Sweet Somethings #9

Alliums, a Greenpoint gem, a gripping memoir, and more

Jun 08, 2025

Hello and happy Sunday!

First, I want to say thank you for all the warmth in response to last week’s Dish about growing up on a boarding school campus. I hadn’t flexed the muscle of writing a personal essay in a while, so it felt like a worthwhile exercise — as well as a meaningful way to honor my parents’ time at the school.

Today, as promised, I’m back with a Sweet Somethings: a monthly series where I share recommendations (food-related and otherwise) and a few personal notes from my life. This time, I’ve got thoughts on a Greenpoint shop, a gripping memoir, a couple skincare products I’m loving (sometimes I pretend I’m a beauty influencer), and a recent zine contribution. Also: an unsolicited update about my choir. An eclectic assortment!

Sweet Somethings

A Greenpoint gem
Archestratus is among my favorite places to shop in all of New York. It’s a weird and wonderful store in Greenpoint, Brooklyn that sells cookbooks (both vintage and new), Italian pantry products, She Wolf bread, and all sorts of gifts, from handmade rolling pins to tinned fish to olive-patterned washi tape.

Paige Lipari, the owner, has not only curated and stocked the shelves with delightful knickknacks, but has also built a devoted community around the space through thoughtful programming. Archestratus, for example, hosts fundraising events, cookbook club parties, book talks, and writing classes — including one that my friend Devra periodically teaches called Breaking into Food Writing. I took the class a few years back and can thus attest that it’s excellent and full of actionable wisdom, so look out for that in the future if writing about food professionally is something that interests you.

A gripping memoir
I just finished reading a memoir called Care and Feeding by Laurie Woolever, a food writer and former assistant of Mario Batali and, later, Anthony Bourdain — whom she worked with up until his death in 2018. Woolever tells her story with brutal, unflinching honesty and pitch-perfect prose. It's about her own transgressions and struggles with addiction, and about the complicated figures she worked for and with.

If you’re looking for a juicy, hunger-inducing food memoir, this isn’t necessarily the book for you. This memoir is more about addiction and Woolever’s long path to recovery than anything else — although there are vivid culinary vignettes sprinkled throughout. That in mind, I still highly recommend it and tore through it in just a few days.

Sofie Pavitt products
I’ve been aware of the so-called “acne whisperer” Sofie Pavitt for years now through my Instagram algorithm, and have long been intrigued by her confidence in treating acne-prone skin. I never sought out her treatments, however, because a) it’s rare that I spend money on beauty services beyond regular haircuts, and b) her clientele seemed too Cool NYC Instagram Girl for me.

However! She now has her own eponymous line of skincare products, which is expensive but not prohibitively so, and I finally succumbed to a purchase. I went for the Mandelic Clearing Serum and the Omega Rich Moisturizer, and am here to say that I’m loving both and have already noticed an improvement in the texture of my skin after a few weeks of using them consistently. Do with this information what you will, knowing that I’m decidedly not a skincare expert — just a lady with a face and a penchant for products!!

Alliums contribution
I recently contributed a recipe for Orecchiette with Roasted Garlic, Walnuts, and Pancetta to Alliums, the latest zine from the lovely Produce Parties team. My copy arrived last week, and I’m finding the whole project so inspiring — a group of creative friends making time outside of their day jobs to celebrate seasonal produce in print.

The recipe I share in Alliums is for a humble, beige pasta that’s far from flashy, but perfect to me. It starts with roasting a whole head of garlic until the cloves are soft, sweet, and slip easily from their skins. That garlic becomes the base of a rich sauce with walnuts and pancetta. The result is a deeply savory, satisfying pasta that I like to eat with glossy, garlic-kissed greens (of course).

Choir concert
Last but not least: I performed a spring concert with my choir, The SoHarmoniums, last week at Symphony Space on the Upper West Side, and am happy to report that it was a success. Singing with this group of women has been such a welcome addition to my life, and I’m proud of myself for finding the time and space to sing regularly again. If ever there were a Sweet Something, this would be it!