I’ve had multiple people send this to me saying it reminds them of my Starbucks’ problems (follow me on Instagram for reference), so figured I should share…SNL hit the nail on the head with this one!:

x
Shy
“Like” Beauty and the Feast on Facebook
Follow Beauty and the Feast on Twitter

Panther Coffee

I admit, New Yorkers can get snobby about their coffee. But I was pretty confident when Shahla told me about Panther Coffee, she knows what she was talking about (this is the same girl whose AOL screen name was Jiva Jaava for the longest time, people).

.

She took me to the Wynwood area — a mostly gentrified area of warehouses that has been pretty much taken over by world renowned graffiti artists. It’s now galleries and museums and a favorite spot for photoshoots. And of course, a serious cup of coffee.

A work of art.

read more…

When I was invited for afternoon tea at The Lambs Club at The Chatwal Hotel in midtown, I was so, so down. As soon as I walked into the restaurant on a rainy day recently, I felt like I was walking into a scene set perfectly for the catch-up session me and my friend Sarah were about to partake in (she was leaving to LA in the next few days, and yes there would be lots of reminiscing, and maybe some sobbing and final PLEASE DON’T GO pleas). The red leather, dark panels, dimly lit with interesting lamp fixtures made it easy to get cozy…and easy to forget you’re in the middle of Times Square.

The Lambs Club restaurant

And we were in good hands. Geoffrey Zakarian (Le Cirque, 21 Club, 44 at the Royalton Hotel, Blue Door at the Delano Hotel and recent winner of The Next Iron Chef/Superchefs) heads the kitchen, which is enticing enough to come back for the food. But today, we were going to indulge in the teas and pastries.

The Noir Jukro

Bar area with teas lining the table

Tea selection spread

Le Palais des Thés Tea

After taking in the aroma of each of their teas (literally — they had all the dried tea leaves lined up for us to do so!), Sarah and I sat and started ordering away. The waitress recommended the Grand Crus teas — The Darjeeling Mission Hill (also known as the ‘champagne of tea’ and is extremely rare since it’s seasonal and produced in very small batches) and Noir Jukro (which is plucked entirely by hand, and is one of the finest teas from Korea with cocoa and vanilla bouquet, and pairs amazing with chocolate).

Buttermilk scones - clotted cream, housemade raspberry jam

Hazelnut Dacquoise - feuillentine, milk chocolate chantilly

Tete de Moine - swiss cow's milk cheese, housemade red currant jam

Sacher Torte - Viennese chocolate cake, apricot jam, dark chocolate glaze

read more…

I hate starting posts apologizing about not posting. But the combo of traveling, working (BATF, unfortunately, isn’t my only job), and trying to keep up with all the “very important dates” for my friends has been daunting as of late. So yeah, I’m sorry .

Sadly one of the results of all of the above is that I don’t sleep much. My goal is to start a healthy habit of sleeping like a normal person (read this post on Dr. Oz’s Health & Happiness Summit on why that’s so important!). But there are just some weekdays I can’t even begin the day without a boost, and for now, I found a very delicious solution: Starbucks VIA Ready Brew.

Starbucks VIA Iced Caramel Coffee

I’m always very weary at trying to re-create the same drink that you’d find at a cafe using their brand’s shortcuts, but this is a serious no-brainer that tastes like the real thing. That’s because they use the same quality coffee beans that they do at their cafes. The one I’ve been obsessing over is their new ICED caramel — perfect now that it’s getting warmer out! Just open the packet and pour into iced water, and then add milk to taste. It’s already lightly sweetened so I never have to add more and it wakes me right up. You can smell the crushed coffee beans as you pour it, and it tastes pretty awesome. No coffee machine needed.

.

read more…

My friend Summar was visiting from Chicago, so we decided to hit up the pocket-size La Colombe Torrefaction in SoHo for coffee. Full disclosure: we were hoping for a Jake Gyllenhaal sighting as my very-lucky-and-still-salivating friends experienced here last weekend.

.

Sadly, no Gyllenhaal sighting. But it was still worth the visit…the coffee here is amazing. Summar got a cappuccino, and I went for a latte (as usual). If you go, don’t miss their chocolate chip cookies. You can taste its homemade-ness…and they’ll place it on the prettiest china if you’re eating in!

Cafe info:
La Colombe Torrefaction
270 Lafayette Street
New York, NY 10012
SoHo

x
Shy

“Like” Beauty and the Feast on Facebook
Follow Beauty and the Feast on Twitter

I strangely haven’t gotten sick of this new Sh*t people say video craze yet — maybe I’m just easily amused! I know it’s been a minute on here — I felt like my birthday was a good time to take a little break, but I promise to be back with a lot more goodies. Until then, you can sink your teeth into the latest video that popped up: Sh*t Baristas Say .

x
Shy

“Like” Beauty and the Feast on Facebook
Follow Beauty and the Feast on Twitter