The Discerning Brute: fashion, food & etiquette for the ethically handsome man » brooklyn

Ayinde Howell’s Gracious Gourmand

joshuakatcher — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 14:38:22 +0000

The third Gracious Gourmand took place on Friday September 24th, 2010. It was fantastic to see both familiar faces as well as newcomers! Chef Ayinde Howell created a six-course experience that was innovative, bold, and satisfying. From breadfruit and spicy quinoa hash to jerk bolognese, red velvet cake and caramelized pumpkin seeds - each dish has something delicious and comforting fused with unfamiliar yet exciting elements. The organic, vegan meal was complimented by Hibiscus Yerba-Mate Martinis with organic vodka compliments of Kanon Organic Vodka. Chef Ayinde Howell will again be preparing a meal for Gracious Gourmand on October 22nd - but don't miss our October 8th event with Chef Yoli Ouiya. Please see the images of Ayinde's menu below, and to find out more about Mr. Howell, check out his website I Eat Grass.

Rockin' Raw: Williamsburg's First Raw Restaurant

TheDiscerningBrute — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:00:56 +0000

by Joshua Katcher Rockin' Raw is a vegan raw-food restaurant serving organic-Peruvian-New-Orleanian-creole-inspired cuisine. It's located very close to the Bedford L-train, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and has a great outdoor, backyard garden area. It is a refreshing and innovative addition to the Willaimsburg restaurant scene, which tends to be very uncreatively meat-centric. The first thing I tried was the Raw Boy "Tuna" Sandwich, which had a satisfying, seafood flavor. I was blown away by the raw bread. It was tender, chewy, and not too dense or heavy. It's the sort of bread I could eat every day and not be aware that it's raw! I don't even know how they make raw bread. This dish is perfect for anyone new to, or skeptical of raw foods because it's just like an artisan sandwich. . The Tallarines Verdes de La Lala was a live pesto-pasta dish. Thin strips of zucchini replace traditional semolina pasta. As a hardcore Italian food and pasta-lover, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this. The pesto was rich and garlicky, and it was sprinkled with cheesy nutritional yeast. The best part was that it didn't leave me feeling bloated and sick. . My friend got the Louisiana Gumbo. If you like Okra, you will enjoy this dish. The "sausage" in it was smokey and savory, and the gumbo-base was spicy and very complex. An Appetizer we shared was the “Crab Cakes” with Creamy Dill Sauce. I believe there was horseradish in the dipping sauce, which matched the cakes nicely. I have never had traditional Crab Cakes, so I can not make the comparison, but they were like little veggie burgers, and quite enjoyable. I had a refreshing and delicious Cucumber Mojito, and also tried the gingery Watermelon Cooler. I would definitely recommend those drinks, as well as the Strawberry Milk Shake, which was out of this world. Believe it or not, we made room for dessert! The nut-based Lucuma ice-cream was a new flavor experience for my palate. It's made from a Peruvian fruit, the lucuma, which has hints of maple, caramel and coffee. The chocolate sauce was outstanding, and the ice-cream itself was creamier than the vanilla (on the Peach Cobbler), which I found to be tasty, but a bit on the chalky-icy side. Overall, it's a great spot with a chill outdoor seating area, and a very welcoming vibe. It's laid-back, relaxed, delicious, and the staff is very friendly! Now go check it out! Click HERE for menu, directions, and reservations.

Prelovers, Superfoods, Fur Foibles, & Veganic Farming

TheDiscerningBrute — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:08:05 +0000

