GoogaMooga, you tease! The beginning of our relationship held so much promise. You debuted with The Darkness, a magnificent treat that so many of your suitors couldn’t get off work early enough to see, a guitar shredder clad in David Lee Roth’s best zebra-striped jumpsuit doing handstands on the drum riser and wailing
falsetto. You wooed me with Mac and Cheese from Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, so creamy and dense, the word succulent comes to mind. And even if Wayne Coyne’s voice was ragged, the La Mamasita Arepa from Caracas Rockaway was crisp, chewy, oily-as-hell, and stuffed with grilled mushrooms and plantains and cheese. It’s true that the mushrooms got lost a bit in the jumble of tastes, but it was yummy all the same. I washed it down with a strange and tasty Chery and Basil soda from Brooklyn Soda Works and then watched Karen O leap and yawp across the stage like a maniac, all dressed in a collision of Liberace and Michael Jackson, grungy blues riffs turned into dance music and Brooklyn jumping about happily. Continue reading
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GoogaMooga: Ready, Set, Go.
Superfly Presents unleashes the Great GoogaMooga today. We’re psyched. Check out below the thoughts Superfly co-founder Kerry Black has on the grub at the festival.
Why combine a food festival with a music festival, and why is Brooklyn a good place to do so?
Put most simply, we love food and we love music! Together, the two are the perfect combination. We wanted to really celebrate everything that makes New York culture so amazing with GoogaMooga, and Brooklyn is a very obvious leader in both food and music. We’re New Yorkers who are always seeing shows and eating out, in Brooklyn in particular. Then to throw GoogaMooga in Prospect Park was our ideal. There is so much beauty and personality to that space.
How will this year’s GoogaMooga be different from last year’s?
We’re introducing Cafe GoogaMooga this year and three very cool Pop-Ups by April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman, Gabe Stulman and Roberta’s. The VIP Cocktail Experience is a new take on VIP with 10 different cocktail bars like Dead Rabbit Grocery and Grog, Clover Club, Pouring Ribbons, and Dutch Kills.
Any particular favorite vendors you’re looking forward to patronizing?
All of them, but let’s see…Roberta’s Ren Fair, Kasadels, Jeepney, and Baohaus.
Great GoogaMooga: Marcos Lainez from the El Olomega
Marcos Lainez’s family has been selling fresh Salvadoran food to hungry soccer players in 
Red Hook since 1988. Their signature snack is the pupusa, a stuffed corn pancake created by the Pipils Indians in the territory now demarcated as El Salvador, but they also turn out freshly fried plantain chips and atoll de elote, a hot drink made of yellow corn. Pupusas are similar to arepas or gorditas, except instead of regular corn dough, pupusas are prepared with nixtamal, a kind of corn flower that’s mixed with an alkaline solution that makes the nutrients more easily absorbed by the body. The Pipils (or their progenitors) figured this out around 2000 BC, using quicklime and ash. We asked Marcos about his pupusas, Brooklyn eats, and the weekend’s performers. We edited his answers a bit to fit the format.
What is Red Hook El Olomega Pupusas’ specialty?
Our specialty is the Pupusas. A pupasa is a traditional Salvadoran dish made by hand using traditional, non-additive corn flour. The main ingredient is pork & cheese but can be made of a variety of flavors, like beans & cheese and spinach & cheese. From our menu my favorite pupusa is a very traditional Loroco flower and cheese.
Why is Brooklyn a good place for El Olomega?
We have been in Brooklyn for over 20 years and the pupusa is still fairly unknown
here and in the U.S., but each day it is gaining popularity among a very wide group of people. Brooklyn is now a very diversified borough, and this is the time and place to let them know about this Salvadoran treat.
What band are you looking forward to hearing at GoogaMooga? What’s the best concert you’ve ever seen?
I am looking forward to hear the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I am not familiar with them, but had to give my friend a ticket because he has talked about them so much that I am very excited. Saturday and Sunday I expect to be very busy, so I will do a quick tour each day. Continue reading
Great GoogaMooga: Kelly Taylor from KelSo Beer Co.
Kelly's personal fave (photo courtesy of KelSo)
From vegan cupcakes we leap to beer, which, if you ask me, is not a bad leap to make, particularly if it’s the delicious Brooklyn-made brews from KelSo Beer. In fact, I think that a fairly good test of a local bar is whether or not it has KelSo IPA on tap; it’s a magical substance that tastes like someone waved a wand and turned a juicy grapefruit into a beer.
So there’s good news for beer lovers attending GoogaMooga, as KelSo will be serving up refreshing craft beverages all weekend long. Here’s more from KelSo brewer and co-owner Kelly Taylor on how he and his wife and business partner Sonya Giacobbe keep Brooklyners happy:
What is KelSo’s specialty and why is Brooklyn a good place for it?
Fresh, classic, and satisfying beers. The people of Brooklyn appreciate quality and freshness, and demand a lot in their local foods. In our beer, it doesn’t have to be a “blow to the head” to be appreciated.
What is your favorite beer of the moment?
Our nut brown lager. Great with food or alone. Malty/toasty/clean. Good to cook with as well. If not ours, I love the Captain Lawrence Freshchester pale ale. Very fruity and smooth.
What’s your favorite Brooklyn restaurant that’s still off most people’s radar?
I love love love al di la in Park slope. Always excellent food. Down the street and known for great beer but lesser known for great sandwiches is Bierkraft. Truly amazing. Continue reading
Great GoogaMooga: Aimee Follette from Sun In Bloom
The vegan chocolate peanut butter cupcake from Sun In Bloom that I just demolished
The Great GoogaMooga is upon us! With concerts ranging from The Flaming Lips to Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, the food and music fest promises to draw the hungry hordes to Brooklyn this weekend. So that you can properly prepare to get your grub on, we’re running some profiles of the vendors we’re most looking forward to as we count down to the festival.
Last year, GoogaMooga was heavy on the pork, but this year it’s aiming to please its vegetarian friends as well. Hoisting high the vegan banner is Park Slope’s Sun in Bloom. Here’s more from chef and owner Aimee Follette on community, massaged kale, and Radiohead:
If you look closely, you can see that they give a source for this quote. I think that's pretty cute.
What is Sun In Bloom’s specialty and why is Brooklyn a good place for it?
Sun In Bloom’s specialty is creating hand-crafted gluten-free vegan foods, made with some serious love, that can be enjoyed by everyone. I opened Sun In Bloom with the intention to introduce the healing power of food and how it truly can create a foundation for us all to experience our best life. My vision for Sun In Bloom being a community meeting place goes hand-in-hand with why people move to Brooklyn; they move to Brooklyn to be part of a strong community. I think generally, people have a strong desire to be healthy and are recognizing the food they eat will either make them feel good or make them feel sick.
What is your favorite dish of the moment?
As the chef of Sun In Bloom, I only create dishes that I really love. However, I do have an affinity towards our Bella Divine salad — kale massaged in a live (made from sprouted sunflower seeds) sesame ginger dressing, raw sauerkraut, dulse, and avocado. Continue reading