Fanciest Unfancy Food Show around

By Alex Rush

Has Brooklyn’s annual “Unfancy Food Show” finally sold out?

The gathering of indie food purveyors claims to shun the corporate, mass-produced evilness of the other annual eats exhibition this Sunday at the Javits Center, but the vendors’ products are actually pretty damn fancy.

Yes, the 30-plus participants in the June 27 event are all small businesses, but so are many at this month’s Fancy Food Show in West Brooklyn.

And it may not be at a huge convention center or draw a crowd of 24,000 people, but the Unfancy Food Show has gone big-time this year, moving into the cavernous Bell House — much larger digs than their previous ventures in the back yard of the East River Bar in Williamsburg.

For the organizers, the underdog spirit of the event hasn’t changed, as the Unfancy Food Show provides an inexpensive way for up-and-coming local vendors to pimp their products to the public.

“For us, it’s always been about showcasing the vendors,” said Annaliese Griffin, a food writer who runs the event along with her husband, Tom Mylan, of the Meat Hook in Williamsburg. “When we started this four years ago, none of the vendors were big enough to go to the Fancy Food Show. Over time, they have gotten to be real successful businesses and able to go to the Fancy Food Show, but they’re still ‘unfancy’ at heart.”

What does that mean? Beer, mainly, as drinking is customary at the Unfancy Food Show, fueled by a more laid-back atmosphere than its Manhattan counterpart.

After paying a $5 cover, attendees can guzzle down their own $3 Brooklyn Lager tallboys, hear a couple of live bands and scarf down free samples of the artisanal fare. The specialty foods, including breads from SCRATCHbread (pictured) popsicles made from organic, greenmarket-sourced fruit and $14 per pound ricotta cheese with a twist of lemon juice, will also be on sale for those with some extra cash in their pockets. We also think chocolates from the Boerum Hill-based Nunu are definitely worth a splurge.

“It’s a great event. We really feel connected to the specialty food community,” said Andy Laird, who co-owns Nunu with his wife, and will be one of the show’s musical acts. “It’s our third year doing it.”

In addition to selling a slew of items, Nunu will also be doling out free samples of their chocolate-dipped salted caramels and a South African chocolate liqueur called amarula. So eat up, and don’t bother with the pricey Manhattan food fest starting up the same day.

The Unfancy Food Show at The Bell House [149 Seventh St. between Second and Third avenues in Gowanus, (718) 643-6510], June 27, noon to 5 pm. Tickets $5. For info, visit www.thebellhouseny.com.

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Saturday brunch at Buttermilk Channel

A couple a weeks ago, a friend and I went to Buttermilk Channel for brunch on a Saturday. Silly us! The Carroll Gardens spot isn't open for brunch on Saturday, something we and a score of other eager diners quickly realized, despairing at the sight of chairs turned up on the restaurant's tables.

That all changes this Saturday, as Buttermilk Channel is open for brunch on Saturdays. Yay!

Now, instead of facing locked doors, there's sure to be a line.

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Lobster shift! Waterfront Book Festival celebrates maritime literature

The waterfront has long been a source of inspiration for Brooklyn writers, from Walt Whitman to Budd Schulberg.

Gabriel Cohen has felt the allure himself. The Ditmas Park resident is the author of four novels, two of which delve into maritime topics, including the recently released “The Ninth Step,” a true story about one of the worst disasters in human history that didn’t happen — a munition ship blowing up in New York Harbor.

So it’s probably no coincidence that on Saturday, he’ll launch the Waterfront Books and Authors Festival, a day of maritime-related projects and music held, fittingly, at the Waterfront Museum and Showboat Barge in Red Hook.

“I wanted to give a sense that not only is the city surrounded by water, but there’s a really interesting subculture of people who work on the waterfront,” said Cohen, who also organizes the Sunday reading series at Sunny’s Bar in Red Hook.

Cohen’s festival will also feature eight other authors who’ve written about topics ranging from lobsters (Trevor Corson, “The Secret Life of Lobsters”) to tugboats (George Matteson, “Tugboats of New York”), as well as Brooklyn-based Americana band Pinataland, performing a selection of sea and waterway-related songs.

