TheFitzyreport

Aunty Elaine would be pleased. One of the hot new favorites this summer at the Williamsburg food markets is trifle. Not the jelly-cake-custard combo of my childhood Sunday visits to the cousins, but a similarly wobbly mass, served in a huge transparent glass bowl with visuals to feed the anticipation ( or dread! ). The 2014 version from marketeers Butter & Scotch comes with an assurance of ‘tons of booze’ soaked in date cake and layered between caramel, butterscotch pudding and whipped cream. It seems bourbon may have been the key to the Kickstarter campaign that gave these retro retailers over $50,000 to open a dessert and cocktail bar in Brooklyn… And that was without adding bacon.

Bacon is the new must-have. Bacon on cupcakes, on mini cheesecakes, in cornbread and wrapped around pretzels. There are bruffins with chocolate covered bacon and salted caramel, and Dun Well Doughnuts with a french toast flavor. But some food at the market is so fantastic no fad could make it better.

The bread at the Pain D’Avignon stall is as hearty as the story behind it. A few years ago a group of young friends escaped the conflict in what was Yugoslavia and found their way to America, skinny and skint. One guy had learnt about making bread from a French baking book, and with only a small oven kept the fellows fed. Experiments to create artisanal bread from the old world led to a spontaneous entry into a bread show, accompanied with hand scrawled descriptions. As it happened, the buyer from the Waldorf Astoria Hotel was there, and on the spot ordered many dozens of loaves for the following day. It was an opportunity of a lifetime but with one oven and limited people power it would be a stretch to bake, even if they worked all night. However on the way home they encountered a group of Latino bakers ousted from their burnt-out work place. Eagerly the new recruits pitched their seasoned hands in with those of the Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian and Montenegro friends and together they worked to make the bread for the next day. The manager recounted this story with pride – they still hold the account for the Waldorf along with many others, and have outlets in the Plaza Food Hall and the Essex Street Markets. So swing by for a sourdough, leave the bacon for eggs and if you’re working with Auntie Elaine’s recipe, try adding bourbon…

The Memorial Day weekend saw the city full of sailors, sales and the smell of barbecues. Mainly ours. From our midtown mezzanine we produced enough smoke to make pastrami, and as well as the crunchy black charr, the taste of the sausages was not far from it. But tomato sauce and sunshine can make all the difference, and there’s nothing wrong with pretending…

Pulling a few strings that afternoon in Washington Park was Ricky Syers, a puppeteer with a special gift for people and performance. He has made puppets for Superbowl commercials, transformed the lives of Greenwich Village locals, and made the day of many a passer-by. Not to mention dogs. Who could resist a cute little puppy that rushes to greet you, waits for you to throw the ball and then flies effortlessly through the air? There was much canine confusion, but Ricky, who creates his puppets from whatever is at hand, made no illusion about who his best friend really is – a polyester-anian!

The flowers are not the only thing blossoming in NYC. Bears came out of hibernation last weekend, bubble makers had children chasing past Amish picnickers in Washing Square Park, and a friendly duo swung rope for anyone who could jump. There was the entrepreneurial box for donations, but hey, this is New York, and this same spot last year helped a mobile piano player raise enough for a baby grand. Maybe with different babies in mind, flower children added their own  dash of color, oblivious to the season or anything else…