Up until two months ago, Ayane Sakamoto worked in a school cafeteria.
The cafeteria belonged to Aozora Community, a Japanese-English bilingual preschool in Prospect Heights. There, she prepared meals for preschoolers, careful to avoid allergens and make food that was safe for every student to eat.
Meanwhile, Taisan Tanaka was Aozora’s art teacher, teaching calligraphy to the students.
“One day, we were talking about how [Tanaka] went to a culinary school back in Japan, which I didn't know at that time,” Sakamoto said. “And then we were both talking about how we like curry, so maybe we should do something.”
The two came from similar backgrounds: Sakamoto is originally from Osaka, and recovered from stage four colon cancer fifteen years ago, while Tanaka grew up in Wakayama, just south of Osaka, and had two life-threatening illnesses, including diabetes and myocardial infarction.
Because of this, both Sakamoto and Tanaka have stayed clear of inflammatory foods, which has influenced their cooking.
Soon after the two started talking about collaborating, Tanaka was contacted by a friend at the Park Slope Japanese marketplace Brooklyn Beauty/Fashion Labo (BB/FL), who was looking to add another vendor to the rotation at their food counter.
They started their pop-up in June and named it “Kiino,” a reference to their culinary methods.
“Our curry, we make the day before,” Sakamoto said. “And if you leave it for a day, overnight, it tastes better. … We always say, ‘Oh, yesterday's curry is better.’ And ‘yesterday,’ in Japanese, it's ‘kino.’” (They've added an "i" for an extra flourish.)
If you blink, you'll miss BB/FL. Located in the middle of 7th Street between Fourth and Fifth Avenues, it's on a residential block with little foot traffic. In addition, the space defies definition, resting somewhere between a market and a mall.
Before you enter, there’s pleasant patio seating; When you walk in, you’re greeted by an unmanned stand used to ring up customers buying the artwork and home goods made by Japanese creators displayed throughout the space. In the stall on the left, there’s a small version of Dainobu, a Japanese grocer; downstairs, several vendors display reclaimed and vintage clothing. In the center stall there’s also a cafeteria area, furnished entirely with found chairs.
Kiino’s counter is part of this cafe, but you can’t order directly from Tanaka and Sakamoto; instead, you need to approach the sole cashier at the front, who controls the master menu, which also includes dishes like sushi and ramen from other food vendors.
Kiino has three options: Curry A, B, and C. They’re all orange-colored, but Curry A has more heat, while Curry B contains coconut cream, which makes it a bit sweeter, and Curry C is a mystery curry of the day. To order, pick which curry you’d like with or without added protein, a choice between chicken or burdock and mushroom.
Be warned: Kiino only makes 30 servings of each curry per day. There’s also delightful spiced soda made from sparkling water mixed with a syrup containing cinnamon, ginger, clove, cardamom and agave, and an oatmeal cookie made from the same syrup base.
There’s also a “brownie,” which contains no chocolate at all; light and gummy, it’s made from yam, cinnamon and gluten-free flour. According to BB/FL customer Lena Farley, “It taste[s] like my grandma’s pumpkin pie.”
Since the pop-up had to scramble so quickly to make it to the BB/FL kitchen, they’ve been fundraising, with a recently-ended IndieGoGo campaign to help the small business succeed and eventually expand to make allergen-friendly meals for kids in need.
“There's a lot of kids who [are] always hungry, out there,” Sakamoto said. “We want to help them.”
Kiino is located inside Brooklyn Beauty/Fashion Labo, at 300 7th St., and open daily from 11:00am–7:00pm, or until they run out of curry.
