FRIENDSHIP BBQ

On a super sunny and humid Sunday June afternoon, I ventured to Honey’s in Bushwick for FRIENDSHIP BBQ, a Vietnamese pop-up organized by Phoebe Tran and Sab Mai. Phoebe is the chef and founder of Bé Bếp Baby Kitchen and an urban farmer at Brooklyn Grange. Sab is a graphic designer, artist, musician, and founder of the band "No Vacation”.

In an ongoing quest to find a parallel between food and community, this pop-up at Honey’s epitomized New York's return to outdoor summer celebrations. Good food, good company. Keep an eye out for future pop-ups by Phoebe and Sab @bebep.babykitchen and @bodega.superstar 

*Consumed in the order as follows, sweet before savory*

I drank Vietnamese Iced Coffee and ate tangy, moist Banana Bread Pudding with hints of coconut and rum. 

Jackfruit Salad with Black Sesame Cracker was probably my favorite plate, crunchy and fresh: fried shallot, fried bean curd, peanuts, mint, mushroom, jicama, rau ram, sesame, radish and lime. 

The Grilled Rice Paper Pizza tasted simultaneously smokey, spicy, sour, and a little bit sweet. In a layered process--rice paper, egg, pork floss, dried shrimp, fried shallot, sriracha, and kewpie -- it was fascinating to watch this colorful plate materialize through its assembly process. 

Meatballs and Baguette with Fried Egg, was made of pork, jicama, tomato sauce, and garnished with cilantro, pickled carrot, and daikon. In everything I ate, there was a brightness and element of surprise from both visual cues and flavours. 

 — A Photo Essay by Lucia Bell-Epstein