Ninth Street Espresso isn’t only serious about its caffeinated beverage program; someone behind the espresso bar is also consciously seeking out some tasty pastries to accompany your perfect cappuccino. Selections finely complement, but do not overshadow, the main event.
All selections are from Tisserie, the new-ish Union Square French bakery designed by The Rockwell Group and frequented by Manhattan food celeb Danny Meyer.
Muffins and Mille-feuille’s are available for those who need a substantial sweetness for breakfast. But the item not to be missed is the Tiger’s Eye petit four. The demure almond cake dolloped with chocolate ganache is an unassuming bite to cloud nine.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Now I Lay Me Down To TEA…
Exhausted, exhilarated, overwhelmed, energized…. our lives are a constant, bittersweet engagement in Manhattan. We get to bed thinking about how much we’ve accomplished today and yet how many more miles we have to go tomorrow. It’s sometimes impossible to stop from the day and allow ourselves to drift into REM.
Yogi Tea’s Bedtime Tea helps busybodies do just that. A blend of mint, lavender, chamomile, and most importantly, valerian root, will send anyone—no matter how stressed about a job, worried about paying the rent, dealing with the landlord, facing the fact that it’s finally become winter outside—into a hypnotic relaxation. St. John’s wart and passion flower extract also aid as minor relaxants.
The tea helps a jittery city dweller to center, refocus, and reenergize. To add to the tea’s effectiveness, instructions for yogic breathing are explained on the box. Sitting cross-legged, straighten your spine and relax your shoulders. Rest your hands in your lap and breathe slow, deep inhalations through your nose for five minutes. This mild yoga coupled with Yogi is a sure way to easily drift off.
On a recent Saturday, I was craving the tea mid-afternoon. Underestimating the power of deep breathing combined with the sleep-inducing herbs of the tea, I had a cup. Moments later, I’d floated into a deep sleep of three hours that was probably much needed.
To any New Yorker, this insta-sleep might shock someone upon waking up. However, what I like about this tea is that it truly promotes a restful sleep. You will sleep very well, almost as if you are sleeping with a purpose and with an initiative. One awakes feeling like those hours of rest were truly worth it and beneficial. Yogi Bedtime Tea encourages a sleep that will be of use in getting all of those important errands and our jobs completed to the best of our ability.
Just be careful because Yogi Bedtime Tea isn’t just a soporific drink, its also delicious and drinking too much is easy to do. So, unless you have ten hours, one cup’s enough!
Yogi Tea’s Bedtime Tea helps busybodies do just that. A blend of mint, lavender, chamomile, and most importantly, valerian root, will send anyone—no matter how stressed about a job, worried about paying the rent, dealing with the landlord, facing the fact that it’s finally become winter outside—into a hypnotic relaxation. St. John’s wart and passion flower extract also aid as minor relaxants.
The tea helps a jittery city dweller to center, refocus, and reenergize. To add to the tea’s effectiveness, instructions for yogic breathing are explained on the box. Sitting cross-legged, straighten your spine and relax your shoulders. Rest your hands in your lap and breathe slow, deep inhalations through your nose for five minutes. This mild yoga coupled with Yogi is a sure way to easily drift off.
On a recent Saturday, I was craving the tea mid-afternoon. Underestimating the power of deep breathing combined with the sleep-inducing herbs of the tea, I had a cup. Moments later, I’d floated into a deep sleep of three hours that was probably much needed.
To any New Yorker, this insta-sleep might shock someone upon waking up. However, what I like about this tea is that it truly promotes a restful sleep. You will sleep very well, almost as if you are sleeping with a purpose and with an initiative. One awakes feeling like those hours of rest were truly worth it and beneficial. Yogi Bedtime Tea encourages a sleep that will be of use in getting all of those important errands and our jobs completed to the best of our ability.
Just be careful because Yogi Bedtime Tea isn’t just a soporific drink, its also delicious and drinking too much is easy to do. So, unless you have ten hours, one cup’s enough!
Serious Coffee
It’s easy to drink serious amounts of coffee, but to be a serious coffee drinker, there are few pulling a shot of the brown liqueur who are up to the standards of a true aficionado.
