⚡Straight from a basement in Bridgehampton comes Almond's playful and tasty Kimchi Jews brand — a line of fermented condiments and sauces. The operation has expanded from their restaurant kitchen to their retail shelves at L&W Market next door (and online), with even Jimmy Fallon a fan of the products — though his suggestion to change the brand name was politely declined.

The Scoop

Jimmy Fallon, who's a friend and comes to the restaurant, is really into this stuff. He said, "I'd love to have you on the show, but you have to change the name." We're like, "Change the name? We’re not changing that name. It's perfect."

The Birth of a Brand

We have a whole line of fermented items under the Kimchi Jews brand — mainly hot sauces, lots of srirachas, kimchi, and other condiments. We serve them at Almond Restaurant, and now it's sold at our L&W Market next door. You can order a jar of Kimchi Jews by mail order as well.

Our kimchi obsession goes back to the growing season out here. You have to make accommodations for the fact that the season is shorter than places like California, where chefs can visit farmers’ markets 12 months a year getting all kinds of overlapping produce. Here, things are just starting to pop in April, and depending on the weather, maybe we're still getting crops in November. But for those other months, we have to prepare by jarring, canning, preserving, and fermenting.

The Cabbage Solution

We were presented with so much cabbage one year. Obviously, Napa cabbage is classically what's used for kimchi, but there's nothing too rigid about anything we do here. We were into fermenting anyway as a way to bring out the flavor of things. You can only make so much sauerkraut! My friend Jeremy Blutstein, who's the chef at Maverick now in Montauk, was Chef de Cuisine here for a while, and that's when we really started getting into it.

Our Philosophy

Our approach is supply-based, not demand-based. We let the ingredients guide us rather than deciding what we want to make and then finding ingredients. When local farmers have more cabbage than they can sell at their markets, we transform it through fermentation, extending its shelf life while creating something completely new. It's a practical solution that happens to result in delicious products.

Contacts

🌐 Almond

🌐 L&W Market

🌐 Kimchi Jews

About

This card was written by Chef Jason Weiner, who opened Almond Restaurant in 2001 with Eric Lemonides – friends since they were six and five growing up in Brooklyn. Jason honed his craft in kitchens from New York to San Francisco to Las Vegas before settling in the Hamptons with his wife Almond Zigmund, an artist whose name and art graces the restaurant. Jason, together with Eric, have built a beloved restaurant focused on local sourcing, French bistro techniques, and unpretentious hospitality that now includes L&W Market.

Lead-in Image

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