The French are madly debating whether their iconic cuisine should be enshrined as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, according to a story in yesterday’s Times. It seems that there’s concern that traditional French foods and agricultural methods are disappearing. To my mind, any cuisine, even French food, needs to make it on it’s own without resorting to becoming a museum piece.

That brings me to so-called New Brooklyn Cuisine (NBC). It seems that everyone is trying to define this new beast, according to New York Magazine. It’s alarming that food produced by mom and pop shops, which cater “to a clientele of idealistic gastronomes,” is thriving while French gastronomy is on the ropes.

In case you’re interested, here’s New York Mag’s definition of NBC:

“New Brooklyn Cuisine,” or NBC:

[NBC] has as its common denominator a very New York culinary sophistication melded with a wistfully agrarian passion for the artisanal, the sustainably grown, and the homespun… Practitioners tend to be mom-and-pop shops, in fact or feeling, and they cater to a clientele of idealistic gastronomes who quote Michael Pollan and split shares in the local CSA. There is often a whiff of the barnyard about these places.

Related posts:

1. North Fork, LI: Best French Toast
2. Bay Ridge, Brooklyn: Mambo Italiano
3. Brooklyn: Uncorked Brooklyn