That’s why a place like Ninth Street Espresso, which recently (confusingly) opened on 13th Street in the lobby of the Classic Stage Company Theatre, is triggering coffee queues for the connoisseurs.
Using the über-concentrated method of pulling a shot, triple ristretto, in which the coffee is ground very finely and tamped very tightly to produce a shorter but fuller, sweeter shot, the baristas craft cappuccinos and americanos to perfection. This method grants an irresistibly thick crema to the top of every drink.
The coffee isn’t going unnoticed. Those in another business bent on beverages are flocking to Ninth Street—wine directors, sommeliers, and the like can be spotted regularly appreciating the craft of these more-than-your-average-joe pick-me-ups.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
I Heart Emeril, LIVE!
As I was walking out of Chelsea Market last week, a woman approached me and a friend, and what was a quick lunch turned into free tickets to Emeril Live, a Food Network show that is shot on the second floor.
After being audience members, our vision of the Bam-tastic celebrity chef was kicked up a few notches.
Emeril wooed the crowd with mushroom and pecorino lasagna, braised lamb shanks with polenta, mushroom risotto, and Tuscan white bean and vegetable soup. He excited everyone with his affection for garlic and spices. His persona live wasn’t the inane one that comes across on TV.
From now on I’ll be looking out for our episode, Fireside Favorites, and enjoying the other episodes in between.
Cranberry-Cinnamon Sangria
Sangria is so often paired with the summer sunshine, but with the weather so flip-floppy, it might be nice to have a pitcher resting up in the fridge for any given occasion, especially a sangria that plays off of winter notes like cranberries and spice.
Using a juicy Zinfandel as a base and improving it with brandy, cinnamon, and cloves, frost on the windows doesn’t seem so daunting. A frozen winter wonderland certainly sounds better when you know that there is a welcoming glass of sangria waiting for you at home.
This sangria is perfect for entertaining on cold nights, as the fruits add a little liveliness to the drink. I imagine it accompanying sweet pork tenderloin or a Moroccan lamb stew. Grill up some crusty bread and drizzle balsamic vinaigrette over strawberries for dessert, and you’ll have a perfect meal program.
Cranberry Cinnamon Sangria
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
3 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
3 lemon slices
4 cranberry tea bags
1 bottle Zinfandel wine
3 tbsps brandy
1/2 pint fresh strawberries
1 orange
1 cup club soda
1. Cut orange into one inch cubes—unpeeled. Wash and slice strawberries; set aside.
2. Combine water, sugar, cloves, cinnamon sticks and lemon in a small saucepan.
3. Simmer over medium heat for about two minutes and then reduce heat to low.
4. Simmer another ten minutes and then remove pan from heat.
5. Add the tea bags, and let sit for five minutes. Strain.
6. Refrigerate the tea mixture until cool. Add wine and brandy. Then add orange and strawberries. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Add club soda moments before serving.
Serves about 6.
Using a juicy Zinfandel as a base and improving it with brandy, cinnamon, and cloves, frost on the windows doesn’t seem so daunting. A frozen winter wonderland certainly sounds better when you know that there is a welcoming glass of sangria waiting for you at home.
This sangria is perfect for entertaining on cold nights, as the fruits add a little liveliness to the drink. I imagine it accompanying sweet pork tenderloin or a Moroccan lamb stew. Grill up some crusty bread and drizzle balsamic vinaigrette over strawberries for dessert, and you’ll have a perfect meal program.
Cranberry Cinnamon Sangria
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
3 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
3 lemon slices
4 cranberry tea bags
1 bottle Zinfandel wine
3 tbsps brandy
1/2 pint fresh strawberries
1 orange
1 cup club soda
1. Cut orange into one inch cubes—unpeeled. Wash and slice strawberries; set aside.
2. Combine water, sugar, cloves, cinnamon sticks and lemon in a small saucepan.
3. Simmer over medium heat for about two minutes and then reduce heat to low.
4. Simmer another ten minutes and then remove pan from heat.
5. Add the tea bags, and let sit for five minutes. Strain.
6. Refrigerate the tea mixture until cool. Add wine and brandy. Then add orange and strawberries. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Add club soda moments before serving.
Serves about 6.
One Tough Cookie
For special events, birthdays, and gift giving, personalized cookies always add an extra touch of sweetness and charm. Something about a batch of cookies made specifically for one person or for a certain cause always makes the attraction more festive.
