Off The Beaten Plate: Uniting Foodies One Plate at a Time

It unites us, it is a conversation starter, and it is happiness. We need it for survival and yet somehow it feeds our soul at the same time. Food is ever evolving simplicity that often clears cultural boundaries and igniting flames that dance upon our palates. What a great meal accomplishes, no man can do. It is these accomplishments that are featured on a brand new blog entitled Off the Beaten Plate (www.obpnyc.com). Its creators Janet Dickerson, Tasha Williams, and Mick Mars Robinson seek to openly explore food as an art and social agent; a concept that will likely move its readers from the couch to the kitchen and even the dining table.

I wondered what it was about food that drew all three individuals together. After all, Tasha is a former risk and marketing analyst, Janet a multimedia marketing specialist, and Mick an artist, have all secularly worked in fields unrelated to food. Yet all three, having connected over a shared love of creative arts and cuisine, decided to blend their talents in an effort to expose others to the sheer bonding agents of a good meal.

“We are an epicurean media and event production company,” states Janet. “We all share a love a food and enjoy experiencing food in restaurants and at home. In addition to blogging about food, we also co-sponsor events centered on food. There are a lot of ‘unsung’ eateries in Harlem. People in the community are familiar with these places, but not all of New York.”

With hopes to make the most of Harlem’s tourism the founders of Off the Beaten Plate (OPBNYC) kicked off 2013 with the Three Kings Day Coquito Crawl. This annual event in Harlem allowed attendees to be shuttled via trolley to a variety of private menu tastings all while being served the freshest coquito made by New York’s topmost Coquito Masters. This year the event sold more than 100 tickets and five of Harlem’s greatest neighborhood restaurants catered to their eager tasters.

Providing fresh great tasting food to their clients is something that OBPNYC looks forward to accomplishing at each event. “I grew up in South Carolina and my family always had a garden,” explains Tasha, “I always thought that there should be a pleasure in preparing and enjoying food. Through our work it is important to share a love for good, healthy and sustainable food. This includes local farmers and seasonal food.”

“Food is a great unifier,” Janet adds, “When people go to events, the food brings them together. And when you have a community such as Harlem, with such great diversity it just works. We want to introduce people to something new. For example, one section of the blog is called home plate. Mick has tons of creative food ideas. We want to inspire people to break outside of their foodie habits.”

Exploring home plate is just one stop through the diverse links on OBPNYC.com. Although originating in Harlem it is the goal of the founders to explore foodie destinations in many other cities. Yet while starting out, OBPNYC will introduce its readers to a typical day for food lovers in New York and wonderful new found eateries in LA (where founders Janet and Mick recently relocated).

So, what does a typical foodie day look like? Tasha begins, “I go to different places depending on my meal. The lamb burger at Harlem Tavern is great. For wine and dinner I like to visit Morrell’s at Rockefeller Center. If I have a good amount of friends around they have a really nice onion tart. Their staff is also really knowledgeable about their wine list. They can explain the list and match your taste very clearly. And for brunch I like to do Jane’s, just because of the memories that I have there with friends.”

Janet then goes on to state, “I like simple foods with a twist. In L.A. Larry’s on Venice Beach is a place that I enjoy going too. They have a really good southern fried chicken sandwich and a short rib grilled cheese sandwich. There is also a restaurant in East Rutherford, NJ called Park and Orchard that has the best crab cakes. In general, I am anywhere there’s seafood or the food has a New Orleans flare.”

In addition to planning and writing about food filled days, like most individuals, these ladies have a staple dish that their hearts always seem to wander back to. For Janet, “I’d have to say lasagna,” she explains, “it can be made so many different ways and it was the first dish I learned to make.” Yet, for Tasha the dish is quite different. “One dish I couldn’t go too long without would be grits,” she begins, “I would be made fun of for having grits so often. I don’t know it if was shame in our community or what. But now grits are staples in great restaurants. They are like rice, just a simple versatile dish.”

From crab cakes to grits, the creators of OBPNYC explain how the blog will continue to grow through their travels. Seeing firsthand how the African American community has such a rich culinary tradition, these writers certainly have something to contribute to the conversation surrounding food.

“The whole idea of having to be creative with your dishes came from our community. When you look at grits it’s a great dish. That variety came from our community,” states Janet.

Tasha adds, “Even if the ingredients came from another continent what we did to them is originally American. I was listening to my cousin explain to his international wife that southern cuisine is the original American cuisine. It truly is.”

These dishes and many more are what OBPNYC wants to expose a larger community of people too. As an international unifier, a storm calmer, a celebration, food is the foundation of relationships and largely the foundation of life. I asked the ladies of OBPNYC if there was one thing they wanted people to know about food what would it be?

Their replies: “Food can always insert life into the equation,” states Janet. “It is such a part of our daily lives that people shouldn’t take it for granted. And don’t have such a closed off mentality when it comes to dishes. Try something new because food is forgiving, you have to give it a chance.”

Tasha continues, “Food is a very important mirror of culture and not just of ethnicity. When it has been prepared and cultivated with care there’s a lot more care for society. Take time to care.”

Eat, Forgive, Care. What more can we ask for from our dishes?

For more information concerning food lover events visit obpnyc.com. Also follow the creators of this great site on twitter: