When I first started this ethnographic study, I knew one thing: if my group was dividing the study based on the five senses, then I definitely did not want taste. Why? I thought it was too easy. Too simple of a task: eat some food and write about it. I wanted sight or sound…or even touch. I wanted to dig deeper. I soon recognized how narrow minded I was being. When I realized the many possibilities of food culture, I felt an a surge of excitement. I was ready to begin an ethnographic study of taste in Downtown Brooklyn.
I had only been living in Brooklyn for five months when I was presented with this neighborhood ethnographic study project. At first, my mind immediately thought of Astoria, Queens as a potential area of focus. However, upon considering the logistical issues of studying a neighborhood so far uptown, I put that idea to bed. It was Rochelle who first proposed Downtown Brooklyn–specifically the environment surrounding the Barclays center–as an area of study. I was immediately on board. Every time I tell someone I live in Brooklyn, they immediately ask about my location in regards to the Barclays Center. Every time I go home to Long Island, my train stops at Atlantic Ave-Barclays Center. I remember many years ago, when my sister–an undergraduate Architecture major–excitedly told my dad about plans to construct an large entertainment center in Brooklyn. Jay Z was to play a role in the center’s construction–he was even taking steps to move the New Jersey Nets to Brooklyn. Years later, as a student at Brooklyn College, the idea of studying the area surrounding the Barclays Center excited me. I wanted to consider the effects of the center’s construction on the neighborhood–especially in regards to taste.
My first trip to our neighborhood of study was very overwhelming. There were so many restaurants. And I felt compelled to analyze each one. I tried to organize my thoughts into questions to be answered: Is there a prevalence of chain stores over mom-and-pop? What is the importance of taste in defining the culture of Downtown Brooklyn? How does taste interrelate with the other senses? And as part of my own self-reflection, what are the depths of my sensory acuity? After going into the field and taking notes and pictures, I ultimately aimed to answer these questions.
My second trip to our neighborhood of study was more productive and generally more successful. I started with an ethnographic study of the Atlantic Mall. I exited the 2 train and made my way up the stairs, through the doors to the Atlantic Mall. Immediately upon looking up, I read the words “4 levels of shopping and dining” and prepared myself to see many fine mom-and-pop restaurants. I now realize that was a little naive of me. The Atlantic Mall is first and foremost a shopping center, and the food places within the mall were chosen accordingly (ex. McDonald’s, Target, Cold Stone Creamery, Subway, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Applebee’s). The restaurants were burgeoning with ethnically diverse crowds of all ages. The presence of the chain stores in the mall made perfect sense. First of all, only a franchise could afford to open up in this mall. Secondly, a mall environment is where chain restaurants thrive. I would say the biggest surprise of my ethnographic study of the Atlantic Mall was the lack of fresh grocery items in Target…that and the absence of a pizzeria.
My third trip to our neighborhood of study focused on the areas surrounding the Barclays Center. I walked outside the Atlantic Mall and moved to the Barclays center nearby. Surprisingly, I did not see many food places in the immediate vicinity of the sports center. My observations were limited to Stop&Shop, Shake Shack, and Don Chingon. I walked past the Barclays Center and started down Fourth Avenue. Again, my observations of taste were limited to two Chinese restaurants across the street from one another. One restaurant was halal and the other was not. It was interesting to consider how the food preferences of different religious groups are accommodated in the neighborhood. On the corner of Fourth Avenue and Bergen Street, I observed a small cafe selling a splendid variety of sandwiches. As I stopped to photograph the colorful chalkboard menu, a man approached me and said “What’s up little girl?” What I assumed would be an uncomfortable exchange between myself and a store owner turned out to be a very pleasant conversation between myself and a longtime resident of the neighborhood. My excitement in interviewing this man caused the idea of recording it to escape my mind. Shortly after the interview, I hurriedly wrote down my account of the exchange. I included it below…
“What’s up little girl?”
“I’m doing a study on taste in this neighborhood”
“Oh really? Well, what have you tried so far?”
“This is preliminary. Nothing yet. Though, I saw those Chinese restaurants over there.”
“See the no pork one. Thats new. I tried it. Its good.”
“Which Chinese restaurant would you say is better.”
“Well it depends. Do you want pork or not. One has no pork. The other does. But if you’re studying food…there’s no restaurants over here. Go over to Atlantic Ave…everything is halal. Go over to fifth avenue. You got sushi over there. You got key foods. And artichoke pizza. And Mexican.”
“I will. So, would you say these restaurants are new?”
“Yes. They recently popped up. See this sandwich shop. It used to be a Mexican cafe.”
“Oh really. How long ago would you say?”
“Hmm. Five years ago.”
“Would you say these new restaurant openings are related to the opening of the Barclays Center?”
Man looks skeptically. “No. Go down on fifth ave. So many places to eat. So many places hiring.”
Man turns to answer ringing phone. I end the conversation.
“Thank you so much. Have a nice day.”
From this conversation I made certain conclusions. Taste is extremely important in defining the culture of a community. Downtown Brooklyn is no exception. Secondly, the Barclays Center is not responsible for the surge of restaurants in the area. And there are many, many restaurants in the area, especially on Fifth Avenue. I realized that my expectation of seeing many mom-and-pop restaurants was very wrong. An article by WNYC entitled “Questions Linger on Whether the Barclays Center is Good For Brooklyn Business” asserted that although many “restaurants saw a surge in customers” others were unable to “keep up with rising rents” and were thus, forced to “close their doors.” Reading this article led me to further suspect that the existing mom-and-pop shops in the area are the ones that were immensely successful, so much so that they turned into chain stores themselves. Among these mom-and-pop shop turned chain store was Bastille’s Artichoke Pizza and Ample Hills Creamery. These food stores are immensely popular and for good reason. Excellent food—specifically excellent pizza and ice cream—seem to unite the neighborhood as both a gathering place and a source of identity—food identity.
