Whether you live in Brooklyn or not (disclosure: I do), you still probably know exactly what I mean when I talk about the Brooklyn food scene: $9 single-origin craft-chocolate bars, crop-to-cup pour over coffee, small batch everything with romantic, slightly Victorian labels, men in butcher's aprons and plaid shirts. But how scalable is this twee scene, as some have called it? Is Brooklyn about to become Brooklandia? Or is it already there?
These are just some of the questions posed in Benjamin Wallace's excellent article this week in New York Magazine. Regarding the purchase of $9 Early Bird Granola (made with olive oil and featured here), he writes in a fairly adequate sum-up of Brooklyn's foodisms:
I cherish the little pouches atop my refrigerator, with their rustic-urban design of a colorful bird, stalk of wheat in its beak, flying over a cityscape. Because the granola is "gathered in Brooklyn, I can take pride in supporting local manufacturing (local mixing, anyway). The organic rolled oats and organic pumpkin seeds and organic coconut and organic brown sugar pleasingly affirm my endorsement of sustainable farming practices. The use of whole ingredients, slow roasting, and "tiny batches" testifies to my discerning appreciation of the artisan and to my rejection of the industrial food system. The dried sour cherries and salt and extra-virgin olive oil prove the sophistication of my palate: I am beyond the easy pleasures of butter and unadulterated sweetness. I don't do yoga, but if I did, I am reassured to read on the pouch that a recommended occasion for enjoying the granola is when I'm "striking warrior pose." And by buying this granola, a sticker informs me, I am "giving to GLSEN, an anti-bullying organization." I know $9 is a lot to pay, but this isn't just food.
Or is it? Read the full article for more on the "twee comedy of eating Brooklynishly, and...the twee sincerity of producing Brooklynishly" and then tell us what you think!
Read More: The Twee Party at New York Magazine
Related: The Food Lover's Guide to Brooklyn
(Image: Illustration by Zohar Lazar)
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like most luxury items, a mix of absurd and great. paying $9 for granola IS fairly silly, but if you can afford it, go for it, as I'm sure it is delicious and the money supports a vibrant local economy. I will say that I do hate ridiculous, lifestyle-oriented food packaging, though. I once bought a chia drink that claimed to "fuel your soul's purpose," and never bought it again because of the cringeworthy hippie-ness (also, it is way cheaper to make your own). If my granola was trying to tell me about yoga poses, I would have a hard time not finding that too ridiculous to want to throw more money at the creators (unless it is delicious).
I, too, live in Brooklyn and I gotta say, $9 granola doesn't sound ridiculously expensive to me. I think you become jaded after a while. It's just part of the culture here.
I live in Brooklyn and I have mixed feelings about this. One one hand, this movement was totally necessary and based on really good ideas: sustainable food, ethics, craftsmanship, health, etc. On the other hand, the whole Brooklyn food aesthetic of simplicity and earnestness is just bullshit. The price point and the whole aura around it aren't simple at all, they're exclusive. Terms like "cupping rooms" really annoy me. For me, food is a conduit to enjoy life. It's not something to be over-analyzed and used to position one person above another. I don't care what other people are wearing, how spot-on their whole lumberjack look is. I just want a good piece of cheese on some good bread.
I kind of agree with Delphine's perspective. The high price point of these foods makes the lifestyle they use to market their product seem disingenuous, even though it really is their lifestyle, ironically. If you're paying $9 for a bar of chocolate or jar of jam, is it simply conscientious consumerism or is it elitist? Or both?
I'm happy to see attention being paid to quality food sources and preparation, but these are luxury items at this point, no matter how down-to-earth the marketing is. I hope this movement continues and leads to new ideas about how to distribute good food to more people without sacrificing quality or values.
I know nothing about the Brooklyn Food scene but I am quite split on this issue. On one hand, I am quite concerned about the permanently increasing cost of food (don't start me on Starbucks' prices), on the other hand I tried to live as environmentally friendly as possible and support sustainable agriculture, organic food and fair trade.
Sometimes you pay a lot of money for an item that turns out completely disappointing and perhaps even worse tasting than something that you can get any grocery store in the country. Sometimes you find an amazing product - recently, I paid what I considered an obscene amount for 8 oz of organic cocoa powder from Peru, packed with minerals and antioxidants and it is out of this world - worth every penny and then some.
people will always love delicious food. we can't fault ourselves or eachother for that. what i'd like to see would be purveyors of the small/slow food movement receive the same subsidies and tax benefits the mega farmers/food processors do, so healthy, delicious, artisanal food could be produced and sold for a price point that is both profitable for the small business while being more accesible to more people. I don't need the exclusivity/luxury/class component to thoroughly enjoy a really quality bowl of granola (when I do splurge). But more often than not (in my tax bracket) I opt for savings, and make the really good granola myself at home instead.