PRELOVED held their first US in-store event on Sunday evening at the Greenpoint, Brooklyn boutique, ALTER. The Spring 'o9 collection is made entirely of reclaimed items like bed sheets, shirts, suiting, and even curtains! These items would otherwise end up in a landfill, and have been reconstucted into really gorgeous garments for ladies and gentalmen, alike. Founder and CEO, Julia Grieve told me that she never intended to be an environemntalist, she just liked working with reclaimed fabrics. But now, as Preloved heads to the forefront of the green-fashion movement, she realized the importence and gravity of making sustainability 'cool'. Nothing says sustainable like turning trash into gorgeous, head-turning garments. You won't find find any granola on their runway! The line does include wool, but it is recycled from old sweaters that would otherwise be garbage. I'm not going to be complaining about it. Hopefully this trend will catch on, and with styles as awesome as the Zuri Tee, who can resist? ALTER consists of two boutiques across the street from eachother in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Owned and operated by Roy Caires and Tommy Cole, they carry a great selection of eco and veg-friendly items incuding their own repurposed line "This Old Thing?" as well as Matt & Nat accessories, Melissa shoes, and they have more coming! ALTER is carrying the women's collecion for Preloved currently, and will be carring the men's collection within a few weeks. Speaking of Matt & Nat, I love their new vegan, canvas, Bauhaus bag with 100% recycled lining. Girlie Girl Army shows us how to get superpowers from superfoods! This is a 101 for anyone who wants to know the basics of the superfood phenomenon! This is for dudes too! Wanna stop chugging sugary, milk-protein-laden workout 'food' and get a longer-lasting, healthy high for that extra curl, press, or pull-up? Try these foods! Also, if you didn't hear Chloe's sexy visit to the boys at Hot97, click here. Veganic farming is wha...? Veganic farming takes organic farming and brings it to it's logical conclusion. Who wants to eat organic potatoes that grew in factory-farm feces and blood? Ugh.. the vegan permaculture movement is taking hold! The Huguenot Street Farm in New Paltz, NY is one successful example. Check out their funny video here, and stay tuned for more updates on the veganic farming movement: FICA is full of it. The 'Fur Information Council of America' insists that fur is the "natural, responsible choice". If you've already started rolling your eyes or laughing, you are not alone. In WWD, for the final day of NY Fashion Week (The Feb 20th, 2009 issue), FICA paid for an ad that was disguised as a part of the paper to make it seem as though fur garments were heavily talked-about in the publication. In fact, aside from one shawl by Issac Mizrahiny, there wouldn't have been any fur in the publication that day. Boo hiss to Issac for his hideous new fur collection. Also watch his attempt to lose weight eating "vegan" M&Ms. Also boo, hiss to TV Host and supposed 'style expert', Robert Verdi who I spotted in the lobby, surrounded by plastic fur-hags, wearing this atrocious hood (Did his Court-Dress wig fall back, or was he going for the evil Skeksis look?). Tim Gunn should give them both a stern talking-to in the ways of educated and compassionate elegance. The only way to look like a bigger jerk is to have tan-lines in the shape of aviators on your head. Oh wait... What I love (and by love, I mean hate) about FICA's pretty-in-pink website is the total avoidance of ever mentioning an animal oustside of abstractions like "species" or "populations". If they did acknowlegde that individual animals with brains and nervous systems existed, they'd have to follow through with logic that would contradict their reference of animals as "natural resources" to be used "responsibly". I won't even make the historical comparisons, you can do that yourself.

Helmet of the Will • Eco Sports Car • Giveaway

TheDiscerningBrute — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:15:44 +0000

Helmet of the Will makes 100% organic cotton Tees right here in Brooklyn. These are images from their upcoming Spring'09 collection. Get them at these stores. This 'Ain't No Prius. The Tesla Roadster is a sheep in wolf's clothing. In fact it is a sheep that has mastered the walk and the talk of the wolf. It is even offered with a vegan, microfiber interior. As quiet and under-the-radar as a Stealth Bomber, and so efficient it gets 244 miles per charge. To top it off, it goes 0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds, and is now in production. If you've got $109,000 to play around with, and you've already given to every charity you can think of, go for it! Veg News FREE giveaways. For the month of November, VegNews Magazine will give away a prize every day to people who leave comments! Click HERE and look for "Today's Giveaway".

Boutiques, Sweets, Slices, & Endangered Bears

TheDiscerningBrute — Sat, 17 May 2008 20:33:00 +0000

1. Eco Boutique Opens in LA. An awesome eco-boutique, Visionary, has opened in West Hollywood - but so far it's only for the ladies. Hey Visionary! Don't forget about us Brutes! 2. Penny Licks is Vegan Sweets Heaven! Last night at Penny Licks - Melissa, Jodi and I indulged in vegan brownie sundays with soy whipped-cream and a cherry on top! While wearing a gorgeous Organic cotton polo, I had a peanut-butter brownie sunday with temptation cookie-dough vegan ice cream. Jodi went to town on a huge slice of vegan coconut cream cake from Vegan Treats. To top that off, We ate with biodegradable corn-based spoons and ate out of biodegradable cups. Not everything is vegan here, but most of it is, and most of it is organic as well. This is my new favorite spot! See you there....

