By Yolande Brener
Globetrippin’s chandelier, bookshelves and offer of cookie painting enticed me in to try a Chinese floral tea. Inside I discovered a cozy environment with games including Uno and Scrabble Slam in the bookshelves for clients to play. The bookshelves also hold three titles by proprieter, Georgia Scott: “Langston Leaf,” a children’s book, “Headwraps,” and “Down There.” After 18 years as an art director at the New York Times, Georgia decided to pursue her personal creativity as an author and café owner.
The menu in Globetrippin changes daily. Georgia invents many of the recipes in her kitchen behind the café. On one day her menu includes macaroni and cheese and pulled pork sandwiches, apple pie, lemon tart, and blueberry muffins. On another day she has broccoli cheddar quiche, Mediterranean pasta salad, sour cream apple walnut pie, and chocolate chip cookie dough-stuffed chocolate chip brownies. Her banana pudding is a favorite with clients.
Georgia’s soups include Trinidadian brown sugar chicken soup, Acapulco chicken soup, shrimp biriani soup, bloody Mary soup and a sweet potato cognac soup that is “really comforting.” In the summer, Georgia moves from soups to having a daily drink.
“Today I’ve got mint ginger lemonade,” she says.
Georgia is currently writing a cookbook, which compares the soul of food to people, and she compares herself to ginger.
“If food had a spirit what would it be?” she says. “The initial bite of ginger, when you first taste it has this burn. But if you can stick it out, you’ll really fall in love with the uniqueness of ginger. I would say that I’m a lot like ginger.”
Georgia’s interests in travel and life’s sensory pleasures are expressed not only in her food, but also in her books. For “Headwraps”, Georgia visited 32 different countries to learn about different syles of headwraps.
Part of Georgia’s mission is to bring together Harlem’s artistic community. She hosts the Soul Sojourn Writers’ Workshop on Thursday evenings led by Michel Mariot. Georgia also started an Uptown Artists’ Lounge on Tuesday evenings for locals to share their writing and music.
Georgia hosted readings from “Down There” in her café and at the Museum of Sex. At both events, she encouraged audience members to read excerpts from the book. Artwork inspired by Georgia’s book, “Down There” can be seen in The Public Pubic exhibition opened on July 10th and continues to July 30th at the Azucarera Gallery. The mid-show reception is on July 16th from 2pm to 6pm, and the closing reception is on July 30th.
Georgia has been hoping to acquire a liquor license for Globetrippin’ so that people will feel even more relaxed in her café, bookstore and kazbah.
“It will become more of a destination,” she says. “People want to stick around and have a drink.”
If Globetrippin’ gets its liquor license, Georgia will continue serving up her unique culinary creations there. If not, Georgia’s recipes will still be available in her forthcoming cookbook, “Zodiac Chef,” due out in October.
Images courtesy of Georgia Scott
Check out the Globetrippin website here.
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