Eggplant, aubergine or brinjal is a nightshade and a berry by botanical definition. Yes, a berry. It is related to the tomato, chili pepper and potato. The fruit contains numerous small, soft, edible seeds that taste bitter because they contain or are covered in nicotinoid alkaloids, like the related tobacco. Vape that shit why don’t ya? I remember being at my aunt and uncle’s house as a kid and being told before the dinner that we were to eat whatever it was they served no matter what. It was baked eggplant parm. The combination of it resembling meat and having the name EGGplant had me wretching in their perfect bathroom. I had never tasted it and didn’t understand what it was in the slightest. As you’d imagine, I now lust after Thai green curry with those goregous bright purple aubergines and search for perfect baba ganouch. Things change. No surprise that the eggplant has a special place in folklore. In 13th-century Italy, the eggplant can cause insanity. In 19th-century Egypt, insanity was said to be "more common and more violent" when the eggplant is in season in the summer. There used to be a take-out joint on Houston St called Bereket (1995-2014). It was one of the best places to get 24hr food in NYC. For several years of my life I was often awake and wandering around the East Village. At about 4am, when everything had calmed down, they would throw a load of whole eggplants into their ovens to be roasted. The smell that would emanate from behind the counter was actual heaven. Sweet and warm, I looked forward to the pleasure of smelling it. In truth, it may have saved me. #fruitinhand #eggplant