Category Archives: History

July 22, 2014 · 6:58 pm

Publication: Morsels on Morse in The Washington Post

Please ring bell door sign

This sign inspired the lede of my article. Photo by moi.

My article in this week’s Washington Post Food section opens:

A sign on the door of Best Kitchen Supply on Morse Street NE asks patrons to press a buzzer to get in, but regulars know the truth: The door is rarely locked. Within, they find more insider secrets in the form of kitchen treasures of every kind, their prices as inviting as the open door….

You can read the full article online now and catch it in tomorrow’s print edition.

What a fun process this was–really an excuse to bum around some of my favorite shops in D.C. and pick the minds and hearts of the people in them. I focused on three places: Best Kitchen Supply, A. Litteri, and Afrik International Market. I both hope and worry that these morsels on Morse won’t stay a secret for long.

My reporting, as well as my 11-year history as a shopper of Florida Avenue Market businesses, all come together in this piece, and will be tested by readers in the online chat. Tune in to Free Range on Food on Wednesday, 7/23, at noon. I’ll share the virtual Q&A with, among others, a 10-year-old chef-to-be.

Thanks, as always, for reading!

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April 8, 2013 · 12:11 pm

We’re All Videofreex a success

This past weekend, I waxed nostalgic about a time before I was born. I was attending the event We’re All Videofreex at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, honoring the video collective that ran on creativity, activism, and my father’s ability to solder together errant wires. The legacy of early video and other dissident media set the stage for our landscape today. I’m proud to claim roots in both the past and present.

Read more about it and see images on the Videofreex website. And check out more on the Videofreex members and panelists at the We’re All Videofreex Tumblr.

Video by Rhea

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November 13, 2012 · 8:42 am

Full plates and holiday helpings

People in the Gallaudet Marketplace

Food Day activities overlap with lunchtime at the Marketplace cafeteria at Gallaudet. Photo by Rhea.

The nine students in my class “D.C. Farmers Markets: Apples and Access” took part in a packed Food Day celebration on the Gallaudet University campus in late October. I neglected to post about Food Day, unfortunately, thanks to the election hullabaloo. Quick recap: Barack Obama won with a final count of 332 electoral votes. (Mitt Romney won, too). The House and Senate retained their majorities.

Though I am not sure of the number of Hope Springs Farm cheese cubes or tiny cups of Kauffman’s cider we distributed on October 24, I do know that the fundraiser we launched that day will bring in $674 through online giving, checks, and a doubling pledge by Gallaudet President T. Alan Hurwitz. The funds will support the Holiday Helpings program at Bread for the City, a service center serving D.C. residents. It is an organization that I might have a tiny professional crush on. Continue reading →

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June 25, 2012 · 12:14 pm

A great week for Freex

Videofreex in the garden at Maple Tree Farm

Videofreex stand in the garden at Maple Tree Farm, with the author’s father standing second from left. Special thanks to Jon Nealon for providing this photo.

The Jew and the Carrot recently published a piece I wrote about my father and food, “The Unlikely Beginnings of a Jewish Cook“. Overall, this has been a great week for the Videofreex. In addition to my piece, in the past seven days news and conversations have appeared in the Woodstock Times and Muff’s Modules and More. Not bad for a small group that made their last tape more than 30 years ago. Perhaps best of all, yesterday the upcoming documentary Here Come the Videofreex hit full funding.

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May 31, 2012 · 9:55 am

Fifteen grand for the Videofreex

Imagine what you could buy for $15,000 back in 1971. Would it cover a new car? Some high-end electronic equipment? Definitely the rent for the Lanesville, NY house where my father moved in that year with a group of video-making colleagues who called themselves The Videofreex.

Today, 15 grand is what filmmakers Jon Nealon and Jenny Raskin need to raise to finish their documentary film Here Come the Videofreex and restore Freex tape. The history it will cover has fascinated me lately. I’m not the only one. Check out the Kickstarter page to learn more and support this far-reaching work.

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