“It’s not just about history, but what’s going on right now and gives a vivid sense of New York Harbor — one of the greatest ports in the world,” he said.

Waterfront Books and Authors Festival at the Waterfront Museum and Showboat Barge [290 Conover St. at the water in Red Hook, (718) 624-4719], June 26, noon-4 pm. Admission $6. For info, visit www.waterfrontmuseum.org.

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Rad trad!

Irish music isn’t just fiddles and jigs in 2/4 time. The scene is actually much more diverse, with influences of hip-hop, reggae and jazz finding their way into many modern bands.

For a taste of that diversity, you can’t do any better than Aviator’s Irish Music Festival on June 26 and 27, when 10 bands will bring Irish music, both traditional and contemporary, to Floyd Bennett Field.

Headlining both nights is Black 47. Now in its 20th year on the road, this Manhattan-based band has become the face for American Irish rock music — a poor man’s U2. Not that that’s a bad thing. The band has gained fans for their Celtic leanings, with music that borrows from Irish instrumental tradition and adds in reggae, hip-hop and jazz influences — a true child of the city.

Chris Byrne helped found Black 47, but eventually focussed on his own Irish music project — Seanchai and the Unity Squad. If you’ve been to Rocky Sullivan’s in Red Hook on a Saturday night, you’ve most likely seen them play their eclectic mix of hip-hop, reggae rock and trad. Catch them on the big stage outdoors on June 27.

For a mix of contemporary and traditional music, there’s also Boston’s Erin Og on June 26, mixing fiddle, tin whistle and acoustic guitar with powerful vocal harmonies.

The festival will also feature more traditional Irish acts, chief among them Girsha (pictured) on June 27. The young women are the spawn and pupils of another all-female trad act — Cherish the Ladies — so you know they’ve got the goods.

Irish Music Festival at Aviator Sports in Floyd Bennett Field [3159 Flatbush Ave. off the Belt Parkway in Marine Park, (718) 758-7556], June 26, 2-11 pm; June 27, 2-10 pm. Tickets are $20 ($30 for the weekend). For info, visit www.aviatorsports.com.

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It's grits!

By Alex Rush

Joe Pesci’s Vinny Gambini character in the movie “My Cousin Vinny” was probably the first Brooklynite to eat grits, but he sure won’t be the last.

Those curious about the Southern breakfast staple can sample a slew of preparations at the Brooklyn Grits Takedown on June 27 at the Tobacco Warehouse in DUMBO.

The Takedown, a series of amateur cooking contests, began about five years ago, after founder Matt Timms came up with a way of bringing quirky dining events to the borough.

So of all the foods to choose from, why did the actor-turned-food enthusiast choose grits?

“I got the idea from all the cooking events I did down South,” Timms said. “There’s a million ways to make grits and people have such strong opinions about them.”

There’ll be plenty of free booze and even the foodie movie “It’s Grits.” But the actual grits, made from corn meal and similar to polenta, are the real draw.

Expect about 30 variations of the down-home dish. Crazy is the norm at a Takedown: the previous contest, a lamb Takedown in April, featured entries as bizarre as lamb cupcakes.

“The entries could be as classic as cheese grits, or as weird as grits popsicles,” Timms said.

That is weird.

Grits Takedown at the Tobacco Warehouse (37 Water St. at Dock Street in DUMBO, no phone), June 27, noon. Tickets are $35 (in advance), $45 (day of the show). For info, visit www.chili-takedown.com.

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Williamsburg Walks returns this weekend

Reclaim the streets!

Williamsburg Walks, a car-free party on Bedford Avenue, returns to the Northside on June 26 and 27.

The usually month-long event was shortened to just two days this year after complaints from businesses about lack of foot traffic in their stores, and this weekend is jam-packed to make up for it.

A large component of the weekend is devoted to leisure, with open space between N. Fourth and N. Ninth streets set up for picnicking. For those intent on the “walk” portion of the day, though, there will be two tours focused on the history of brewing in the neighborhood, as well as galleries and street art.

