Take Brooklyn Fudge with You When You Fly JetBlue at JFK!

Now you can "get a piece of us" at 5 markets at JetBlue's new Terminal 5 at JFK. You can take a piece of Brooklyn with you whether you're flying out to one of JetBlue's many destinations, or just need something to take the edge off during your journey into the city. You can find Brooklyn Fudge at these T5 Markets:

• Cibo Main Market
• Cibo Away Cafe
• Cibo Baggage Market
• Cibo NYSG
• Cibo

Make your trip sweeter with Brooklyn Fudge!

Buy Brooklyn Fudge at More Locations!

It was so nice to see so many of you yesterday at the Atlantic Antic, and since more and more stores are picking us up everyday, I just wanted to give you an up to date list of them so you can pick up Brooklyn FudgeTM any day!

Atlantic Avenue/Borerum Hill:

Artez'n: 444 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217 (between Nevins and Bond). Open 6 days a week, closed Tuesdays. Hours are 1pm to 7pm Monday - Wednesday, Saturday 11am to 7pm, and Sunday 11am-6pm. In addition to many other funky, locally made gifts, art, and clothing, Artez'n carries our 1oz singles, Stoops (our 3 piece gift set), Blocks (our 8 piece gift set), and Mug a Brooklyn (a piece of each of our five flavors in a County of Kings Mug). They also sell Buy Real Brooklyn Gift Boxes, which include Brooklyn FudgeTM as well as many other fine Brooklyn made products. You can also place an order with them online or buy phone (718-596-2649).

Flying Saucer Cafe: 494 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217 (between 3rd and Nevins). Open 7 days: Monday - Friday 7:30am - 9:00pm, Saturday - Sunday 8:00am - 10:00pm. In addition to a wide range of coffee, tea, pastries, sandwiches (including some kick ass chilli), Flying Saucer carries our 1oz singles. They have free WIFI, a garden, and are conveniently located next to a laundrymat. Open mic nights on Mondays and Free Movie Nights on Thursdays. You can reach them at (718) 624-0139.

Ft. Greene:

BAM/Brownstone Books: 30 Lafayette St, Brooklyn, NY 11217. Located on the 2nd floor of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brownstone Books is open open hour before performance or BAM Cafe events, typically 7pm - 10pm Thursday - Saturday. In a addition to a carefully curated selection of beautiful books with an artistic and local bent, Brownstone Books also carries our 1oz singles and Mug A Brooklyn. We hear the new rage at BAM is to pair a piece of Dark Wasabi Pecan Brooklyn FudgeTM with red wine, or Dark Orange Almond Brooklyn FudgeTM with white wine or champage. You can reach Brownstone Books at 718-953-7328.

Greene Grape Provisions: 753 Fulton St (corner of South Portland), Brooklyn, NY 11238. Open 7 days a week 8am - 9pm. Greene Grape Provisions carries our 1oz singles in addition to a wide range of other products. They have a coffee bar with fresh pastries, a butcher, a fishmonger, a cartucherie (what we Southern Folk call "that high class cheese"), produce, prepared foods, and regular groceries. You can place orders by phone or on their website. They deliver local orders over $25, and also ship. Their wine store is located at 765 Fulton Street, and is open from 12pm - 9m Sunday - Wednesday and 12pm - 10pm Thursday - Saturday. You can reach both stores at 718-233-2700.

Park Slope:

Blue Apron Foods: 814 Union St (at 7th Avenue), Brooklyn, NY 11215. Open 6 days, Tuesday - Friday, 10am - 7:30pm, Saturday 9am -7pm, and Sunday 10am - 6pm. A Park Slope staple, known for it's wide selection of imported and local fare, cartucherie (high class cheese), and fresh pastries, Blue Apron carries our 1oz singles and gift sets. They also make beautiful party platters and gift baskets. You can reach them at (718) 230-3180.

