It's Saturday all over again. Things have remained steady at Schnack over the last few days. We were closed Monday for Labor Day and then we ran a bit slow on Tuesday and Wednesday...but all of a sudden it's Saturday and we are. again, rather busy.
We are starting to see a lot of really regular faces, both young and old, early and late into the night. People have also started to discover how good our desserts our. We only have a few: a brownie with ice cream, and cheesecake. We usually have a bread pudding as well, and while it normally takes us 3-4 days to sell a batch, the last one went in 24 hours... if we have it when you come in, well, like we always say, "it's the best $3 dessert in Brooklyn."
Sunday, September 07, 2003
Sunday, August 31, 2003
Mike Daisey
Mike Daisey his wife, and some friends Schnacked out the other night, fresh from their trip to Edinburgh. Thanks Mike.
NY Mag
We certainly want to thank NY Mag for including us in the 100 Cheap Places to Eat in NYC. It was a great help to us in "getting the word out." Here is just one example of some people who checked us out because of the article.
"Anyways, I'd picked up a copy of New York magazine at the airport, which had an article for "100 Great Meals under $25." One, Schnack, touted these tiny burgers that (a) definitely rival White Castle in terms of taste-for-the-size and (b) talked about homemade Orange Juliuses. When I hit Shan up with that bit of information, that was the clue-in for us to go.
It's down in Brooklyn, the corner of Union and Columbia (or very close to it).
Phenomenal food - we each ordered four burgers. Two of mine came with "Schnack sauce" (thousand island dressing with a lot of various spices thrown in, VERY good); we ordered the homemade onion rings and fries. The onion rings were lacking in batter, but that's what made them good. REALLY good.
We each had beer - Shan had one, I had two -- and that was enough to get us succinctly plowed and ready for bed."
"Anyways, I'd picked up a copy of New York magazine at the airport, which had an article for "100 Great Meals under $25." One, Schnack, touted these tiny burgers that (a) definitely rival White Castle in terms of taste-for-the-size and (b) talked about homemade Orange Juliuses. When I hit Shan up with that bit of information, that was the clue-in for us to go.
It's down in Brooklyn, the corner of Union and Columbia (or very close to it).
Phenomenal food - we each ordered four burgers. Two of mine came with "Schnack sauce" (thousand island dressing with a lot of various spices thrown in, VERY good); we ordered the homemade onion rings and fries. The onion rings were lacking in batter, but that's what made them good. REALLY good.
We each had beer - Shan had one, I had two -- and that was enough to get us succinctly plowed and ready for bed."
Cooking in Brooklyn
The word from Delicious Pictures, the producers of Cooking in Brooklyn, is that the show will now air in Jan 2004, I'm guessing as a mid-season replacement. This should also give them (and Alan) plenty of time to get the word out about the show.
Thursday, August 28, 2003
A Party
We had a nice party tonight for a Schnackie Fan, Sue, who had 20 of her friends join us for an all-you-can-eat-and-drink Schnackie and Jever fest in her honor.
We are also now serving a Dentergems and Grapefruit "cocktail," a refreshing and tasty combination of wheat beer, fresh grapefruit juice, and sugar.
DJ Zebra Blood got his picture on the cover of... GO Brooklyn. Not exactly "Rolling Stone," but we hope he sends a copy to his mother.
We are also now serving a Dentergems and Grapefruit "cocktail," a refreshing and tasty combination of wheat beer, fresh grapefruit juice, and sugar.
DJ Zebra Blood got his picture on the cover of... GO Brooklyn. Not exactly "Rolling Stone," but we hope he sends a copy to his mother.
Friday, August 22, 2003
Tuesday, August 19, 2003
Thanks Patty
Happy to be mentioned in Patty's bio. Patty is part of Picky Tooth and writes (in part) about herself, "she is currently infatuated with Jubilat kielbasa, onion rings from Red Hook's Schnack."
Monday, August 18, 2003
Turn Off Your Cell Phone
If the lights going out and having a banner weekend wasn't enough to keep us excited, we got a special surprise during Sunday primetime. Chris, who had recently shot an episode of Sex in the City, started getting phone calls. It turns out the episode aired! My online TV guide lists it as "No Shoes, No Service," but HBO's web site lists it as, "Episode 83, 'A Woman's Right to Shoes.' " His character has a restaurant interaction with "Samantha."
Late Sunday, Chris's buddy, Pablo Schreiber (better known as HBO The Wire's Nick Sobotka), and some other friends stopped by to help Chris celebrate.