If you’re feeling creative as a result, there will be free workshops on tote making, paper making and silkscreening, as well as perfume mixing, pickle preserving and ice cream-making demos, window farming, and how to make an Adirondack chair from salvaged wood.

This wouldn’t be a Williamsburg event if there weren’t music, and impromptu acts by bands playing in the evening at the Northside Music Festival are promised.

And if you’re seeking any reprieve from the heat, be sure to pop in to the local businesses on Bedford Avenue. It might help ensure this event continues.

Williamsburg Walks (Bedford Avenue between N. Fourth and N. Ninth streets in Williamsburg, no phone), June 26 and 27 from 1-7 pm. For info, visit www.williamsburgwalks.org.

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For food lovers

Sherri Eisenberg has traveled the world as a travel writer, and has found that nothing compares to Brooklyn’s culinary scene.

“Brooklyn has such an exciting food scene,” said Eisenberg. “It’s hard to think of other places that have as diverse the offerings as Brooklyn does.”

Eisenberg would know — she just published a handbook to the borough’s food scene, titled “Food Lovers’ Guide to Brooklyn,” which features, by neighborhood, Brooklyn’s best specialties, restaurants, and markets, as well as recipes from local chefs. Here, the Brooklyn Heights-based writer shares with us some of her favorite finds.

Eton

259 Sackett St. between Hoyt and Smith streets in Gowanus, (718) 222-2999

“I love that they make their dumpling wrappers by hand in front of you, and that all dumplings are filled and cooked to order. It takes a little longer, but it’s so worth it,” said Eisenberg (pictured with owner Eton Chan) of the tiny shop, which specializes in dumplings, noodles, bubble tea and Hawaiian shaved ice, a cool snack for the summer that “always reminds me of my time on the islands.”

Georgian Bread

265 Neptune Ave. between Brighton Fifth and Brighton Sixth streets in Brighton Beach, (718) 332-8082

“This is the closest I have to a favorite place in Brooklyn,” said Eisenberg of the Russian bakery. She recommends the khachapuri, a round focaccia-like bread filled with a mild white cheese called sulguni. “When the cheese oozes out, it’s the most delightful thing,” said Eisenberg. “There’s always a batch coming out of the oven. That’s when they’re the best, even though they burn your tongue.”

Kashkar Café

1141 Brighton Beach Ave. between Brighton 14th and Brighton 15th streets in Brighton Beach, (718) 743) 3832

“They do these lamb dumplings that are spectacular,” said the author. The BYOB restaurant specializes in Uyghur cuisine, the food of Muslims living in Uzbekistan and northwest China, with a focus on lamb.

Brooklyn Star

33 Havemeyer St. between N. Seventh and n. Eighth streets in Williamsburg, (718) 599-9899

When Eisenberg published her book, she of course couldn’t predict the February fire that would devastate this popular restaurant, which specializes in American comfort food. With a year that’s been big on reopenings, from Totonno’s in Coney Island to Pies ’n’ Thighs in Williamsburg, Eisenberg has her sights set on the reopening of the Havemayer Street spot.

Fort Greene Park Farmers’ Market

Washington Park between Dekalb and Myrtle avenues, no phone

Eisenberg does do her own cooking occasionally, and when she needs fresh vegetables, this is one of her favorite farmers’ markets in the borough. “I fell in love with tomatoes in the summertime at the Fort Greene market,” said Eisenberg. “They are spectacular. I can’t wait until tomato season really gets underway.”

“Food Lovers’ Guide to Brooklyn” by Sherri Eisenberg. Find it at BookCourt [163 Court St. between Dean and Pacific streets in Cobble Hill, (718) 875-3677]; Greenlight Bookstore [686 Fulton St. at S. Portland Avenue in Fort Greene, (718) 246-0200], the Park Slope Barnes & Noble [267 Seventh Ave. at Sixth Street, (718) 832-9066], and the Downtown Barnes & Noble [106 Court St. between Schermerhorn and State streets, (718) 246-4996]. For info, visit sherrinyc.wordpress.com.

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