Leaf and Bean: 83 7th Avenue (at Union St), Brooklyn, NY 11215. Open 7 days, Monday - Friday 9:30am - 7:30pm; Saturday - Sunday 10am - 6pm. Leaf and Bean carries our 1oz singles and gift sets in addtion to a wide selection of coffees, teas, and gifts. You can also order by phone at 1-888-811-JAVA or 718-638-5791.

Tea Lounge: 837 Union St (between 6th and 7th Avenues), Brooklyn, NY. Open 7 days, Monday - Thursday 7am - 1am, Saturday 8am - 2am, Sunday 8am - 1am. A full service coffee shop and wine bar, Tea Lounge carries our 1oz singles as well as a wide selection of coffees, teas, and pastries. It has free WIFI, happy hour from 5 - 7 (1/2 price draughts and $4 house wine, which pairs deliciously with Dark Wasabi Pecan Brooklyn FudgeTM....a cheap thrill less than the cost of a Big Mac Combo, and much classier and satisfying). They have a full schedule of music, poetry readings, and open mic nights. You can reach them at 718-789-2762.

Java Joe: 414 8th St (between 7th and 8th Avenues), Brooklyn, NY 11215. A local, family run shop since 1992, Java Joe carries our 1oz singles and gift sets as well as over 65 bulk coffees, teas, and gifts. They also serve hot and cold drinks on the spot. You can reach them at 718-369-6026.

Windsor Terrace:

GRAB Specialty Foods: 438 7th Avenue (between 14th and 15th streets) Brooklyn, NY. Open 7 days, Monday - Thursday 11am - 8:30pm, Friday 11am - 9pm, Saturday 10:30 - 9pm, Sunday 10:30am - 7:30pm. GRAB carries our 1oz singles and gift sets along with a fine selection of cartucherie (high class cheese), craft beers on tap (for your growler), chocolates and pastries. GRAB also makes some of the most exquisite gift baskets we've ever seen. You can reach them at 718-369-7595.

Carroll Gardens:

BoCoCa's Cafe: 195 Court St, Brooklyn, NY. A cozy coffee shop with a beat, BoCoCa's carries our 1oz singles as well as a wide range of hot and cold drinks and and pastries. You can reach them at 718-797-2385.

Tea Lounge: 254 Court St (between 6th and 7th Avenues), Brooklyn, NY. Open 7 days, Monday - Thursday 7am - 10pm, Saturday 7am - 12 midnight, Sunday 8am - 12 midnight. A full service coffee shop and wine bar, Tea Lounge carries our 1oz singles as well as a wide selection of coffees, teas, and pastries. Free WIFI. You can reach them at 718 – 624 – 5683.

Le Petit Cafe: 502 Court St (between 9th and Huntington), Brooklyn, NY. Open 7 days, Monday - Wednesday 6am - 8pm, Thursday - Saturday 6am - 10pm, Sunday 6am - 8pm. Reknown for it's Sunday brunches, excellent customer service, and cozy atomosphere, Le Petit Cafe carries our 1oz singles and serves coffees, pastries, and full service meals. You can reach them directly at 718-596-7060.

DUMBO:

Peas & Pickles: 55 Washington St (between Front and Water Streets), Brooklyn, NY. Open 7 days, 24 hours a day, come to Peas and Pickles for fudge emergencies at any time of day or night. (They carry our 1oz singles). You can reach them at (718) 488-8336.

"That chocolate from New York sho is good,"

Aunt Mae said to me in 1991, about a box of Godiva chocolate I had hand carried on Amtrak all the way from New York to Virginia. "I believe it's even bettah than the Whitman's Sampler we get down at Rite Aid."

If only Aunt Mae had lived to see this day, when Florence Fabricant of the New York Times implied that she thought that fudge from Brooklyn (based on Aunt Mae's recipe), "sho is good," and from what we can surmise, possibly something she finds more satisfying than a Whitman's Sampler from Rite Aid.

I am so honored and touched that Ms. Fabricant liked the product, and was kind enough to write about it. It makes me grateful for all the people connected with Brooklyn Fudge, living and dead.

Ben Franklin said "lest you be long forgotten soon after you are dead and rotten, either write something worth reading, or do something worth writing about." Apparently my great aunt, who had a 7th grade education, and never wore pants or learned to drive did both, and continues to have an impact on me and many other people more than a decade after her death. Watching this lesson unfold on a daily basis has been the greatest joy of this business and this phase of my life.

Aunt Mae basically stayed home all day, and spent about 8 hours a day involved in food preparation, and about 18 hours a day talking: talking to people at the house, talking to people on the phone, talking about people in the paper, talking about people on television, talking about people who were dead, talking about people who were alive. If she heard someone roll over in bed in the middle of the night, she would assume they were awake and start talking to them. She didn't do anything big, she didn't have a career or an education, yet she left a huge impression, and continues to make an impact. This one product based on just one of her recipes has created jobs, has delighted people all over the world, has inspired people, and I look forward to all the all the other positive things we can do with it.

Aunt Mae treated everybody that came into her house like they were the most important person in the world, as if they had great value, and I now think that that's true, that each of us does have great value, and often just being who we are is just as important as doing what we do.

Tasting at Blue Apron Tomorrow!

I'll be doing a tasting tomorrow, Saturday, July25th at Blue Apron Foods, located at 814 Union Street (between 6th & 7th Avenues) in Park Slope from 11am - 3pm. Come on down and try some! And buy some!

Thank God for Brooklyn Boys!

Once again, Brooklynites (some of which may also have Long Island and Carribean connections) rescued me from a crisis! The crisis put me beside myself, but the handsome, helpful, calm and can do men at DHL's Sunset Park (BROOKLYN) depot saved the day!

Some very special guests from the UK, China, Israel, South Africa, Japan, Mexico, Chile, and several other countries will be visiting with us, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Empire State Development, other New York manufacturers at the Weissman Center on Monday......and we want to show them some real American hospitality....and one of the things I am planning for them was in that box, which should have arrived on Thursday. It did not. It was supposed to arrive today. We were anxiously awaiting it all day. I have been known to freak out when my hospitality or gift giving plans are derailed, especially when it causes me to alter my theme or color scheme.....although we usually make it work some kind of way......we rip the drapes down and make the gown; we birth the baby.

The package was going to our storage facility, which closes at 8pm....we were calling them all day asking if DHL had come yet. Finally, I decided to go down there around closing time, and still no DHL. I went home to call and see what happened. When I tracked the package, I saw that they has attempted to deliver it at 7:51pm (when I was probably there or just leaving) but the facility was closed. So although I was having a Fred Sanford like heart attack, I managed to dial DHL Customer service....and begged the girl who answered to contact the driver who probably was still driving around the neigborhood. She said she could not because the facility is closed, and the package would be delivered on Monday. Obviously I had to have the package before our guests arrive on Monday. I knew that truck was in Brooklyn, and that package was in it, and we had to have it so our guests feel welcome on Monday. This girl was from Syracuse, and clearly did not understand New York City or Southern hospitality, but she did reveal the address of the DHL Brooklyn warehouse.

I knew my chances were slim, but I knew there was a chance I could intercept the truck and get the package. I was beside myself, and could barely speak Spanish or English, but somehow the car service driver got me down there.

The bay to the warehouse and the trucks glowed golden and friendly. I knew the was a a 50/50 chance security or would be called and I would be thrown out/turned away, or by some miracle they would be willing to look for it and find it. Those seemed like odds worth taking. I barged in and told the man in charge (Brian), that I'm looking for a really important package, and I know the address and the tracking number, is there anyway they would be willing to look for it for me. Although he's originally from Long Island, he responded like a true Brooklynite: "we can probably find it." I was shocked.....it was a huge warehouse.....the lady in Syracuse had assured me there was no way possible that the tracking number could ever be related to a route or a truck, although everything I knew about freight and trucking told me otherwise. He came back a minute later an calmly told me the tracking number was invalid, I must have missed a digit....which wasn't a shock since I was in a state when I left the house. He was nice enough for me to look up the correct number in my email.

