The
Red Hook StarªRevue
NOVEMBER 2015
SOUTH BROOKLYN’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
Lemon becomes lemonade by Halley Bondy
W
hen Michelle Tampakis was diagnosed with Celiac disease in 2007, she was convinced her baking career was over. No longer able to eat gluten - a key ingredient in most pastries, cookies and cakes - her successful livelihood as an independent baker and instructor seemed to be facing extinction.
Each pastry is a complicated problem, which is why many gluten-free items on the market don’t cut it. A less patient baker may wind up using too many thickening agents like xanthan gum, which creates a “bad mouth feel,” Tampakis says.
Instead, the diagnosis would mark the beginning of a whole new era - not only for Tampakis’ career - but for all the gluten free, nut-free, egg-free, soy free, and vegan dieters who needed her.
But Tampakis’ patience seems to know no bounds. She uses trial and error to devise a new product. She bakes it, tests it, then - for lack of an appetizing metaphor - she rinses and repeats until it’s perfect. Michelle Tampakis preparing her family’s 2014 glutenShe’ll use six or seven flours free Thanksgiving feast. (photo courtesy Tampakis) in a blend. She favors endless hours of about it, and I even think about bakmixing over xanthan gum. In fact, she ing when I’m not baking.” once spent two whole years concocting Part-time baker pre-diagnosis the perfect gluten-free éclair. For 20 years, Tampakis baked and sold “For me it’s not some hobby; it truly cakes from her Bay Ridge home, splitinterests me,” she said. “I like baking. ting her time as a mom, a wife, and a I like reading about baking, talking (continued on page 14)
In 2013, she launched her wholesale bakery Whipped on 37 Richards Street, where she indulges the fringe eaters of the world with specialty brownies, wedding cakes, macaroons, pies, and all the goodies they never thought they’d enjoy again. “Enjoy” being the operative word: for Tampakis, the cookies must taste like real cookies, the lemon meringue like lemon meringue.
FREE
ALSO INSIDE
A Court Street Italian social club seeks to modernize pages 12-13
Hamilton Avenue turns chic!
E
xcept for a brief spell as a Papa John’s pizzeria, a vacant storefront lay rotting under the BQE - nestled between a scaffolding company and a car wash. To get there from the Smith and 9th Street subway station, several blocks out of the way had to be crossed, or risk life and limb crossing Hamilton Avenue. This seemed an unlikely spot for two renaissance entrepreneurs to create a gourmet, wood-fired oven pizza restaurant and bar. It seemed even less likely that the food would be outstanding, and that the scenery would be welcoming. Yet, after opening their doors October 20, the impressive and cozy new restaurant Pizza Moto meets all the marks, hailing a new dawn for the industrial block while somehow making you feel like it’s been there all along. The decor is eclectic yet harmonious, combining everything from deco fonts to turn-of-the-century industrial elements. Almost everything is made from recycled materials and built up by executive chef Dave Sclarow. Even the chrome bar stool stands are made from the discarded desks of a local Red Hook school.
Red Hook Star-Revue
by Halley Bondy
The real love is in the details however, like when you spot a pair of old skates hanging on the wall, or the face of an old timey pinball machine, or a tax photo of 338 Hamilton Avenue from the 1940s.
Carlos Menchaca and the Red Hook Initiative team make government participation fun! - page 9
“We’ve been able to warm up the room and the block in a way that feels really positive,” says General Manager Anna Viertel. “The feedback we’ve gotten is that people find it very thrilling and cozy to be tucked away here under the BQE. People feel like they’re discovering something when they come here.” Then there’s the delicious food. Everything is made on premises - from pizza dough to ricotta, to jams and cocktail bitters. Other ingredients are farm-to-table, including the wine.
Gourmet toppings
Pizza Moto’s thin crust personal Neapolitan-style pizzas come with a wide range of adventurous toppings, including eggs, clams, and bacon fat. Luckily, Scarlow, a chef who has worked everywhere from Mario Batali’s Esca to Franny’s in Park Slope, has the chops and the excellent sous chef Joe Bliffen to make it work. I strongly recommend the pizza with clams, cream, roasted garlic, bacon, potato,
Pizza Moto stores wood for their oven in front of their restaurant. (photo by Fiala)
parsley, and fresh mozzarella. Yes, you read that all correctly. Besides pizza, the menu offers uncommon appetizers, including a fried broccoli with yuzu-kosho lemon curd, and a smoked trout caesar salad. The drinks are special, too. Harry’s Bouquet, Pizza Moto’s signature cocktail, is a must-try concoction made from gin, aperol, anise rinse, lemon bitters, and the pièce de résistance (continued on page 7)
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A full page of photos from Red Hook’s Barnacle Parade - page 6
November 2015, Page 1