From Columbia’s Illegal Dorm Dinners to FiDi’s Dream Pantry

The Deli is an ode to the artisanal food makers of New York. Two weeks ago, we introduced L'Appartement 4F’s Gautier Coiffard and Ashley Breest, who are making croissants, baguettes and more out of their Carroll Gardens apartment. This issue spotlights another couple who live and work together: Sarah and Jonah Reider of Pith. As a college student, Jonah got a lot of attention for the now-legendary, well-chronicled dinner parties in the Columbia University dorms, but the Reiders caught our attention this year with the range of condiments they started making out of their FiDi apartment that would empower even the least confident home cook to host a memorable dinner party at home.

The Product: Specialty goods for spicing up a home-cooked meal (vinegar, jam, sauces, and dips) and home goods (scents and linens).
The Deli Pick: The romesco (coming soon).
How To Buy: Shop online or find in select grocers. 
Price: $11-$19.

Jonah: I played jazz piano for a really long time, and when I moved to New York [to study economics at Columbia], I was like, damn, I'm never going to be a successful jazz pianist. I'm not going to practice as much as the other 19-year-old jazz pianists who are already 10 times better than me. And I was feeling stressed about what I was going to do for a living because I knew I didn't want to be a banker or consultant, so I started throwing these dinner parties in my dorm. I've always liked to cook for people and host dinners, and I was definitely a better cook than most college students, but I was not a good cook. I just liked it. The supper club absolutely exploded in the New York media world, and I got kicked out of the dorms.

Right when my shit started to pop off I was working for the economist Joseph Stiglitz, and I was like, dude, I'm trying to quit this job ASAP. And he said, come cook at our house, so I cooked there for a couple days and he introduced me to Ruth Reichl. After I graduated, I ended up living in Brooklyn, hosting my fanciest version of the dinner parties. That's where I met Sarah; her brother had gotten tickets for the entire family.

Now I do the supper club very sporadically, but we still host dinner parties for our friends. A lot of our cooking is really simple, and we spend more of our culinary efforts before the meal, making little libraries of sauces and seasonings that bring big bursts of flavor. 

Sarah: Pith kind of all started with our obsession with fridge organization. Every time we had friends over they’d ask, “How are you throwing like this meal on such short notice? How are you pulling this off without much of a mess?” And the secret was having all these components labeled in the fridge.

Jonah: It's true. It makes cooking like playing jazz. People would see all of these deli containers filled with condiments [in our apartment] and be like, “Oh, can we have some?” And we would start giving them away. At this point, we've made like 30 different products.

Jonah: I've realized that the thing I enjoy most about it is how [the supper clubs] can inspire people to cook and host at home. So the purpose of this brand and the reason why I'd be interested in scaling it into larger businesses is that it can be a very effective way to empower and enfranchise a greater audience to tap into that same joy.

Sarah: We just want people to be able to improvise and be spontaneous in the way they eat and host.

Jonah: Instead of going to a restaurant for three nights, you could buy a sweet set of plates and a couple of Pith goodies and have like 10 different parties.

Greatest hit: We always sell out but there is a certain feeling of familiarity with Sarah’s jams and our spice blends.

Most underrated product: Our home goods, like the embroidered napkins. Some of our scents are almost vegetal and we recommend dropping them into unscented candles before hosting. It is more personal and cost effective than the fancy scented candles out there!

Tips to best enjoy your products: We like to use the vinegars as a hot sauce alternative on braised meats or stews. They are salty, so we think of them as table seasoning and add them to salad dressings. They are amazing on crudo, with some olive oil and salt, and are really good in shrubs, with sparkling water and a slice of citrus.

Favorite places to eat in NY: We like to eat at Wu's Wonton King, our favorite place to have a big dinner. There’s also Abuqir, a seafood restaurant on Steinway that’s incredible (we’d almost want to keep this tip to ourselves, it’s so special!). Fish Market in the Seaport is a great bar. The owner’s mom lives upstairs and they offer “Mama's menu”, in addition to their regular menu, which is just random Malaysian food she is making that day. Plus, you get a free shot of Jameson like every hour. 

Food makers to follow: We love seasonal cakes and pies from Paris Starn and From Lucie. We look to our friend Aimee France, who also makes delicious cakes, for great plant-based recipe inspiration.