Umami Mart

Tonight is the first night of Passover, and the first of two seders this week. Enjoy that gefilte fish! (If you’re lucky, yours will be made of salmon like the one above). Photo by Erin Gleeson.

It was fascinating to see these etrogs for sale this week in Midwood– people bring out card tables into the street and sell them between $3 to $40, depending on their scent, and whether or not they have blemishes or stems. It seemed that the more expensive ones were more “kosher”, or approved by stricter […]

Happy New Year! Rosh Hashana is this Wednesday and Thursday and is the beginning of the Hebrew calendar. It also kicks off the Jewish high holidays (or holy days). As a way of sweetening the year ahead, apples and honey are eaten; and instead of baking a regular loaf of challah, loaves are baked round […]

Gotta love a holiday where everyone gets together to eat blintzes and cheesecake! That’s just what people do on Shavuot, a Jewish holiday that happened recently. I made this still life about the dairy inspired meal that is traditionally eaten on this day.

During the Seder dinner on the Jewish holiday of Passover (which was a couple weeks back), the bible story of the Jews fleeing slavery in Egypt is read. As the story progresses, foods are eaten that represent different parts of the story. This is a photo I took of the items that go on a […]

I am working on a new series of still life photos based on meals eaten on different Jewish holidays. This photo represents Tu B’Shevat, a holiday in late winter when, in anticipation of spring, it is tradition to eat 15 different kinds of fruit, nuts and grains. Tu B’shevat is also known as the celebration […]

Umamimart finally relaunched last month. We made it! It’s now, I hope, faster and easier to navigate for ya’ll– and of course, so much prettier. Although we’re still tirelessly trying to work out the kinks, I think this move marks a new era for Umamimart. Heck Yah! To celebrate, I made a pitstop to NYC […]

HELLO NEW YORKERS!

So I always said that when the big relaunch finally (finally!) happened, I would have a big party in NYC, no matter where I was in the world. It’s where it all started! Without NYC, there would be no Umamimart– you better believe it. So I’m COMING!

After lots of deliberation, it has been decided to hold the big bash at the one and only Sammy’s Roumanian Steakhouse. Saturday February 20, 9pm. Pencil it in please!

Sukkot is my new favorite holiday. During this week-long Jewish harvest holiday we built a sukkah in our backyard in Brooklyn and invited friends over to eat in it with us nearly every night. We decorated the sukkah with gords and pumpkins and dried corn. According to tradition, the sukkah had 3 walls and a […]

Preface:Loisaida Throwback Crawl: Kossar’s BialyLoisaida Throwback Crawl: Doughnut PlantLoisaida Throwback Crawl: Pickle BattleLoisaida Throwback Crawl: Vanessa’s Dumpling HouseLoisaida Throwback Crawl: Russ & Daughters For our final destination on our whirlwind 7-stop Lower East Side food extravaganza, we went to (where else?) THE FAMOUS Katz’s Deli. It’s been around since 1888, and every few years there […]