http://modernprimitivecafe.com/about-us/About Us
Modern Primitive Cafe
Modern Primitive Cafe (curated by Steve & Andy’s Hand Made Organics) is the answer to clean, green and glam — hand-made organic, gourmet and gluten-free, artisanal healthy eats crafted with a tweak on traditional global flavors.
With its inviting post-modern space — clean white subway tiles, rustic recycled raw metal and salvaged wood — Modern Primitive Cafe embodies the crossroads of food, fashion and art.
Created and founded by owners Steve Marino and Arjan Khiani, the cafe’s cozy post-modern corner in Industry City’s Food Hall, a massive historic warehouse complex along Sunset Park’s waterfront, is tipping the gourmet scales. The cafe’s delicious breakfast, lunch and dinner menus creatively crafted by the duo underscore a philosophy borrowed from the early Modern Primitive movement, post-modernly linking a healthy body and mind via organic food, the perfect modern-day synthesis of man and nature.
Revel in innovative specialty foods and vegetarian fare, fashioned using sustainable technologies with the highest quality organic-grade ingredients rich in antioxidants and omegas, as well as herbs, spices, extracts and essential oils that will dazzle discerning taste buds. Refined organic GMO-free gourmet products made with no additives or preservatives, environmentally friendly and ethically crafted gluten-free preparations, and eco-conscious sustainable and stylishly sophisticated packaging are inspired by nature, organically derived, perfected by the human touch.
Beyond the cafe’s daily prepared delicacies, enjoy Steve & Andy’s Hand Made Organics — uniquely flavored marmalades, chutneys and candied fruits made in the USA by the creative duo and available exclusively at the cafe, prestigious Dean & Deluca shops, various gourmet retailers and showcased at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Who We Are: Steve & Andy’s Hand Made Organics
Steve & Andy’s Hand Made Organics, the lovechild of Steve Marino and Arjan Khiani, inspired the Modern Primitive Cafe, a healthy-food laboratory for delicious organic, sustainable and local handcrafted foods appealing to a sense of taste as well as a conscience for sustainability.
Both Steve, with his Italian heritage, and Andy, who was raised in India, arrived at the organic table naturally, complementing each other’s culinary creativity within their mutually-entwined worlds of cosmetics and clothing, underscored by a family-driven commitment to good food. Steve, an internationally-renowned fashion/celebrity makeup artist collaborating with top photographers for editorials and features on stars like Scarlett Johansson, Lauren Bush and Tilda Swinton, as well as major advertising campaigns, credits his enthusiasm for cooking to his parents’ passion for creating pastries and wedding cakes. Andy’s career as a top fashion and textile designer (his Body Worship label enjoyed a long-term livelihood as an East Village boutique, as well as top clients like Madonna and Mick Jagger) was enhanced by his cooking hobby, skills honed by the culinary expertise of his mother, who created all the family meals at home in India, exposing him to the exotic spices and flavorings indigenous to his world and crucial to the Modern Primitive Cafe.
Partners in life, the duo launched Steve & Andy’s Hand Made Organics in 2012, a love for food and the desire for organic excellence establishing them as innovative New York City-based food entrepreneurs. Candied Orange Peels and Orange Marmalade with Star Anise were the initial fruits of their collaboration. Now Strawberry/Rose preserves, Spiced Mango Chutneys, Candied Lemon Peels, Tomato Marmalades and gluten-free crackers and cookies are available, with new product releases scheduled by the end of year.
