ice cream sandwiches ever. Really. The one I had was Anise Hyssop ice cream wedged between their perfectly textured chocolate biscuit. It was like mint ice cream, but in heaven. By the way, you can buy Anise Hyssop from Hawthorne Valley Farm at the Greenmarket.

I will follow up about the cheese plate I put together later, but my Brooklyn Reconnaissance was well worth the time spent getting to know the food being made out there.