Everyone repeat after me: Noooooooo!

   Apparently growers in Africa (where most cocoa is from) don’t want to grow cocoa any longer as the trees take three years to mature and cocoa planters get paid less than a dollar a day to farm the stuff. Sounds like a raw deal to me, I can’t say I blame them. The article projected that in twenty years chocolate will be “as rare and expensive as caviar.”  Gads, that would really stink.

  What can we do about this? Maybe pay the African growers living wages for a start. If I have to shell out 25 cents more for a Snickers bar, I’ll do it. I really hope this doesn’t start a new trend of chocolate hoarding. I can imagine the very wealthy buying walk-in refrigerators and converting their extra guest room in some tax-sheltered country to a chocosafe.

   Now’s the time for a sequel to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory about the forthcoming lack of the sweet brown stuff.  I can just see it: Charlie (Wonka having gone to the big candy shop in the sky — I know it’s sad but the original flick came out forty years ago, he’d be older than Granpa Joe by now), comes up with a foolproof formula for synthetic chocolate that tastes as good as the real thing (made from…I don’t know eco-styrofoam peanuts?) and the Slugworth company will stop at nothing to get it. That’s all I got, someone else will have to flesh it out.

   A world without chocolate — or worse, a world where only the very rich have chocolate — would be a crummy place to live. Hopefully someone will come up with a solution. In the meantime, I’m savoring every morsel.

Robin Eisgrau

          Always wanting as much information about things as possible, I wanted to go to the Lord and Taylor store on Fifith Avenue and see if they had said coat in size XL, so I could try it on and know if it was a keeper. I went to the store after work and found the excat same coat I I had just bought online in XL. I brought it over to the nearest mirror, took off my jacket and slipped it on; happily, I was able to zip up the zipper. The coat was a wee bit snug, but not  by much (I tend to wear thin layers in the winter instead of bulky sweaters anyway). I looked in the mirror and felt good about what I saw.

           Then I hear a woman’s voice out of nowhere say,” You know, they have larger sizes downstairs.” I turned a saw a woman in her sixties — not a Lord and Taylor worker —  with coiffed, dyed red hair and a tad too much makeup looking at me with her hands folded.  I knitted my brow and said, ” This coat fits me fine, I just bought it online.”

        She scrunched up her face as if I just farted. “Well,” she said huffily, “you should either return it or go on a strict diet!” She then turned with her nose in the air and marched away.

         I was, as they say in England, gobsmacked. What nerve! Did she really have nothing better to do than insult me, a total stranger? Do mean girls never evolve, even when they becom AARP eligible? I looked at myself in the mirror again. “This looks fine!” I said. I asked a young woman working in the department for her opinion. “It looks like it fits you,” she said. I was still flummoxed. If I was that nasty woman I wouldn’t have said anything — it’s called minding your own business and it’s one of the things that keeps civilization going. I have complimented people in stores once in a while, that’s a nice thing to do. I shook my head, hung up the coat and left the store. “Perhaps that’s why I prefer to shop online,” I said to myself.

     The coat arrived a few days later and it fit just fine. I have worn it on several occasions in public without any comment.

Robin Eisgrau

Located at 446 Ave. of the Americas (or Sixth Avenue to natives), The Bean is a cozy spot with great coffee, refreshing brewed Ceylon Black Iced Tea and an array of edibles that puts Starbucks to shame. They have sandwiches, salads and yogurt from Bimmy’s (I used to work at a place where we ordered Bimmy’s deliveries all the time: they make good stuff), elegant pastries from Blackhound and a selection of vegan baked goods, including a vegan red velvet cake that I plan to try (and I’m not even a vegan).

The place has a rustic, relaxed vibe, great music is always playing (I think it’s satellite radio), the staff is friendly and there’s rentable internet service. If I lived in the neighborhood I’d practically live there. Nowadays I stop in whenever I want a treat and a minute or two to reflect. BTW, there’s another Bean at 49 1/2 First Ave. in the East Village.

The Bean, 446 Ave. of the Americas between 10th and 11th St New York City.

Robin

       Set in the magical city of Marzipan, the show follows the adventures of Chowder, a young boy- type creature with light purple skin and a pink bunny-like hat, as he serves as apprentice to master chef Mung Daal. The whole show is based around food and recipes serve as the launching point for the stories. All the characters are named after edibles: Gazpacho, Kimchi, Pannini, Endive.  The animation is very high quality and t he actors doing the voices do a great job. Chowder was created by C.H. Greenblatt, who bought the world Spongebob Squarepants. If you like food and cartoons, Chodwer is the perfect show for you.  I found it a nice antidote to Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen, which gives me nightmares. Bon Apettoon!

