Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://specialtyfoodmagazine.epubxp.com/i/139333
for Jewish Sabbath observers, who don't cook from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday. Specialties include Pastrami Yaptzig, Shalom Bayis Kugel and authentic items for the Jewish home, like cholent (stew), kishke, kugels and chicken soup. "Our assortment of store-made dips, hummus and sushi is fantastic as well," Alexander notes. Rounding out the selection, Pomegranate features cheeses from around the world, as well as varieties made in-house, an olive bar with more than 20 varieties and a fish department flush with fresh choices. When requested, the staff will even grill a customer's selection behind the counter. 1507 Coney Island Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y.; 718.951.7112; thepompeople.com PHOTOS: DENISE SHOUKAS Stinky Bklyn Carroll Gardens Stinky Bklyn is the type of store that makes you wish you lived in Carroll Gardens. Michelle Pravda and Patrick Watson, co-owners of Stinky, are certainly happy there; they moved to the area years before it became the bustling affluent neighborhood it is today and also own the wine shop Smith & Vine and meat-and-cheese restaurant The JakeWalk. Stinky Bklyn, which launched in 2006, is housed in a space with tin ceilings and a skylight that lights up the shop's cheery tangerine walls decorated with informative chalkboard signage. The store is filled with an impressive array of top-notch products, from 125 exceptional artisanal cheeses, cured meats, pickled foods, chocolates and fresh bread to coffee, gourmet sandwiches and provisions like farm-fresh eggs and milk. "Our greatest little secret is our crazy following for our sandwiches," Watson says, which include such options as smashed chickpeas, Mahon cheese, artichoke pesto and arugula on ciabiatta bread. The large craft beer selection overflows with options, from bottles and cans to tap beers, including growlers to take home draft options. A hub for local Brooklyn products from the beginning, Pravda and Watson's passion and knowledge of good food is apparent with each section stocked with products from nearby manufacturers as well as plenty of international fare. Appealing to neighborhood regulars, Stinky opens early to serve fresh Cafe Grumpy coffee and local business Dough's famed doughnuts daily. Other standouts include a hand-carved Ham Bar (a table lined with full legs of serrano ham and Highland Long Leg), a cocktail area that includes one of the shop's newest best sellers, A.F. Rapoport Hot Buttered Rum, and everything customers need for an elegant cheese presentation, such as Brooklyn Slate cheeseboards, a variety of crackers and creative spreads like Anarchy in a Jar Spiced Beer Jelly. 215 Smith St., Brooklyn, N.Y.; 718.596.2873; stinkybklyn.com Sugar Shop Cobble Hill Open for just over a year, Sugar Shop has become the candy destination for both youth and adults in the Cobble Hill neighborhood. Owners Jennifer Bischoff and Sara Houchins left their jobs in fashion to open this crisply designed candyland brimming with a delightful balance of nostalgic treats—like Mallo cups, Tootsie Rolls, Mary Janes and Sky Bars—and bulk items that can be mixed and matched in small and large bags or clear tubes. "I like that a family can come in and a kid can try Pop Rocks for the first time while parents can go back to an old favorite like Charleston Chews," Houchins says. Shoppers will also find a Made in Brooklyn section, seasonal gifts and high-quality chocolates, with a dark chocolate sea salt caramel among the grown-up favorites. The bulk options are expansive: an entire wall is devoted to gummies (like best seller Jumbo Gummi Sharks and Happy Cola Gummis) and licorice (including Australian black licorice). Another wall holds bulk chocolate, with milk chocolate almonds, traditional malt balls, peanut butter pretzel poppers and martini olive almonds. Display tables are neatly stocked with bulk jelly beans, rock candy, lollipops and popular standards like Sweet Tarts, Nerds, Pop Rocks and Pixy Sticks. Neighborhood customers routinely fill the store, as well as moviegoers heading to the nearby theater and visitors from other neighborhoods and boroughs, who come to the area for dinner and then stop by for a treat. The cheery party room adjacent to the shop and decorated in bold stripes of green, white, pink and blue with blue banquettes hosts about 10 parties a month where kids of all ages play candy-centric games, like candy bingo, or craft candy necklaces. 254 Baltic St., Brooklyn, N.Y.; 718.576.3591; sugarshopbrooklyn.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 129