Coffeehouse/Cafe
The Grey Dog near Union Square
Grey Dogs Coffee
I love New York City mornings because of the special energy that is in the air as people are rushing to work, class, and wherever else they are going. What I don’t love is when you’re running late and you don’t have time to get a coffee on your way. This morning I was walking through Washington Square Park with only five minutes until class so I decided to defer getting my morning caffeine fix until after class. To make up for the self-inflicted delayed gratification, I decided to go to The Grey Dog, a quaint coffeehouse situated on University Place that I’d been meaning to try for a few weeks now.
THE grey dog...I think
Grey Dog more closely resembles a quirky Austin, TX coffee haunt than it does the other chichi coffee shops that densely populate downtown Manhattan. The distressed, wooden, sea foam blue furniture and the lowered vintage ceiling fans add a special charm to the place.
Kaffe 1668 in Tribeca
I realized there are times when I ADD so bad at my apartment, I can’t get any writing done. My go-to for when that happens is usually Think Coffee on Mercer — caffeine and a buzzy ambiance usually helps me focus for some reason. Problem was their Internet was down, so I asked around (OK, I asked peeps on Twitter) for other cafes. My friend @OSoChic suggested Kaffe 1668 in Tribeca. I barely venture out to that area so I figured I’d give it a try. The website did look cute.
Kaffe 1668
Kaffe 1668 coffeebeans
Kaffe 1668
Kaffe 1668
I took a fellow writer friend, Sarah, with me. She told me she was hungry and I had seen that they had sandwiches and a few other munchies on their menu. Problem is when we got there, they totally ran out of all their sandwiches. Even their desserts were scarce. We settled on carrot cake, a latte (for me), a mocha (for her).
Carrot cake
Latte
Mocha
The waiter might have had a crush on Sarah…she got the heart design while I just got a measly leaf one. Whatever.
Anyway Cafe – East Village
Blink and you’ll miss this place, but if you don’t, you’ll walk into Anyway Cafe, a little East Village oasis that’s as much a nod to Russia as it is to France.
Inside Anyway Cafe
There’s dim lighting, a canopy of branches lit up with tiny green lights, and live music (tonight was a single musician playing a tiny piano whose music was crescendoing throughout the evening).
Bread with pesto butter
When I walked in, I could smell the food right away and I was salivating. I asked the waitress to give me whatever they’re cooking, and she pointed to the chicken straganoff, a quintessential Russian dish. It’s sauteed pieces of chicken in a sour cream sauce.
Chicaken straganoff
Ninth Street Espresso in Chelsea Market
Ninth Street Espresso - Chelsea Market
Ninth Street Espresso - Chelsea Market
I’ve been having what seems like the never-ending debate with a friend who will remain unnamed (*SACKO cough*) about which place has the best latte in NYC: Stumptown or Ninth Street Espresso. I’m not really sure why it’s only between the two, since I acknowledge there are plenty of cafes around the city (and outer burroughs — I see you, Brooklyn) that boast to be the best. The only thing was our debate is completely mindless because he’s never been to Stumptown and I’ve never been to Ninth Street. I didn’t realize Ninth Street Espresso has an outpost in Chelsea Market, so when I stumbled upon last week, I was excited to finally make an educated decision. I wasn’t even in the mood for coffee, but I ordered a small $4 latte anyway.
Latte at Ninth Street Espresso
It was strong, full-bodied, a tad bitter too. But friends, I’m still going to say Stumptown takes the cake. Have any of you tried both or either? Which one do you prefer? Maybe you can help us end the never-ending debate (but most likely not)…
Cafe info:
Ninth Street Espresso
(in Chelsea Market)
75 9th Ave.
btw 9th & 10th Ave
212-228-2930
Chelsea
x
Shy
Salep and desserts in Taksim
When I was in Turkey, I saw little carts on the streets near where my sister was living with signs for something called salep but I never knew what it was. My friend Bunny, who was awesome at giving me a ton of suggestions of what to do and where to eat (she did live there for a few months after all), told me I had to try it while I was there. I didn’t know what was it in, all I was told was it was a yummy drink to have when it was cold. So I listened.
IST Cafe in Taksim
Coffee + salep
When I was there, I asked the waitress what salep is exactly. She was having trouble explaining it to me, only mentioning milk and sugar and that it was “OHhh so good.” I may have cheated a little and ordered a coffee/salep combination. The coffee on top was thinner than what I think was the actual salep on the bottom, which was thicker consistency and tasted (and forgive me, this is the only way I think I can describe it) kind of like egg nog? It was REALLY good though, and I tried looking up a more detailed explanation of what I just had.
I found out the hot drink is made from crushed tapioca root extract. Apparently, it has been noted not only for his health benefits (treating such conditions as dysentery, tuberculosis, and typhoid), but also for its aphrodisiac effects. In Greece, they flavor it with honey and eat it for breakfast; in India, it’s mixed with milk and spices and served to the sick; even in France, it’s served as soup or jelly. In Turkey though, it’s mainly served during the cold seasons. The tubers are collected in the summer and hung to dry. Apparently, the popularity of salep has led to a decline in the population of wild orchids so it’s now illegal to transport it out of the country. So if you want it, you’ll have to make a trip to Istanbul!
Ozsut cafe
The art of espresso making
Who knew THIS much detail goes into one tiny cup of espresso?
Espresso, Intelligentsia from The D4D on Vimeo.