While he did this, I joined the car service driver and several other DHL guys (Jose Luis, Hector, and Kenny) on the curb to update them. The car service driver had already told them that I was totally bereft over this package. I told them all the package contained something important that we needed so we can share Brooklyn Fudge with Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the rest of the Americas. In true Brooklyn style, they immediately wanted to help. "What was the address, what was the zip, oh yeah that had to be that route..." Brian appeared with the real package seconds later.

These guys renewed my faith! It reminded me that I'm lucky enough to live in the "we can do it" capital of the world, Brooklyn, NY, where people will really stick up for you and have your back. Just like when I left my cell phone on the B69 bus, and the bus driver saved it, and I got to go down to the Jackie Gleason Bus Depot (also in Sunset Park) and meet all the folks down there to get it. Not having a phone for a couple of days or not getting a package the day I needed it were gut wrenching experiences, but both reminded me yet again what Brooklyn is about, and who Brooklyn people are.

I'm proud to be an adopted Brooklynite, even though I'm a native Virginian, which is probably a good thing for the lady in Syracuse. A native Brooklyn woman would "want to strangle huh."

See everybody at Tom's Diner tomorrow (782 Washington Avenue 11238)!

Feast on Brooklyn Fudge while you Feast Your Eyes on Brooklyn Interiors

Join us this Thursday (April 3) from 6pm - 8pm at Safe-T-Gallery (111 Front St. at Washington Street, suite 214, in DUMBO)for the opening of Larry Racioppo's "Brooklyn Interiors."

The spaces that fill Larry Racioppo’s photographs are always larger than any possible building that might enclose them. Whether it is the conscious majesty of the Loew’s King and Pitkin Theaters, now gone spectacularly to ruin, the blue collar universe inside the Furlong Tavern, or the scattered desks and chairs in a closed Catholic elementary school much like the one he attended a generation ago, his rooms contain an almost infinite number of lives and dreams -- all solidly encased within their painted, often peeling walls.“Brooklyn Interiors” is the result of years of seeking out and gaining access to those places where the physical bones of the city concentrate and clarify the elusive spirit that makes Brooklyn Brooklyn.

“Brooklyn Interiors” will be on exhibit from April 3 to May 11. For more information, call (718) 782-5920 or visit www.safetgallery.com.

Spreading the (Brooklyn) Fudge!

Come see me today at Tom’s Restaurant at 782 Washington Avenue in Prospect Heights! (We make Brooklyn Fudge at the kitchen at 766 Washington Avenue, and our office is next door at 768 Washington.) I will be at Ton's as I usually am most Saturdays, giving out samples of Brooklyn Fudge to people waiting on line. Have one of their legendary Egg Creams or Cherry Lime Rickies while you’re there. Comfort food always makes you feel better!

Tomorrow I’ll be going up to the Hudson Valley for Maple Weekend at Remsburger Maple Farm and Apiary. I met the Remsburger Family at the Chocolate Expo back in February, and thought they and their products were great. They often do events here in the city, and sell at the Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal Green Market. They make wonderful things such as Maple Cotton Candy, Maple Cream, and there will be a Pancake Breakfast and Maple Tree Tapping Demonstrations.

The Remsburgers have been maple farming in the Hudson Valley for several generations. I'm happy that people are turning away from industrial farming and really starting to support local farmers more and more now with the organic movement and the 100 mile diet.

Supporting local farmers and conserving the land is very important to me, because I grew up on a small farm that had been in my family for generations myself. Unfortunately, like much of the farmland within 50 – 75 miles of Washington DC, it is now a housing development. My heart will always be broken over this, but I do my best to find ways to transform tragedy and disaster into something positive whenever I can.

Much of the Virginia countryside around where I grew up has transformed into strip shopping centers and sub-divisions now, and we cannot bring that land back. But we can preserve farmland and countryside that has not been (over)developed yet. The way to do that is to support local farmers whenever you can by shopping at the Green Market, places you know source from local farmers, ordering from a CSA in your area, and getting involved with organizations like the Land Conservancy. This world sure could use more farms and fewer Chuck E. Cheeses!