Hardened by the fashion industry, West Village resident, Gail Dosik, became One Tough Cookie. While her days used to be filled with prints, fabrics, seams, and hem lines, now she spends her time rolling out dough and getting her true creativity to come through in the form of elaborate icing designs on made-to-order cookies.
Her masterpiece edibles are available only through special order, but oh how they are worth it. Unlike other cookie art, Dosik’s are delicious. She went to culinary school to learn the tricks and now she’s got fashionistas and foodies alike eating out of her hand.
Hardened by the fashion industry, West Village resident, Gail Dosik, became One Tough Cookie. While her days used to be filled with prints, fabrics, seams, and hem lines, now she spends her time rolling out dough and getting her true creativity to come through in the form of elaborate icing designs on made-to-order cookies.
Her masterpiece edibles are available only through special order, but oh how they are worth it. Unlike other cookie art, Dosik’s are delicious. She went to culinary school to learn the tricks and now she’s got fashionistas and foodies alike eating out of her hand.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Little Magazine Café Rules Tribeca
Enter The Little Magazine Café in Tribeca and enter into the wonderful world of proprietor Fred Parvin. The café reflects him and his interests with waves of classical music pervading the air and a music room in the back of the expansive, vivacious space. The café stocks nearly every daily newspaper, periodical, and magazine; so there’s plenty of reading for Mr. Parvin, a retired professor.
A typical day at the café features a morning rush of people grabbing pastries, coffee, and anything from the Times to In Style to Black Book. The afternoon is filled with patrons, who adore Parvin’s delicious homemade soups. Around three is when the after school set of moms and their children flood in for aranciatas and Archie comic books. Between four and five is closing time for Parvin, but there’s always the few stragglers or the meetings that run overtime amongst directors and actors who live in the neighborhood.
Parvin lives around the corner and knows almost everyone who walks in the door. His dedicated crew of regulars includes Jon Stewart and Mike Piazza who live above the café. He talks to everyone, and sometimes it seems like the customers come in just to spend a little time with him.
Indeed, the café is very much an old world salon, meant for socializing, reading, writing, and thinking. Little Magazine offers free wireless Internet for the type who likes to tap out screenplays and emails on the go.
Though he usually closes his doors around four thirty, he often has impromptu concerts in the backroom, which serves as a sort-of music salon. He also has been known to transform the space into a party loft for his customers’ private parties.
Little Magazine Café is a local haunt that is completely in balance—loving owner, spacious environment, printed material for perusal, a stimulating soundtrack, delicious café food, and a loyal clientele. It is what every neighborhood should have but what many seem to lack. Indeed, Fred Parvin has created a Tribeca mainstay, which city dwellers should all make an effort to enjoy.
A typical day at the café features a morning rush of people grabbing pastries, coffee, and anything from the Times to In Style to Black Book. The afternoon is filled with patrons, who adore Parvin’s delicious homemade soups. Around three is when the after school set of moms and their children flood in for aranciatas and Archie comic books. Between four and five is closing time for Parvin, but there’s always the few stragglers or the meetings that run overtime amongst directors and actors who live in the neighborhood.
Parvin lives around the corner and knows almost everyone who walks in the door. His dedicated crew of regulars includes Jon Stewart and Mike Piazza who live above the café. He talks to everyone, and sometimes it seems like the customers come in just to spend a little time with him.
Indeed, the café is very much an old world salon, meant for socializing, reading, writing, and thinking. Little Magazine offers free wireless Internet for the type who likes to tap out screenplays and emails on the go.
Though he usually closes his doors around four thirty, he often has impromptu concerts in the backroom, which serves as a sort-of music salon. He also has been known to transform the space into a party loft for his customers’ private parties.
Little Magazine Café is a local haunt that is completely in balance—loving owner, spacious environment, printed material for perusal, a stimulating soundtrack, delicious café food, and a loyal clientele. It is what every neighborhood should have but what many seem to lack. Indeed, Fred Parvin has created a Tribeca mainstay, which city dwellers should all make an effort to enjoy.
