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Microcosms:

Appreciating Art in August and Beyond 

August is Artist Appreciation Month and we at Bex are honored to have James Feehan’s playful, enigmatic microcosm paintings currently in our Gallery. 


James is an artist of some caliber and you needn’t go to New Hope, Pennsylvania to see his work. His art is a delight for all ages, hinting at a mysterious playfulness and mischief in a world of its own, with nods to the Renaissance, Alice in Wonderland, and medieval times. 


It has been exciting to have seen The Gallery at Bex be born, get its sea legs, and host an array of diverse artists from the area. In a world where automation increasingly does our thinking for us, there’s becoming something refreshing about gazing upon art that doesn’t easily give up answers or dumb anything down. Check out some art – your synapses will thank you. 


A little mystery is good for the soul – and a cup of Bex’s signature Black River Roasters coffee and one of her dense, fresh, made-from-scratch pastries is good for the body. 


“Catering and running a cafe and kitchen is very extrovert,” Chef Becky recounts, “but I was that kid growing up in rural New Jersey who was always drawing in the back of a station wagon or on the walls of my room, exploring inner worlds and what I could create.” 


“The arts are a funny world,” she continues. “Paintings can sell for millions of dollars, but the average artist is, rightfully, often associated with struggle, so I like to support the arts with The Gallery. It has been a journey going from idea to reality in making The Gallery a real place. Califon is off the beaten path, so it’s a cool experience to check out the art and eat at the Cafe. Califon is a magical little place, not unlike the world of James Feehan’s paintings.” 


Well said, Chef! 


The Gallery at Bex

56 Main Street, Califon, NJ 07830

Open weekends with a friendly, knowledgeable docent,

11 am - 2 pm 

The Life of the Mind: 


What Chef Becky and Bex-folk Are Reading 

How’s your summer reading going? 


We at Bex are a literary sort. There’s something about the cafe environment and European style that lends itself to the life of the mind. Chef Becky is reading The Devil in the Kitchen: Sex, Pain, Madness, and the Making of a Great Chef by Marco Pierre White. White was the youngest chef ever, at 34, to win 3 Michelin stars. “There is definitely a lot of pain and madness in the kitchen,” Chef Becky laughs. Even when the Chef takes a rare day off, she is still thinking – and reading – about cooking. 


That’s what passion and dedication look like. 


Genre Explosion 


There has been a genre explosion in literature in the wake of the internet and our history-making tumultuous times. One of the newest is Dark Academia, an intriguing genre that is also a fashion aesthetic, and came about from the popularity of Harry Potter books and movies – and how the pandemic caused young people to feel nostalgia for their school lives and environment. The internet has created a vibrant community of readers, especially women, who send books to each other and connect. People are reconnecting via good old-fashioned books. 


Poetry Moves to the Fall 


A heads up that our Poetry Readings at The Gallery at Bex are being moved to a quarterly schedule, with the next one scheduled for November 14th – mark your calendar. There will also be a new artist’s work in The Gallery around October, so stay tuned. Chef Becky is always working to support the community and the arts. Thank you, Chef! 


Fall Reads 


We took a look at Fall 2024’s most anticipated books and are excited about Polish author Olga Tokarczuk’s The Empusium. Tokarczuk won the Nobel Prize in 2018 for the amazing Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead. Summer brain rust is real, so keep your mind active during the dog days of summer. Remember those iconic Judy Blume books like Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, and (for the lads) Then Again, Maybe I Won’t? Learn about the mind behind those classics with The Genius of Judy: How Judy Blume Rewrote Childhood for All of Us by Rachelle Bergstein. 


Our tech-heavy world has opened up amazing doors for creativity, communication, and culture, but there’s still nothin’ like reading and making your own mental images.


Our collaboration with Howling Basset Books is in summer mode as they travel and are only open on select days (check their schedule here) but we look forward to working with them in the future. Pick up a book at Howling Basset and read it at Bex with our amazing Black River Roasters Bex blend coffee. 


Keep reading, keep cooking, and keep Bex in mind for your cafe and catering needs. Happy National Book Lovers Day on August 9th– stop by and let us know what you’re reading! 


Bex Cafe

52 Main Street, Califon, NJ 07830

Open weekends 9 - 2 

bex kitchen

fabulous flavorful feasts + festivities

info@bexkitchen.com 908-975-3334

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