Author: Mara L.

I haven’t yet made it back home to Italy this summer, so my food entries for Jens’ blog still come from Manhattan. And this time, for the first time, with a photo that I made pretty much without Jens’ help (other than “processing” it).

Today I’m not writing about a restaurant or recipe, but about a new discovery of mine, the “quark” – a dairy product from Austria (or is it Eastern Europe?) – from Vermont Butter & Cheese. According to their webpage, one of the founders learnt her cheese making crafts from traditional French farmers. Heartwarming for European expatriates, and a real find. The quark is excellent. It doesn’t taste quite like the European equivalent, mostly because it doesn’t have the same somewhat dry texture. A little softer and moister than the original. But perfect as it is.

Quark is what people in Austria use for cheese cake. Arguably, the best cheese cake in the world is made with quark. I shall soon try to make some with the Vermont Butter & Cheese quark, and will report back whether it works.

Anyway, quark is also the key ingredient for one of the most refreshing summer lunches. You need one container of quark, one or two lemons, a tea spoon of sugar, and lots of fruit. Strawberries, or a mix of berries, or peaches, apricots, and the like. Cut up the fruit, and squeeze some of it so that the juice seeps into the quark. Let it all rest for at least an hour in the fridge. That’s what we used to get for lunch as kids, when the summer days were getting too hot for anyone to cook during the day…

Vermont Butter & Cheese must be praised for giving a little bit of European flair to the summer in Manhattan, for those who seek it! They get my highest rating, five stars *****.

Diane Pernet is this month’s curator of the online store Not Just A Label––reason enough to click through their offerings. From the looks of it, I really like an apparently weightless and super-simple bag made from paper (here; not to be confused with a paper bag!), from a Munich designer, Saskiadiez. Isn’t that just what one needs, on one’s exhausting trips through the city?

A year ago or so, Jens sent me an email saying that Harlem now has a pizzeria that is quite like a place in Berlin. If you’ve ever been to Berlin, you’ll know that the subway runs partly underground, and partly on an elevated construction. Beautiful pre-war industrial architecture, and a great way to get a feel for the city.

And here’s the cultural analogy. In some strange and unexpected way, Harlem is like Eastern Berlin. The steel constructions of the Manhattan subway at 125th street are a place where you can perceive it. Sadness and the will to have fun. The presence of bygone times and the ubiquity of change. Something like that.

And what’s better than a great pizza place underneath these testimonials of modernist thought? The place in Berlin is called the Zwölf Apostel (Twelve Evangelists) in Mitte. Arguably, it’s a little bit touristy. But still, to be praised for reliably good pizza.

Anyway, back to Manhattan. I finally went to the place that Jens had mentioned: Covo Pizzeria, at Riverside Viaduct Drive and 135th. They serve a fine pizza, brick oven and everything. Thin, authentic, hearty. Everything comes on beautifully painted plates. You’ll almost forget that you didn’t make it to the Maremma this summer. Quite an achievement. Anyway, sitting there after a walk in Riverside Park will make you happy, and less homesick for Europe. For this, the place gets my high recommendation, four stars ****.