Business & Tech

Uniting Fort Greene, Old and New, Through Food: [VIDEO]

Filmmaker gets inspiration from a classic comfort dish, served Brooklyn-style.

Scholars say that Leonardo da Vinci got his inspiration from his concept of the divine. In Ernest Hemingway's case, the magic often came in a potent brew of absinthe.

And though Fort Greene filmmaker Jonathan Mann hasn't quite reached those artistic heights, his inspiration is no less clear, and for him, deeply meaningful.

That's right: We're talking about , a mobile cart serving variations on the classic American grilled cheese sandwich often spotted alongside Fort Greene Park.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

For Mann, it all started on a routine walk to the Dekalb Avenue subway station to catch the Q train.

"My first glance at the cart deeply intrigued me and my first bite of the alluring grilled cheese enlightened me," Mann said.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

The result is a three-minute video that seems less like a commercial than a love letter to Food Freaks, which was founded by Stephen Cusato, John Coppola and Dave Cusato.

According to Stephen Cusato, the process of making the short film happened—as is the case with much of Food Freaks' menu ingredients—organically.

"[Mann] was a customer first and he liked the idea and the set up and wanted to do something that kinda shows how we fit into the community," he said.

Mann set up shop on a Saturday, filming the Food Freaks' crew making specialties like the Fort Greene, made with fontinella cheese, bacon, avocado and cilantro sauce.

And it seems that it wasn't difficult to find customers following in, well, freaking out about Food Freaks.

"Fort Greene loves Food Freaks, baby!" one customer says in the video. "The best stuff."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Fort Greene-Clinton Hill