Behind The Scenes

For this edition of our interviews with A Taste of New-York History vendors, we got a special treat! Shamus Jones of Brooklyn Brine invited us to tour their Brooklyn production facilities, where we watched pickles get born.  They start off with fresh cucumbers from Mr. Pickle, the “old guard Brooklyn pickle makers” who expanded to…

How did The Redhead start? What was your goal behind it?
My partners bought an old jazz bar in the East Village with the goal of turning it into a neighborhood restaurant almost 7 years ago. I did not get involved until almost a year after they bought the place.

When did you discover that being a candy maker is what you wanted to do with your life?
When I realized it was an option! We had moved to Barcelona and our friends who started the company made that a reality.

The Good Batch is focused on making not-too-sweet treats like cookies, bars, and classic Dutch stroopwafels. We spoke with Anna about learning to bake, her love for Brooklyn, and why she won’t compromise on making fresh products.

How did you guys first get started with chocolate? What was the market missing that you wanted to provide?
We started really just out of a curiosity for how things were made and there was chocolate, one of the most popular foods on earth and no one really knows how it’s made. And so it began!

On June 7, AIDS in New York: The First Five Years opens at the New-York Historical Society. The new exhibit will explore the impact the epidemic had on personal lives, public health, and politics from 1981-1985. The companion exhibition Children With AIDS: Spirit and Memory. Photographs by Claire Yaffa will feature twenty photographs by the acclaimed…

Founded by partners Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell in 2008, this Sharon Springs, NY farm produces everything from goat cheese to soap to condiments. We spoke with Brent about learning to farm, their show The Fabulous Beekman Boys airing on the Cooking Channel, and getting Upstate New York the attention it deserves.

Earlier this week, the New York Times took a look at the Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York, a group of young archivists, librarians, and historians who meet up and network around the city. One member featured was our very own Curator of Manuscripts, Maurita Baldock! But what exactly does that job entail? We sat…

At the end of WWII & NYC, there is a phone booth labeled “Talk to Us,” where visitors have been leaving their comments, questions, and personal stories of World War II. We’ve featured some of the stories here before, but amazing tales just keep coming! WWII & NYC closes on May 27, so if you haven’t already,…