3. Vinnie's Pizzeria Makes Love to the Vegan Pie. Just a few doors down from Penny Licks, Vinnie's Pizzeria is putting shame to any other pizza place that has attempted to do vegan pies before. There isn't just one "we have to put something out to take economic advantage of those annoying vegans" pie. Every day there are at least three innovative pies, in addition to handwheels, rolls, and sandwiches. They use Teese, from the same people that brought you Temptation. 4. Polar Bear on Official "Endangered Species" list. Earlier this week, the Secretary of the Interior placed the polar bear on the Endangered Species List as a threatened species.The listing is clearly a step in the right direction. Much more needs to be done -- to save the polar bear and solve the climate crisis. WeCanSolveIt.org

4 Course Vegan

TheDiscerningBrute — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:32:07 +0000

Every Saturday night is an excuse to celebrate in Brooklyn. Behind a maze of hallways in an inconspicuous spot near the Williamsburg Bridge, Chef Matteo's culinary creations satisfy the most particular palates with a gorgeous candle-lit dining experience in a rustic-modern Brooklyn loft that brings together both the adventurous and the discriminating. The presentation is stunning and artful, featuring local, organic, seasonal, and sustainable fresh ingredients from NYC's Green Markets. The seating is large dining tables where you have the freedom to be social and arrive alone, or take a corner with a date. I'll be in San Francisco for this week, but will definitely make it to the next one! Saturday, April 5th, 2008 4 Course Vegan presents: 5 Years of Fine Dining in Williamsburg $40 per person dinner is at 8pm space is limited/RSVP in advance 718-599-5913 MENU at www.4coursevegan.com

Fresh Friday Finds

TheDiscerningBrute — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:00:25 +0000

1. **Exclusive Discerning Brute discount at Partybots.org.** Organic graphic Tshirts by Karl Addison! Clothing Art! The coupon code is "brute". All you have to do is put that in the "Enter Redeem Code" field on the "Payment Information" page before you check out, and you get $10 off your order. Sweeeet! 2. Smells Like 1966. When asked to sum up his work in three words, CB said "Scent is Life". I Hate Perfume is a Brooklyn-based, alcohol-free, cruelty-free line of sensual delicacies. I use "Burning Leaves" because it makes me feel like I'm camping in the autumn. 3.Green Drinks. Smooze with other like-minded green and eco professionals. Tuesday April 8 - At EYEBEAM

4. Got skillz in the kitchen? Are you single and in Brooklyn - but know that if you could just get a date to your apartment, you'd win over anyone with your culinary mastery? Thanks for the tip from our Girlie Girl Army friend, Chloe Jo, you can apply to be on a dating show where you show off your vegan cooking prowess. Click HERE to apply

5. Talk about the end of the world! If you sit around philosophizing and conceptualizing the end of civilization, this event is for you! April 16th at 6pm at the Vault, Click HERE to sign up.

6.Discerning Depot: If you live in the NYC area, check out Build It Green, which is the punk-rock, dumpster-diving, freegan cousin of Home Depot. Build It Green! NYC, is New York City's only non-profit retail outlet for salvaged and surplus building materials. Their warehouse has everything from panel doors to high end refrigerators and shutters to movie props. Their mission is to keep these materials out of the landfill, while offering deep discounts on their resale.

7. Trashion: Cufflinks by Wabisabi Brooklyn. The team uses vintage elements, recycled papers, and humble metals such as copper to create their designs. "We want our pieces to embody the meaning behind the name of our company," says LoVerme. "Wabi-sabi is a Japanese aesthetic concept that means finding beauty in imperfection. (from Trashion)

8. Tie Again: Narwhal Co. is pretty amazing. They make dope, recycled tie accessories, and they even do CUSTOM ORDERS. Wow... I'm thinking about a paisley loin-cloth.

9. LIME teaches us how to recycle everything - from fleece to tools to paint. Get on top of your spring cleaning without dumping all your crap in a landfill. Click HERE for the simple guide.

10. Get in shape: Check out Vegan Bodybuilding.com, so your testosterone-induced, machismo-pursuing, bad-ass, tough-as-nails attitude can be used for the powers of good.

Vegan Bodybuilder Kristopher "Topher" Flannery

Soy Lattes & Cahsew Cheese in Williamsburg Brooklyn

TheDiscerningBrute — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 02:22:49 +0000

I live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. One of my favorite things to do on a Brooklyn afternoon is to enjoy a soy-latte at Gimme! Coffee. Gimme! could be the best coffee in New York City. They have rave reviews, and I have yet to find something better. Their beans are fresh-ground and absolutely never bitter. Smooth, rich, and aromatic - the product is nearly perfect.

After my soy-latte, if I am feeling especially indulgent - I head to Marlow & Son, the mostly-not-vegan-at-all gourmet mini-market/restaurant-cafe/wine-bar and pick up a wheel of Dr-Cow's Aged Cashew Cheese to eat with a fresh baguette and a bottle of S.Pellegrino. Dr. Cow' Cashew cheese tastes like any good, soft, French cheese. The only catch is that it's hand-made in Williamsburg from cashews - not from cholesterol, pus & chemical laden cow's milk. I am in love. Won't you join me?