Late Sunday, Chris's buddy, Pablo Schreiber (better known as HBO The Wire's Nick Sobotka), and some other friends stopped by to help Chris celebrate.
Friday, August 15, 2003
Wow
Where were you when the lights when out? We were Schnacking. We pulled the tables out on the sidewalk and we cooked until the sun went down. We didn't cook that many meals, but we certainly helped some people who otherwise didn't have a place to eat. Interesting as well, a number of families used Schnack as their emergency meeting place. The griddle wasn't working but we cranked up the charbroiler and turned out the most amazing Schnackies!
Today, Friday, we got power back early and we didn't lose too much "stuff." We did lose some fish and ice cream. I hit the food warehouse early, which got its power back at 4:30am. I found them stocked to the gills and mostly empty of people, so I loaded up on everything we would need for the weekend. It turns out that was a good thing With many people taking the day off, Friday was one of our busiest days ever.
Today, Friday, we got power back early and we didn't lose too much "stuff." We did lose some fish and ice cream. I hit the food warehouse early, which got its power back at 4:30am. I found them stocked to the gills and mostly empty of people, so I loaded up on everything we would need for the weekend. It turns out that was a good thing With many people taking the day off, Friday was one of our busiest days ever.
Pacifico Bar
I can confirm that Pacifico Bar at 269 Pacific Street (at the Corner of Smith and Pacific, Brooklyn), will be opening this Wednesday the 20th for dinner, and opening for lunch starting Saturday the 23rd. I stopped by to check on their progress and it's looking really HOT!
Tuesday, August 12, 2003
Wow, 8 days or so since the last entry. 8 busy Schnack filled days.
How fast can you eat a Schnackie? How about 8 of them? Some of the folks who are working on the rebuild of the Manhattan Bridge bought 170 Schnackies the other day and had a contest to find out. The winner ate 8 of them in 6 minutes.
Zack, our single best customer (based on a 2 or 3 times a day Schnack habit), who has departed for a job in Maine, after eating dinner and having a few drinks managed to do 7 in 6 minutes as well.
The Red Rail has closed, although rumored to be reopening as a bar; we picked up a small amount of brunch business from them (we think).
Pacifico Bar, a new venture on 269 Pacific Street, will be opening in the next week or so. Think Mexican food and drink!
How fast can you eat a Schnackie? How about 8 of them? Some of the folks who are working on the rebuild of the Manhattan Bridge bought 170 Schnackies the other day and had a contest to find out. The winner ate 8 of them in 6 minutes.
Zack, our single best customer (based on a 2 or 3 times a day Schnack habit), who has departed for a job in Maine, after eating dinner and having a few drinks managed to do 7 in 6 minutes as well.
The Red Rail has closed, although rumored to be reopening as a bar; we picked up a small amount of brunch business from them (we think).
Pacifico Bar, a new venture on 269 Pacific Street, will be opening in the next week or so. Think Mexican food and drink!
Tuesday, August 05, 2003
It would be an understatement to say that the last 3 weeks at Schnack have been busy. There are a lot of things I have wanted to mention here but haven't had the time.
1) Our friends who traveled into Canada reported back saying French Fries there are served with a beef gravy. We will probably try a pork gravy based on the "jus" from our garlic roasted pork sometime this fall.
2) Mike had an urge the other night and brought in a bunch of pork ribs which he braised and then almond crusted; they sold almost as well as the blueberry hotcakes we have been running for breakfast!
3) Many thanks to the Schnack softball team, although they didn't win their playoffs they were all big winners in our book for both their love and devotion to the game and of course to post-game PBR's.
4) We have catered a few parties in the last few weeks and that has gone well; special thanks to David and Company who we did our first catering job for.
5) So many other people I'd like to thank; the most important are those who have come in when we are really busy and who have been happy and relaxed enough to sit back, enjoy a cold beer or milkshake, and wait for all of their food to be cooked to order!
6) Also a big Schnack thank you to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle which ran a full-sized broadsheet page on us, me and my partners, and some of their various Brooklyn eateries we are associated with.
7) Huge thanks to the owners and staff at Bagels by the Park (323 Smith) who have been so supportive in the last year of everything we have done!
1) Our friends who traveled into Canada reported back saying French Fries there are served with a beef gravy. We will probably try a pork gravy based on the "jus" from our garlic roasted pork sometime this fall.
