Brooklyn Bridge turns 125 - Buy some gum!

This Memorial Day Weekend, New York is celebrating the 125th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge. Congratulations, Bridge!

Our contribution to the big celebration is to let everyone know that the iconic Brooklyn Chewing Gum (ubiquitous in the tabacchi of Italy) can be purchased in Brooklyn, and at a great shop - Stinky Bklyn. This wonderful cheese store on Smith Street not only carries the gum for $1.50 a pack, but an impressive variety of Italian cheeses (brescianelle stagionata anyone?). You'll find both the common and rare at Stinky Bklyn, as well as a lot of advice on cheeses and wines to drink them with.

Check out Stinky Bklyn:
261 Smith Street @ DeGraw
www.stinkybklyn.com

A purveyor of Tuscan Ricotta in Williamsburg

The folks behind Lunetta, a Tuscan restaurant in Boerum Hill, have launched Salvatore Bklyn Ricotta. Betsy Devine, a sous chef at the the restaurant, along with Rachel Mark, studied ricotta making in Tuscany from a cheese maker in the tower-filled town of San Gimignano.

Devine and Mark make their ricotta using local cow's milk mixed with whey (the Tuscan version uses only whey). The milk is heated, curdled, mixed with lemon juice, then drained. The result is a light and creamy cheese, different (and certainly more delectable!) than what you'll find at your local grocers. Try it with some good quality honey and you'll imagine you are in Tuscany. Also try a dollop over some pasta pomodoro or on bruschetta.

You'll find Salvatore Bklyn Ricotta for sale at Blue Apron in Park Slope, Stinky Bklyn on Smith St. in Carroll Gardens, and Marlow & Sons in Williamsburg. Starting in April, it will be sold at Brooklyn Flea, the large outdoor market in Fort Greene (Sundays through early fall starting April 6, at Lafayette and Vanderbilt Avenue. It's also on the menu at Lunetta, 116 Smith Street, between Smith and Dean in Boerum Hill.

Now mangia!