Beyond Sushi

If you like sushi then you probably have a favorite place you like to go when a craving for a California roll sets in. For a different kind of sushi experience you need to try Beyond Sushi, The Green Roll.  Located on East 14th Street, this small shop offers 100% vegan sushi that is as appealing to the eye as it is to the mouth. Each fruit and vegetable sushi is wrapped in either black forbidden rice or a customized six-grain rice blend that contains red rice, short grain brown rice, black rice, rye berries, hulless barley and pearl barley.

Chef Guy Vaknin making the special of the day

You can get sushi by the roll or the piece which comes with custom sauces like jalapeno wasabe and carrot ginger. Beyond Sushi also offers rice paper wraps, hand rolls and small salads.

One veggie and one fruit roll

On a recent visit I chose the “chef’s special,” — a veggie roll that had lemon roasted artichokes inside and kale chips on top — and “Crunch N’ Munch — black rice wrapped around alfalfa sprouts, cucumber, baked tofu with kiwi on top.

Shopping for Your Kitchen Like a Chef

There are many places around New York City to buy kitchen equipment — from chains like Williams Sonoma, Sur La Table and even Bed Bath and Beyond, to smaller stores like Bowery Kitchen Supply, Broadway Panhandler,  and my newest favorite, Whisk.

Where chefs go for basic supplies

But if you’re looking for some basic kitchen supplies, then you need to go down to the Bowery on the lower east side of Manhattan. There are several stores to choose from, all clustered around Delancey and Kenmore Streets.

Simple decor but many choices at Bowery Restaurant Supply

I like to go to Bowery Restaurant Supply; a small, packed store that’s reasonably priced. Inside you can find smaller items like soup ladles of all sizes and stainless steel mixing bowls, to larger equipment like deep fryers and 2 gallon pots.

Fishs Eddy, named for a small hamlet in upstate New York, is a different kind of restaurant supply store. This 25 year old company got it’s start when the owners stumbled upon a barn filled with restaurant dishware from a near-by manufacturer. The tons of plates, bowls, platters, cups and saucers had been in a fire but every dish was intact.

Inside Fishs Eddy

Today you will still find China and pottery retrieved from restaurants, as well as unusual sets with patterns like the Brooklyn Bridge, the New York Times crossword puzzle or Alice in Wonderland.

Inexpensive flatware is a real find

When I needed to get new flatware for Passover, I found great options at Fishs Eddy for under $2 a piece. Go there also to find interesting glassware, serveware, linens and unusual gifts

Matzo Making

Streit’s factory on Rivington Street

For anyone who went to a Jewish day school, like I did, there’s probably a warm memory of visiting a matzo factory around Passover time. Some years, we would go to see matzo made by hand in Williamsburg. But other years we went to the Streit’s factory on the lower east side. Aron Streit opened his first matzo factory in 1916. In 1925 he moved the business to where it stands now on Rivington Street. Today, Aron’s granddaughters and great-grandsons run the company.  Streit’s is the only family-owned and operated matzo factory in America

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Prior to Passover, the store and factory are open Monday-Friday. You can watch part of the matzo making process any time you visit. But, if you’d like to see the full process, then call ahead (212/475-7000) and arrange for a free tour. You can have a tour whether you’re one person or a group.

Streit’s sells other products too

There’s also a retail store at the factory location. At this time of year Streit’s offers a wide range of Kosher for Passover products including soups, sauces, candies, condiments and even potato chips. But they aren’t a Passover-only company. They sell many other products year round, both in their own store and in retailers around the country.

Sweets For Shorty Awards Tweets

On April 8th, the fifth Annual Shorty Awards will honor the best in social media. This quintessentially New York event takes place at the Times Center and gives awards, among others, to: moms and dads who use social media to “Keep Good Going,” (presented by New York Life) and individuals who help others make healthy choices via social media (presented by Health.Join In).  Though tickets are available, the event is live streamed, watched around the world and tweeted about by the thousands.  I thought it would be a good idea to have a selection of sweets to munch on during the awards event. So I visited two candy stores that offer a selection of candies that will take you down memory lane.

Economy Candy

Economy Candy, on Rivington Street, is known as “The Nosher’s Paradise of the Lower east Side.” It’s been around since 1937 and sells hundreds of kinds of chocolates, candies, nuts, dried fruits; including halvah and candy I remember from childhood.

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For a similar, but more intimate walk down memory lane, you can also visit Handsome Dan’s Snocone and Candy Stand. It’s located on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, inside the Mini-Mall.

Inside Handsome Dan’s

As the name suggest, Handome Dan’s sells snocones and candy. The snocones aren’t the plain flvaored ones you find on the street during the summer but come in exotic flavors like  thyme dream, earl grey cream, orange blossom ginger, rose pomegranate, and chili passion fruit. Like Economy Candy, Dan’s carries candies that will evoke your childhood,  no matter what your age.

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Baker’s Paradise

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For a baker, visiting NY Cake and Baking Distributer is like being a kid in a candy store. And if you’re not a baker, this store will inspire you to become one. Located in Chelsea, it sells both wholesale and retail.  It doesn’t look like much on the outside but inside you will find everything from fondant and nonpareils to mini madeleine pans and piping tools. If you’re making a birthday party, NY Cake has cupcake holders to match any child’s imagination. Or if you want an usual shaped or sized cake, NY Cake offers round, square, rectangular, star shaped and many others.