Robin

        With its friendly neighborhood vibe, Legal Grounds is the place to roll into on a weekend morning after sleeping in a bit. The coffee (hot or iced) is always eye-opening and fresh. Grill master Willie can whip you up my favorite egg creation: a scrambled egg-and-cheese wrap with hot sauce. Mmm mmm. Another tasty option is their cranberry muffin; more horizontal than your standard model, but tastily cakelike and chock full of tart cranberries. Order it toasted with a bit of jelly on the side and you’re set.  There’s a lso bagels (the supply of which sometimes runs out by late AM) and other kinds of muffins (such as their signature frosted green tea) too.

           The only drag about Legal Grounds is that sometimes on weekends the staff prefers to have the TV audio on instead of music (Personally, I think all eating and drinking establishments should have some kind of music), but since it’s spring you have the option of sitting in their backyard and getting some sun.

Robin

      I’m a big fan of Komegashi and Komegashi Too, both located in Downtown Jersey City, which offer delicious sushi and sashimi.  Komegashi Too, located at 99 Town Square Place (201-533-8888), has a vibrant, lively atmosphere and plenty of seating. It’s a great place to take someone you want to impress.

      I frequently go to Komegashi, at 103 Montgomery St, for an end-of-the-week treat. Things always get off to a great start with the complimentary edamame placed on the table soon after you sit down. I usuallly get the ebi gyoza — delicately fried shrimp dumplings, very light and fresh — as an appetizer, followed by the delicious spicy maki combo. The spicy maki combo has spicy tuna and salmon maki accented with yummy spicy mayo. The dish is spiced just enough to have a kick without being too hot. I am thinking of trying the chirashi — sashimi over rice– next time.

          Desserts are great at Komegashi. I like the hazelnut chocolate crepe served with vanilla ice cream and the Ice Cream Tempura. The atmosphere here is quieter and more intimate than Komegashi Too — very good for conversation. The service is always attentive and reliable and the menu prices are reasonable. Defnitely worth a visit or two.

Robin:)

        1) Robin’s Egg (named after myself, of course): Take a small dish or saucer and sprinkle hefty doses of salt, black pepper, paprika and, if you’re feeling adventurous, Mrs. Dash. Hard boil an egg, remove shell and roll egg in spice mixture on plate until well-coated. Keep a napkin nearby (your hands might get messy) and enjoy!

       2) Pretzelnapple Cottage Cheese: At work, I sometimes grab a tub of Friendship cottage cheese with pineapple (the best-tasting variety if you ask me) from the deli in the lobby and also snag a big bag of Sunny Sam’s Oat Bran pretzels (Very low in calries and nice and crunchy). Together, these make a yummy, if a little odd, taste treat. The sweetness of the pineapple offsets the saltiness of the pretzels in a nice way.

       3) Wasabi peas: Ah yes, the Korean deli favorite. Crunchy and spicy and usually a pretty good deal, pricewise. Typically found in a plastic tub near the crunchy assorted rice snacks. Good for keeping on your desk.

       4) Milk Chocolate-covered cranberries from Trader Joe’s. This is my favorite snack while watching New Amsterdam (season finale April 14, bummer!). I always liked chocolate-covered raisins and these are a nutritional step up (maybe? maybe I’m kidding myself). My bud who works at a TJ’s in Jersey scores them for me. I can’t deal with the crowds at the one on 14th St.

      5) Altoids Dark Chocolate Dipped Mints. Props to Marisha C.-S. for tipping me off to these. I usually prefer milk chocolate, but these are yummy nonetheless and good for stisfying a chocolate fix when you’re watching the scale. The combo of mint and chocolate is always a winner in my book.

Happy snacking!

Robin:)

      I have many fond memories of going to Florent. Moslty popping in late at night after clubbing in my younger days. I remember going there late one night around 1990 with my boss from PAPER Magazine after hanging out at Siberia on Washington Street, having a bite and then going home and staying up to write a paper on John the Baptist for my philosophy class. I had a great meal there on New Year’s Day  of 1997 with some friends. The last time I was there was on the day of Wigstock around 2000. I sat at the counter and had something to eat and my friendly waiter was a guy wearing pigtails and a straw cowboy hat.

              I loved the goat cheese salad at Florent, and although I forget exactly what cut it was, I enjoyed their steak with frites. The atmosphere was always lively, the waitstaff gracious. I never had to wait very long for a table.

             The epidemic of restaurants and businesses closing up because of skyrocketing rents is an outrage: it’s destroying the essence of the city. Florent, the Zen Palate that was on Union Square,the Cheyenne diner, two big Barnes & Noble stores all had to close due to landlord greed. Is Mahattan just going to be filled with Burberrys and Louis Vuitton boutiques? Is the decently-priced restaurant with some personality going to become an extinct species? I hope not, but things don’t look good.

        I decided to do this blog because I have things to say, ideas, opinions, etc. about food and other topics. Please check it out and feel free to leave comments.

Warmly,

Robin Eisgrau