2) Mike had an urge the other night and brought in a bunch of pork ribs which he braised and then almond crusted; they sold almost as well as the blueberry hotcakes we have been running for breakfast!
3) Many thanks to the Schnack softball team, although they didn't win their playoffs they were all big winners in our book for both their love and devotion to the game and of course to post-game PBR's.
4) We have catered a few parties in the last few weeks and that has gone well; special thanks to David and Company who we did our first catering job for.
5) So many other people I'd like to thank; the most important are those who have come in when we are really busy and who have been happy and relaxed enough to sit back, enjoy a cold beer or milkshake, and wait for all of their food to be cooked to order!
6) Also a big Schnack thank you to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle which ran a full-sized broadsheet page on us, me and my partners, and some of their various Brooklyn eateries we are associated with.
7) Huge thanks to the owners and staff at Bagels by the Park (323 Smith) who have been so supportive in the last year of everything we have done!
Saturday, August 02, 2003
We had a discussion today about the financial requirements for building a second location; we will have to raise some $$, but it looks like we are well on our way to gaining a second Schnack location. Also, potentially on the drawing board is some type of truck that can sell Schnack at street fairs and do catering at birthday parties and such!
Friday, August 01, 2003
Tuesday, July 29, 2003
At Night
Sometimes it takes more than 3 tries to get something right. On our 6th attempt our latest Thursday PM "Schnack at Night" really took off. Although mostly still populated by friends and co-workers of DJ Zebra Blood, the room was full and I think everyone was happy we abandoned $1 hot dogs for the "full menu." In fact, we have been getting more and more post-11pm business since we are now open every night til 1am.
What else is new? The press we received from NY Mag has really had a great impact and we are even getting people traveling from outside of Brooklyn (e.g., Manhattan, Queens and LI).
What else is new? The press we received from NY Mag has really had a great impact and we are even getting people traveling from outside of Brooklyn (e.g., Manhattan, Queens and LI).
Thursday, July 24, 2003
Schnack Invasion
Since New York Mag has said such nice things about us, we have been busy. Yesterday we stopped doing deliveries and some take-outs so we could concentrate on keeping the quality of our cooked-to-order food top notch!
We also had a visit from Mary Schnack (from AZ) and a contingent of Brooklyn Schnacks! Many thanks again to Todd who has linked to us from his web site, www.schnack.com
Are you a Schnack? Got ID? Get a free Beer! (Must be 21 or older and visit our "famous" Red Hook location ;) )
We also had a visit from Mary Schnack (from AZ) and a contingent of Brooklyn Schnacks! Many thanks again to Todd who has linked to us from his web site, www.schnack.com
Are you a Schnack? Got ID? Get a free Beer! (Must be 21 or older and visit our "famous" Red Hook location ;) )
Monday, July 21, 2003
New York Mag
Try searching for Schnack here.. an nice review and a great picture by Ken Chen.
or find us on this page..
They write: "Screw Mickey D’s. we ought to sue the pants off Alan Harding before we burst another seam. At his kitschy new burger joint, he’s created a kind of fantasy-junk-food camp for middle-aged Augustus Gloops. Just look at the evidence: the Schnäckie, Harding’s take on the slider. Cute name. Only 1.5 ounces of freshly ground beef on a house-baked minibun. Seems harmless enough, right? Wrong. You’ll want twelve, minimum. Need more proof? How about spicy fries, big fat onion rings, eight kinds of hot dogs and kielbasa, and a homemade Orange Julius for chrissakes, and nothing over eight bucks? And Schnäck’s Asian-inspired idea of diet food? Crazy-sounding specials like knockwurst and bacon in a Japanese coconut-curry sauce with rice. C’mon. If that’s not a class-action lawsuit waiting to happen, we don’t know what is."
or find us on this page..
They write: "Screw Mickey D’s. we ought to sue the pants off Alan Harding before we burst another seam. At his kitschy new burger joint, he’s created a kind of fantasy-junk-food camp for middle-aged Augustus Gloops. Just look at the evidence: the Schnäckie, Harding’s take on the slider. Cute name. Only 1.5 ounces of freshly ground beef on a house-baked minibun. Seems harmless enough, right? Wrong. You’ll want twelve, minimum. Need more proof? How about spicy fries, big fat onion rings, eight kinds of hot dogs and kielbasa, and a homemade Orange Julius for chrissakes, and nothing over eight bucks? And Schnäck’s Asian-inspired idea of diet food? Crazy-sounding specials like knockwurst and bacon in a Japanese coconut-curry sauce with rice. C’mon. If that’s not a class-action lawsuit waiting to happen, we don’t know what is."
