Nestled on Clinton Avenue right off Myrtle Avenue in Clinton Hill is Rethink Café, one of the city's first pay-what-you-can destinations, launched by nonprofit Rethink Food last year. All offerings at the Brooklyn shop boast a "$5 suggested donation" price tag, basically asking patrons to pay only what they can afford to.
To create the menu, the staff uses donated ingredients from a slew of local partners like Trader Joe's. And we're not just talking about the foods used to cook the various menu items on offer: you can expect a bunch of grab-and-go items donated by the likes of Stumptown Coffee to be prominently displayed as well.
Speaking of the menu: Every day, the café takes to Instagram to showcase the constantly rotating daily offerings. Today's, for example, include a "hearty plate of duck confit pilaf with raisins, caramelized onions, sautéed cabbage and leeks, seasoned with oregano, thyme and a sharp sherry vinaigrette." Yum.
Past delicacies have included beef sirloin tacos, a spring pasta salad with seasonal vegetables, a harissa coconut chicken dish, penne a la vodka with a side salad and even a soba noodle salad.
The creative concept isn't a mere gimmick intended to lure customers in. Rethink Food seeks to address food insecurity on a pretty wide scale by working towards two related goals: "to feed communities and help keep restaurants in business," as stated on the organization's official website. "In exchange for preparing community meals, Rethink Food provides grants to restaurants supporting a portion of their operating and staffing costs," it continues.
Needless to say, 2020 made the need for change even more apparent than it always has been. Which is to say: although New York is slowly returning to a semblance or normalcy (vaccinated individuals no longer have to wear masks! Broadway will soon re-open! Sports are back!), we can't forget about the year we've all just gone through and the people that still need our help. Grabbing a bite at Rethink Café might not make that big of a difference, but it is certainly a step in the right direction.