NYC's Mercantile Mayhem: Edy's Zesty Tour and Who Wants Mo' Momo?
A newsletter about the survival of independent businesses in New York City with a special focus on immigrant-owned, storefront retail and CPG enterprises.
EDY’S ZESTY BOOK TOUR
Edy Massih, chef and owner of Edy’s Grocer, wrote a cookbook Keep it Zesty, which officially gets propelled into the world on May 21. Originally from Lebanon, Massih’s recipes incorporate his Lebanese heritage, family dishes and with a touch of New York City, like his chicken shawarma taco recipe. There is a heavy-duty book tour scheduled, so if you don’t live in New York City, you might be able to bask in the zest if you live in Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles among other cities.
I met Massih when I really needed some top quality za’atar, the herby thyme (or thyme-like), sesame, sumac, salt mix, with roots in the West Bank. I got on a citibike, peddled over a bridge to find this famed Lebanese grocer in the nether regions of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. (He opened Edy’s Grocer during the pandemic, his chef and catering businesses went dormant and a local shop became vacant.) I bought Edy’s Jordanian za’atar—he carries many regional blends—and it was wonderful.
Massih was a gent and let me take this quick photo, even though he was just about to close. I think he sensed I could’ve perused his shelves for hours, reading all the labels, asking questions, so he sort of has a please-don’t-let-this-woman-be-a-chatty-Cathy-nut-job expression. The shelves highlight Edy’s Grocer’s packaged goods, but he an outstanding menu of fresh foods: lahm bi ajin with harissa and pomegranate sauce, chili crisp labneh toast, shawarma and kababs, a multitude of classic mezzes including pickled turnips, Beiruti balila and a few with a slight twist like za’atar goat cheese. And of course, the heavenly baked goods.
The epic Keep It Zesty cookbook tour starts May 22 at Edy’s Grocer and continues into July, passing through the Hudson Valley, Boston, Avon, CT, Chicago, Miami, DC, up and down California’s coast and then Tulsa, OK; see Edy’s Grocer Instagram for details.
MANUFACTURING, FABRICATING AND CONCOCTING, OH MY!
Celebrate businesses that manufacture in New York City from May 10 - 18, with Made in New York City 2024’s neighborhood tours, pop up markets and food festival.
May 14, Tuesday, 3 - 6pm, a tour will visit three local manufacturing locations in East Williamsburg and Bushwick, tickets are $29. In true New York City fashion, all three business are immigrant-owned (one half-owned).
Fine & Raw is a chocolate factory, making chocolate bars, truffles and spreads. I wrote about the founder Daniel Sklaar many moons ago for Forbes. The tour will stop by Leerform, which fabricates artworks and supporting structures in metals and wood, among other materials, for museums, galleries and artists. And it will also visit Kato Sake Works, which brews, you guessed it, sake!
May 18, Saturday, 2 - 5pm at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, a food and beverage extravaganza will take place, Taste of Made in NYC, featuring locally made goodies. Tickets are $50. A few of the 40 vendors—yes, thankfully many are immigrants bringing foreign flavors—include: Auria's Malaysian Kitchen (reason alone to go!) JimboJerk Chicken, Acme Smoked Fish, Norwegian Baked (the knekkebrød is phenomenal) Egunsi Foods, Doosra and Oddfellows Ice Cream.
Taste of Made in NYC’s booze and beer contingent includes Kings County Distillery, Transmitter Brewing, Wild East Brewing and Torch & Crown Brewing among others. A variety of locally made products, from ceramics to fashion accessories, will be for sale as well. All the Made in NYC bits are highlighted here.
SAVE THE DATE: SEPTEMBER 15, IT’S… MOMO CRAWL!
Planing ahead, mark your calendars for the next Momo Crawl on September 15, in Jackson Heights, Queens. Momo Crawl not only celebrates the tantalizing Tibetan dumplings to and their saucy sauces, but it’s also a competition between 30 momo establishments. The voters, aka eaters, pay $1 per momo and decide which momo-ery makes the best momo. The winning momo business gets a heavy-weight style champion belt with a golden momo affixed to the front.
The Momo Crawl is organized by Students for a Free Tibet and gets support from none other than Accompany Capital, which helps immigrant and refugee communities, and is the sponsor of this newsletter. What can I say, they sponsor all the right things!
The Momo Crawl is fun, slightly chaotic, filled with music, dancing and full of gorgeous outfits like the gentleman above. But these momo restaurants, shops, stands and trucks are currently open, serving the most divine momo you can imagine. Visit them prior to the Momo Crawl to get the lay of the land, these small businesses always appreciate customers and your tastebuds will thank you. A few suggestions: Phayul, Momo Crave, Nepali Bhanchha Ghar and Gorkhali for starters.
TWO EMERGING NYC TOUR COMPANIES AND ONE THAT’S BEEN AROUND THE BLOCKS
The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in New York City’s tour giving sector. Through the annual Jane’s Walk weekend that offers free city walks, organized through MAS, I went on four outstanding tours, three of which were given by guides with tour businesses. MAS has posted photos on Flickr (I am in some of them, dutifully holding my notebook 😂).
Gals About Town On the “Pest Propaganda: An Ode to the Rat & the Pigeon” tour with Jess Joseph I learned that rats are empathetic, like to be tickled and giggle. Pigeons are “nest building challenged”, which is a polite way of putting it. We were given bingo cards with boxes to check if we saw a rat hole, pest-proof mesh, anti-bird spikes, mating dance, C or below rated restaurant, discarded bones, bed bug, etc., no one got bingo (although someone claimed they did). Joseph even sported an iridescent, pigeon-inspired manicure, third slide here.
New York Narratives: I learned about Malcom X’s early years in Harlem, including where Smalls Paradise once stood, now a defunct IHOP, during Asad Dandia’s “Malcolm X’s Harlem: Walking the Autobiography” tour. Dandia, a native New Yorker, is launching New York Narratives, his tours tell some of the more hidden or forgotten histories of the city, like the former neighborhood of Little Syria, once located on Manhattan’s lower west side.
New York Jewish Tours: I must confess, I never knew there was such a massive Jewish population in Harlem prior to “Walking the Forgotten History of Jewish Harlem” with Barry Judelman. Harlem had the third largest Jewish population in the world, from the 1870s to the 1920s. All the synagogues that remain are primarily churches serving the the current Harlem residents, but multiple Stars of David are still visible on structures’ nooks and crannies. Judelman gives tours of other neighborhoods like the Lower East Side and parts of Brooklyn. The walk ended at Lee Lee’s Baked Goods, which did indeed make the best rugelach I’ve ever tasted.
Robert Alan Saasto, Esq: he’s a lawyer, not an official tour guide, but Saasto could have a second career if he decides to quit law. I took the “Witness the Living History of Finntown in Sunset Park” walk with Saasto and saw all the cooperative brick buildings built and inhabited by Finnish immigrants in the early 1900s, the first cooperative buildings in the US.
Born in one of the cooperative buildings, Saasto has kept close ties to the community, however there are only a handful of Finnish people remaining. In its heyday, although outnumbered by the Swedes and Norwegians, there were roughly 20,000 Finnish immigrants living in Sunset Park in the early 1900s. The neighborhood had two Finnish social clubs, two churches, two groups of housing, one for the communist-leaning Finnish immigrants and one for the other Finnish immigrants. Apparently the two groups “grumbled” at one another, but basically tolerated each other.
Saasto is single-handedly keeping this contribution Finnish immigrants made to the US alive. Over the pandemic he organized plaques for all the original cooperatives, placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the US Department of the interior. Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö even paid a visit to Sunset Park in 2021.
Opportunities & Events
Food and agriculture startups anywhere in the world can compete in the Grown-NY startup competition. Three million dollars in prize money is awarded to seven winners, the first winner is awarded $1 million of it. Applications close May 15, 2024. There are restrictions and winners will have to have its primary headquarters in the Grow-NY Region, which is Central New York, Finger Lakes and Southern Tier.
It’s time for the New York StartUP! 2024 Business Plan Competition, open to entrepreneurs who live and work in Manhattan, The Bronx or Staten Island. You must submit your entry form by May 31, 2024, but read all the requirements before applying. The entrepreneur winning first prize will get $15,000, second prize is $10,000 and third prize is $7,500.
New York City’s DragonFest, a spring to fall street food fair focused on Chinese cuisine and culture, is still open to new vendors. Apply here.
Sponsorship
I plan on keeping this newsletter free by getting additional sponsorship from organizations, I will keep you posted. Some of you have paid for subscriptions, thaaaaaaank you so much! (If you are interested in being a sponsor, please contact me: ninarobertsnyc@gmail.com). Please feel free to forward to others.
The September 15 Momo crawl cuts right through my Jackson Heights neighorhood. I'm almost embarassed to admit I've never had a Momo. Maybe this is the year that changes!
Do you happen to know where to buy the passport for the Momo crawl? I’ve been looking everywhere!!