For New Yorkers, specialty and speed is where it's at

By Stephanie Sorensen

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Prairie Grains is the official publication of
the Minnesota
Association of
Wheat Growers,
North Dakota Grain Growers Association,
South Dakota Wheat, Inc., and the Minnesota Barley Growers Association.

rom fashion to food to art, New Yorkers consider themselves national trendsetters. The bagel,

New Yorkers consume large amounts of bread products, and are always on the lookout for a new variation of an old favorite. From the posh Upper West Side of Manhattan to the primarily blue collar Lower East Side, whether it’s sourdough ficelle or standard Wonder, bread is prized as a fast, filling and inexpensive diet staple.

The sandwich: meal in a New York minute

When is bread not just bread? When it’s a sandwich. The quintessential meal-on-the-go, ideal for Manhattanites who often consume lunch on the run, will never go away. But the face of the sandwich is changing, as residents adapt the new taste for specialty breads to their fast-paced lifestyle.

"Specialty breads are the ‘old-new’ trend in New York," says Stephen Dew, vice president of sales and customer service for Voila Bakeries, headquartered in Brooklyn. "New York has always loved sandwiches. The new news is to use specialty bread instead of regular bread." Pre-made sandwiches on gourmet breads like focaccia or a hard crust seven-grain can be found in delis and corner groceries throughout the city.

Dew points out that, although the number and variety of European breads in U.S. stores are on the rise, these gourmet loaves are not escaping Americanization when they hit the mainstream. "In Europe, people buy loaves and rolls to eat plain. Not so here. Americans, especially New Yorkers, have to have something on the bread."

Keywords: organic, natural, rustic

A significant number of New Yorkers who buy their sandwich bread in supermarkets check the label for words that appeal to health, such as organic, natural or wholesome. Buying decisions based on the health factor seems to be especially prevalent in younger consumers (aged 20-35).

Columbus Bakery, an upscale bread bakery and deli on Manhattan’s Upper West Side whose customers include actors Tom Cruise and William Baldwin, is satisfying food cravings these days with its new "rustic pizza bread." Shepherd Lee, the bakery’s general manager, says they introduced the square, hand-held bread a few months ago, and it has become the latest must-have for lunch on the run. Rustic pizza bread is made with focaccia, a bread that’s baked in olive oil. "In the end, it is probably as high-calorie as a slice of pizza, but it feels lighter and less fattening to people," says Lee.

Basic nutrition education is still surprisingly lacking. Lee points out that athletes and trainers from a nearby gym are hesitant to buy bread until they find out what’s in it. When they are given the list of ingredients — mostly water and flour — they appear surprised and stock up on bread.

About one-third of the customers I surveyed in an average New York grocery store said they consider bread fattening, but still consume an average of one to two loaves per person per week.

Location, location, location

For both bread consumers and vendors, location is key in New York City. In a traditionally Jewish neighborhood in lower Manhattan, residents of all religions and ethnic backgrounds take advantage of the bagel shops that thrive on every block. Tom, a young Irish carpenter who lives in the mostly-Hispanic area called Alphabet City, says his staple food is not his home country’s famous soda bread, but flour tortillas.

An increasing number of restaurants around the city, especially those in upscale neighborhoods such as the Upper East Side and Upper West Side, now offer a list of gourmet breads on their menus.

The Columbus Bakery supplies restaurants in its neighborhood, exemplifying the rise of the "catch-all store." Not only does the bakery offer sunny, large-windowed rooms for customers to sit and leisurely soak up atmosphere while they munch on a chapeau roll and coffee, but they sell salads and soups at lunchtime. And after sitting in a room filled with the aroma of baking bread, who can resist grabbing a loaf to take home from the counter, well-situated near the exit?

Bread by any other name

The quest for the exotic in bread is rampant in New York City. Plain white bread is so passé the Columbus Bakery markets their one loaf of white bread under the title pain ordinaire (translation: plain bread).

"New Yorkers want something different," Dew explains. "Call an ordinary loaf African flatbread and it’ll sell because of its exotic name."

There are only so many "new" breads that bakers can come up with, however. This means that new combinations of old favorites are winning the marketing game: onion sourdough brioche, pesto French bread, and the "everything" bagel are a few of the most popular combinations.

Motley breads have transformed the grocery store bread section as well - rather than sporting only the old alternative favorites like rye and pumpernickel, store managers are responding to customers’ hunger for variety by stocking shelves with health-buzzword breads like Cranberry Nut Honey and ‘Branola Original’ — to which one customer I visited with swore undying allegiance.

Quality factor superceding price

As customers demand more, prices increase accordingly. In bakeries that emphasize homemade products and old-world atmosphere, bread prices are at a premium. Customers pay $5 for a loaf of multi-grain bread at the Columbus Bakery. Customers I surveyed at a grocery store said that when they go to a bakery to purchase their bread, they are willing to pay double what they do at the supermarket.

The biggest sellers at the Columbus Bakery are the chapeau ("hat") roll, shaped like a chef’s hat (75 cents), served at the bakery with coffee or tea or brought home as an accompaniment to dinner. Other products in demand are sourdough bread, pumpernickel rolls, and multigrain breads. A hamburger bun runs about 75 cents, a baguette $1.25, and plain white bread $2.75.

Customers who solely patronize a supermarket are usually more cost-conscious in their bread purchases. One couple I interviewed say they refuse to pay more than 99 cents for a loaf of white bread that contains all the necessary vitamins. The husband and wife both work for the New York Board of Education’s Food and Nutrition Services.

How much bread does a farmer make?

Guessing a farmer’s cut from an average one dollar loaf of bread was difficult for most of New York City shoppers surveyed for this article. About half guessed that a farmer takes home a nickel, which is right on due to current low commodity prices. High guesses started at ten cents per loaf, with the manager of the upscale bakery topping off the list with a guess of forty cents.

The image of producers

New Yorkers’ images of producers are vague and varied, based on "street surveys" conducted. One couple employed by the New York Board of Education suggested that farmers "get the government to pay them more money and get the small farmers back in business."

Bob, a 45-year-old artist, entertained customers in the produce section with a free association of his impressions of farming. Closing his eyes and employing dramatic pauses, he spat out, "Huge amounts of acreage…High level of industrialization … Midwest … year-round."

A 40-something woman currently on welfare said, "I admire them because I always dreamed as a child of having a farm. But I guess it [the farm] is usually inherited. And even those farmers are not making it today. It’s sad."

Nina, a 28-year old acupuncturist living in East Greenwich Village, guessed that farming is hard work, and concluded that "there must be a motivation besides money for them to continue doing it, instead of selling their fields for real estate."

Sorensen, who manages the newsletter and website (www.smallgrains.org) for the Minnesota Association of Wheat Growers and Minnesota Wheat Research and Promotion Council, moved from Minnesota to New York last fall to pursue a career in publishing.