Welcome to

Zakary Pelaccio has four restaurants in New York City and Brooklyn, but the
flavors and textures come from 9,399 miles away.

At his Fatty Crab restaurants, Malaysian-inspired food is king. They use spices,
fermented condiments, chiles, and tons of coconut milk to build their unbelievable
flavors. And while the cuisine stays true to the Malaysian palate, the Fatty uses
ideas from other Southwest Asian cultures as well as western techniques to
accomplish some really amazing food. Along the way they support as many local
farmers and producers as possible. No small feat when cooking tropical cuisine
in a temperate climate.

Zak gives all the credit to his people.

A tight-knit core group of young, knowledgeable, energetic people is the crew
that makes these joints jump. And jump they do. A great mix of music, refined
cocktails, a wine list to match the food’s robust flavors all combine for an exhila-
rating time at the table.

But Zak’s not a one-trick pony. His interest in all things Malay is spilling over into
an Asian-inspired barbecue joint called Fatty ‘Cue. Opening in early 2010, this
outpost in Williamsburg, Brooklyn will surely become a ‘must go’ destination.

But, wait–that’s not all!

In Spanish, Cabrito means ‘kid goat’. In the West Village find the magenta goat
above the door and you’ll be moments away from the tastiest tacos around. Zak’s
partner in crime here is David Shuttenberg. David and his crew are masters of
marinated, spicy flavorful meats. Pork belly, al carbon, goat belly, al pastor, even
braised tongue fill house-made tortillas with run-down-your-arm goodness. (If this
sounds like a plug it’s because we can’t get enough of these little packets of joy.)

Good food. Good people. Good vibes. It is truly the Fatty Way.

You could call Patrick Martins a mover and a shaker and you would be right.

After working in Italy to help launch Slow Food USA, he moved back to helm
its national office. Mr. Martins was everywhere — founding the magazine for
Slow Food, writing the Slow Food Guide to New York Restaurants, Markets
and Bars, and still finds time to be the series’ editor for both Chicago and
Northern California Slow Food Guides. Patrick currently sits on the advisory
board for Slow Food USA with the title of Founder.

Taking slow food a step further, Patrick founded Heritage Foods USA with his
business partner, Todd Wickstrom. Their goal is to help farmers market their
artisan foods and to provide an alternative to industrial agriculture.

They are doing a great job.

The Heritage Turkey Project, which helped double the population of heritage
turkeys in the United States and upgraded the Bourbon Red turkey from “rare”
to “watch” status on conservation lists, was Heritage Foods USA’s first foray
into saving American food traditions.

In 2004 it became an independent company (from Slow Food) dedicated to
saving not only turkeys but also Native American foods, pigs, sheep, bison,
cows, reef-net salmon, goats and all breeds of food livestock.

And, if that wasn’t enough, Patrick started the Heritage Radio Network.

The studio is in a recycled shipping container in Bushwick, Brooklyn behind
Roberta’s. (this restaurant is quickly moving to the head of the “best pizza”
line — you have to check them out) On the radio one can hear people like
Zak Pelaccio, (Fatty Crab) and Anne Saxelby (Saxelby Cheesemongers)
talk about their current food obsessions.

Patrick is all about fighting the good fight, and it looks like he’s winning.

Last year, at Thanksgiving time, we were given an incredible opportunity.
Beth Hauptle from Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) asked us to document
an event in which her organization was involved in New York City.

Animal Welfare Approved is a non-profit organization that goes out into the
field and verifies the conditions under which a farm’s animals are being raised.
Earning an approval from AWA means the animal was raised humanely and in
a sustainable way, on a family farm, with animal welfare at the core of their
program. To quote Robert Kennedy, Jr., “Animal Welfare Approved is the
gold standard for how animals should be taken care of.”

AWA teamed with The Community Kitchen at the Food Bank for New York City,
Heritage Foods USA, the Greenmarket of New York City and Good Shepherd
Turkey Ranch located near Lindsborg, Kansas to provide a unique Thanksgiving feast.

On Wednesday, November 26, 2008, over eight hundred clients of the Food Bank
were fed a hot, delicious Thanksgiving banquet. The meal featured donated locally
grown, organic vegetables and humanely-raised, heritage turkeys from the
aforementioned Good Shepherd Turkey Ranch.

Work had begun two days earlier with Executive Chef Zak Palaccio (known for
his NYC restaurants, Fatty Crab and 5 Ninth) and Executive Chef David
Schuttenberg (Cabrito, NYC) helming a troop of unpaid volunteers generously
donating their time. The team peeled vegetables, ‘pre-roasted’ the turkeys and
set the stage for what was a genuine, shared experience.

Nathan Gross, Head Chef at the Food Bank, coordinated the workflow in the
kitchen as he spoke to us about the people enjoying the meal he helped prepare.

“These folks can’t afford to go to a good restaurant, but there is no reason we can’t
bring a good restaurant to them. They say to me, ‘Chef, this is delicious.’ That’s all
the thanks I need.”

It never ceases to amaze us how generous food people are with their time,
talent and energy. To learn more about this special day and the amazing people
who made it possible, click on the video below.

Animals play a huge role at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture and
the man responsible for all of it is Craig Haney. Sheep, pigs, chickens, turkeys,
rabbits, even honeybees are cared for by Craig and his staff.

Working directly with Chef Dan Barber, who helms both Blue Hill at Stone Barns
and Blue Hill Restaurant in Manhattan, Haney knows very well what ‘top quality’
means. One bite at either restaurant will tell you that.

His intuitive feel for the animals and their needs is evident. Pastured and
(almost) pampered, the system at SBCFFAA treats animals the way they are
supposed to be treated. And it shows. It’s almost as if Craig’s charges know
him on sight. If all the animals had names, Haney would surely know each
and every one of them. This guy really cares about what he’s doing.

Shot at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, New York.

3-Corner Field Farm is located four hours north of New York City, near the
border of Vermont. Karen Weinberg, husband Paul Borghard, along with
daughters Emily and Zoe, raise lambs and sheep with the animal’s quality
of life their highest priority. And of all the well laid out farms in the region,
3-Corner has to be near the top. This is a beautiful farm and these people
are doing a great job.

When she’s not moving sheep or building fence (when is that, exactly?), she’s
making wonderful French-style sheep’s milk cheeses. The list of cheeses she
has mastered continues to grow. Her stand at the Union Square Greenmarket
on most Saturdays is crowded with fans of her lamb, her cheese and her smile.

It would be difficult to find two more unlikely pig farmers than these two.
But if the opinions of their fans from the New York City Greenmarket and
many well known city chefs count for anything, they are doing just fine.
Flying Pigs Farm is generally acknowledged as one of the best pork producers
around. Their secret? Rare heritage breed pigs raised in a humane way. Open
pasture and woods, clean food, spring water and low stress produces meat
far superior to most. Not only are they producing a great product, they are
preserving these rare breeds of our porcine friends.

This was shot on and around their farm in the Battenkill River Valley and NYC.

In southwest Missouri, Rick Hopkins is producing fresh, healthy meat that has
been written about by Marian Burros in The New York Times. His company,
American Pasturage, is in the forefront of pastured meat. Most ranchers who
are engaged in grass fed products, see themselves as “grassfarmers”. The
thought being that if you raise good, healthy grass and let your animals graze
on it–the cycle will take care of itself. And it does. The delicious beef, lamb,
and veal that is the result of his hard wok, humane practices and attention
to detail have people buying out his farmers market stand in less than an hour
on most Saturdays. The good news? You can order his tasty products online.

Watch his story that was shot in Missouri.

In southwestern Missouri, Kip Glass is raising meat the right way — on grass. His
processed chickens, turkeys, pigs and cows are scooped up at the local farmers
market every Saturday in Springfield. Loyal customers have learned to line up
early to to avoid being disappointed when he sells out completely. Which he does
on a fairly regular basis. His brand, Raised Right Meats, is being held up as an
example of animal husbandry done in a superior way — and the taste of his
products prove it. The methods Kip is using to care for the land and raise his
animals not only make environmental sense, but more and more makes business
sense as well.