sarmasarma123

Thanks for the welcome... I am on a laptop in the middle of the kitchen right now - it's a bit hectic, but at least I am not expediting now. Matthew Kenney and I are co-chefs (someone asked about this) - he's expediting. We have an amazing exec. sous chef named Valentin. About the wine... all our wines are organic and/or biodynamic - although most are not certified organic. With wines I think it is similar to many small farmers that practice organic farming, but do not bother with the arduous (and often expensive) certification process. Most wines are not really vegan - because, as it has been explained to me, many wines are clarified much in the same way that you make a consomme... using a raft with egg shells or egg whites, sometimes shellfish shells. Some wines do not use this process and so can officially be considered vegan. We are planning to add a key of symbols to our wine list so that we can mark which are vegan, biodynamic, certified organic, etc. We currently have about 80 wines on the list, I think, but we print the list in house, so have the flexibility to change it often. Same with our menus, we print them every day (a huge pain, but worth it) so we can update the menu every day based on what new ingredients we have and new dishes we come up with. I have to go, but will post again more often when we're not in the middle of service! If anyone comes in, I hope you'll introduce yourself and we'll be happy to show you the kitchen and explain how things are made. Thanks! :) Sarma

This is my first posting... I had to write in after reading all the questions and comments everyone had about Pure Food and Wine, which my partner, Matthew Kenney, and I opened together w/ Jeffrey Chodorow. Where do I start? The cookie... which is sort of like a very dense, chewy brownie - has no date paste of any kind in it. The main ingredient is almond butter, to which we add organic cocoa powder (technically not raw), vanilla, tocotrienols (i'm too tired to explain this one right now!) sweetener and sea salt. We also add pistachios. Pop them in the dehydrator overnight. Serve it with chocolate and strawberry sauces (also raw, aside from the cocoa powder again) and with chocolate and pistachio ice creams, candied pistachios and a little lime leaf powder and lemon or lime basil. Ice creams have no dairy and no refined sugar, and are really quite yummy, if I may say so. I will probably be embarassed if I read this later, but am too tired now to be overly concerned. And thank you, Lauren, for such a nice posting about your experience! It was so nice to read. We've been lucky with good weather to keep our garden open - if anyone remembers the old Verbena space - we've expanded that back courtyard garden a bit so it actually seats more people than our interior dining room. The takeaway juicebar will open in a few weeks, with an entrance on 17th St. Again... I am happy to answer more questions and hope to become a regular contributor. :) Sarma