Sunday, July 20, 2003
We had a fairly busy Saturday, but since more and more of our business is coming in later and later in the day, we have changed our hours again. We hope and expect to keep these hours through the end of the summer and then evaluate things at that point once we get firmly into the fall.
Our new hours are 11am to 1am (that's when the kitchen is open and accepting orders). Last call will be at 1:30 and we will close at 2am.
Many thanks to KG for coming in and ordering 12 Schnackies to go, and inviting the Schnack crew to his party.
Our new hours are 11am to 1am (that's when the kitchen is open and accepting orders). Last call will be at 1:30 and we will close at 2am.
Many thanks to KG for coming in and ordering 12 Schnackies to go, and inviting the Schnack crew to his party.
Friday, July 18, 2003
Last night was our first @ Night party on Thursdays. It was more popular than those we had on Saturdays. Mostly, however, friends and fans of DJ Zebra Blood.. We will continue the parties throughout the summer.
Starting Sunday our hours will be from 11am to 2am, with the kitchen open from 11am to 1am, last call at 1:30am.
It's a bit of a long shot but we are working on a hot dog eating contest. We will require that the dogs actually be eaten!
Starting Sunday our hours will be from 11am to 2am, with the kitchen open from 11am to 1am, last call at 1:30am.
It's a bit of a long shot but we are working on a hot dog eating contest. We will require that the dogs actually be eaten!
Thursday, July 10, 2003
The final decision has been made. Starting July 20th, we are changing our hours... Currently we are open from 10am to 11pm. After July 20th we will try staying open a lot longer into the evening and see if people continue to come in. We will open at 11am and the kitchen will stay open til 1am, last call at 1:30, and we will close at 2am. If it works we will stay open like that throughout the year.
Friday, July 04, 2003
More tidbits:
Alan's TV show, formerly known as "The Real Food Show," is now known as "Cooking in Brooklyn." I have to update the website with the new show name.
The "Schnack Partners" met on Thursday to review our status after almost 3 months in business. Things have been good and steady. Our current plan, however, is to nearly abandon breakfast and concentrate on the late night crowd which is the most growing part of our business. We have a lot of plans to work out and we have to communicate this to the team, but our current plans are by mid-July to be open and taking orders from from 11am to 1am, with the dining room closing at 1:30am. On Thursdays the dining room will remain open later with Schnack at Night.
After more work by Mike and a taste test by Zack (who said he liked both of them), we have replaced our "old" curry mix with a new one. It starts off sweet and ends up spicy and it goes with everything! At 50 cents for 2 oz. it's a "bargain!"
Curry Burgers
Turkey Curry
Curry Knockwurst
Curry Tofu Ruben
Curry Veg Plate
Curry and Fries
You get the idea!
Alan's TV show, formerly known as "The Real Food Show," is now known as "Cooking in Brooklyn." I have to update the website with the new show name.
The "Schnack Partners" met on Thursday to review our status after almost 3 months in business. Things have been good and steady. Our current plan, however, is to nearly abandon breakfast and concentrate on the late night crowd which is the most growing part of our business. We have a lot of plans to work out and we have to communicate this to the team, but our current plans are by mid-July to be open and taking orders from from 11am to 1am, with the dining room closing at 1:30am. On Thursdays the dining room will remain open later with Schnack at Night.
After more work by Mike and a taste test by Zack (who said he liked both of them), we have replaced our "old" curry mix with a new one. It starts off sweet and ends up spicy and it goes with everything! At 50 cents for 2 oz. it's a "bargain!"
Curry Burgers
Turkey Curry
Curry Knockwurst
Curry Tofu Ruben
Curry Veg Plate
Curry and Fries
You get the idea!
Thursday, July 03, 2003
Pictures
Over the last few weeks we have been taking pictures of people at Schnack. They will be posted soon on the main site!! Keep reading here for details!
Super big Schnack thanks to Todd Schnack who just put a link to our site on his site, http://www.schnack.com/
Schnack At Night
DJ Zebra Blood and I decided that Saturday nights are not working for Schnack at this point. So we are going to try moving Schnack at Night to Thursday. So starting July 17th we will be open on Thursday nights from 11:30pm to 2:00am.....the same music, beer, and dogs!
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