A Tea to Celebrate a Big Anniversary

The Republic of Tea was founded in 1992 and then acquired two years later by Ron Rubin, an entrepreneur who worked in the beer, wine and liquor business before starting a bottled beverage company. It’s called the Republic of Tea because some of the original owners also created the Banana Republic clothing company. Mr. Rubin…

A Precious Strawberry Drops Its Price

Bright local strawberries are showing up on farm stands and in the city’s Greenmarkets. Like the Hudson Valley and Long Island, New Jersey is a major source, but not just for seasonal field-grown fruit. A couple of indoor growers, Bowery Farming and Oishii, are cultivating them indoors with no seasonal limitations. They’re grown without pesticides…

Taste the Rainbow This Pride Month

June is Pride Month and to celebrate, the chefs Seleste Tan and Mogan Anthony — the owners of Lady Wong, an East Village bakery that specializes in Southeast Asian confections — offer a dazzling steamed Indonesian rainbow cake. The petite stack of thin, multicolored, slightly spongy gelatinous layers is meant to be eaten by peeling…

A Moment of Brightness

I’ve thought a lot about my children this week, as I think just about every parent in America has. They are life itself, and my life specifically. There were moments when I didn’t have much of an appetite, and other times when I went out of my way to cook because it was nice to…

Picnic Ideas Everyone Will Envy

Imagine a painting of a pastoral scene on a fair summer day, a splendid feast laid out, fine carpets for lounging and guests nibbling on carefully transported morsels — a proverbial picnic in the grass, with dogs and children at the edges. That’s one kind of picnic, but there are so many ways to picnic.…