7/15 - What is going on with Madison Brown?
A foray into investigative journalism, wholesome beer content, and the best crop of restaurants.
Restaurants:
All places you can still eat at this week. If there isn’t dinner availability, check brunch.
Mel’s (West Chelsea): Stood the test of a Pete Wells review. Big sundaes. Baked clams. All around fantastic vibe and still somehow with available reservations.
Zaab Zaab (Elmhurst): Isaan Thai food. Plenty of offal. Right off the E. Vibrant space.
Hummus Market (Williamsburg): Banging pita and hummus situation. Ideal spot for snacks and beers on a balmy day.
Nura: Might spend an entire week writing about this place. God tier stuff. Big, airy, industrial space that’s undercut with falling greenery. Open kitchen headed by Jackie Carnesi- one of the coolest, swaggiest chefs in New York. A true “no-skips” menu that won’t incinerate your bank account. Go. Go. Go!
Wine:
Beer:
Really enjoy this guy’s recipes. Here’s one that’s entirely new to me: “Pale Aperale Spritz.” A refreshing, albeit needed remix on two things that have otherwise gone stale.
What Is Going On With Madison Brown Ice Cream:
Give me two minutes. Earlier this week, I caught up on other food newsletters that I consume. One of them (no free ads), had the following headline:
Pretty cool, right? I sure thought so, and immediately wanted to learn how this “teen entrepreneur” became such an ice cream savant. According to its press release, Madison Brown was founded by “nineteen-year-old Jay Jay Brown” and this is just “his first venture.” Jay Jay takes inspiration from his childhood, stating: “Madison Brown reminds me that a great scoop of ice cream brings people together.” I spot no lies, Jay Jay. Genuinely impressed by his ability to create profound meaning in some of ice cream’s most simple truths, I went to the Madison Brown website to learn more about how Jay Jay brought his dairy forward vision to life.
I found nothing. In fact, the website doesn’t even mention Jay Jay. Not to play armchair Don Draper, but featuring your 19 year old founder somewhere on the website seems like a marketing lay-up. In disbelief, I turned to google.com to find something, anything about this origin story. Still, nothing.
Skeptical, I tracked down the Madison Brown business license. Registered as Madison B LLC in California, it turns out Jay Jay is nowhere on the license either. Instead, the company is registered to “Sky Is The Limit Management” in Los Angeles.
As you might expect, Sky Is The Limit Management is not a real thing. Google it. If you find anything let me know. For a few days I talked myself into it being Sky’s The Limit- a platform for underrepresented entrepreneurs to connect with business professionals- but it simply is not.
In a last ditch effort, I turned to the Madison Brown instagram page hoping to find something and boy did I ever. First, I found a DJ Khaled promotional video. Odd, yes, but there was always a non-zero chance that Major King Messiah was involved with dairy greatness. And then it appeared:
A Kris Jenner endorsement. What the fuck. How. Why? But also, and perhaps more importantly, a Jay Jay shoutout? Immediately clicked. We found him.
I don’t fucking know anymore. Every bone in my body wants this to be real: the true nonchalant ice cream teen king who rubs shoulders with Kris Jenner and couldn’t give less of a shit. That’s the best case. In line with everything so far– I couldn’t find anything more about “jay.” No other social media. No posts, obviously.
Is he real? Let’s assume so. But in a world where he’s not– which isn’t impossible- is Jay Jay Brown a Kris Jenner invention? Should we be worried that Kris is trying to #disrupt all things cream? These are questions beyond the scope of this paper, but important nonetheless.
When you find time today– please ask yourself: What is going on with Madison Brown Ice Cream?
Again thank you. Have a great weekend and please keep sharing stuff with me. If you’re sick of getting these, let me know and I’ll take you off the #list.
I am SO invested in this Madison Brown story, I need answers please keep the people posted.
I haven't had a solid 8 hours of sleep in a week, every time I close my eyes I see flashes of Kris Jenner eating ice cream out of a carton. It's hell.