Cornflake Crisps
A recent Jacques Torres discovery sent me into chocolate bliss last week. Available in small packs at his chocolate factory on Hudson Street are dark chocolate covered cornflakes chunks. Made by blending cornflake bits and chocolate and then letting them cool and firm together, the end result is a crunchy mouthful about the size of a necco wafer. One or two of the bites make a mouth-watering accompaniment to a cup of coffee in the morning or as a four o’clock pick me up. For divine happiness, crush the medallions up a little and sprinkle them over vanilla ice cream.
The steep price tag ($5 for a baseball sized bag) is actually a blessing. It keeps the unsuspecting consumer from over-indulging in such an addictive creation!
KIND: More Than a Granola Bar
KIND Fruit + Nut Bars are a delicious new product for the health and socially conscious set. Each one of the ten varieties of bars—Walnut+Date and Apricot+Almond being my favorites—is satisfyingly healthy. The bars have no preservatives and are wheat-, gluten-, and dairy-free. They are what an energy bar would be before mass production and before shelf life was a necessity—an all-natural blend of hearty ingredients.
When I picked up the KIND Fruit + Nut Bar a few weeks ago, I was delighted by the taste and the health benefits; I didn’t realize that I’d be supporting a wonderful socially conscious company, as well.
KIND is an affiliate of Peaceworks, a company that raises money for various causes via the development of environmentally conscious businesses. KIND gives 5% of its profits to Peaceworks One Voice Movement, which promotes peace with the Middle East. Eating a KIND Bar is not only good for you; it’s good for the world.
When I picked up the KIND Fruit + Nut Bar a few weeks ago, I was delighted by the taste and the health benefits; I didn’t realize that I’d be supporting a wonderful socially conscious company, as well.
KIND is an affiliate of Peaceworks, a company that raises money for various causes via the development of environmentally conscious businesses. KIND gives 5% of its profits to Peaceworks One Voice Movement, which promotes peace with the Middle East. Eating a KIND Bar is not only good for you; it’s good for the world.
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Enough Sushi for the ENTIRE Year.
My first meal of 2007 was at Todai, the all-you-can-eat sushi buffet that recently bought out Minado on 32nd Street. Minado was “the ultimate sushi buffet,” which started and operated solely on the East Coast. Todai is a larger sushi buffet chain, which started in California and now has 25 international locations.
With a larger restaurant, in this case, comes the be-all and end-all in stuff-your-gullet style sushi consumption. The buffet counter is 160 feet long and loaded with nearly everything. Below is a breakdown of the sections.
First, there is an assortment of nigiri and sushi rolls. These aren’t the rice-laden rolls that you’d expect at an all-you-can-fit-in-your-belly joint. These rolls are pretty; they are served on small plates and replenished frequently. Certainly a highlight for me was the salmon roe (ikura) nigiri, which came overflowing with the orange fish eggs.
After the rolls, there is a small section of sashimi, which always get nabbed the fastest, but if you hover around the section, the sashimi lady will get the gist and hook you up with a few pieces.
Following the impressive sushi selections is an array of Asian salads, including a delicious hijiki salad, a jicama salad, and a shitake and bok choy salad.
Your plate may be filled, but when you come back for seconds, you can pick up with a few shrimp off a massive cocktail display or grab a few giant oysters.
Or, you can skip to the hibachi where mackeral, jumbo shrimp, pork, chicken, and beef are all skewered onto bamboo sticks and grilled to perfection. Don’t miss the miso soup or the soba noodles directly after the grill station.
Third times a charm when you have spicy calamari, pork gyoza, beef teriyaki, and fried tofu from which to choose. Crab cakes, scallops, and a plethora of other hot entrees dot the never-ending buffet. And most of it is exceptionally worth devouring. At $25, you could eat enough sushi to last you all year.
Food Byte
Next time you want to make a fresh fruit salad, consider adding dried fruit to the mix. On a recent trip to Miami, both News Café and Big Pink sprinkled raisins on their editions of fruit salad. The raisins added a new element of taste and texture to the chunks of watermelon, pineapple, strawberries, grapes, bananas, and other tropical fruits. Speared with a piece of banana, a few raisins added the ideal chewy balance to the consistency of the fruit.
I also think that adding dried cranberries to a salad heavy on apples is a divine addition. The dried stuff is a hearty improvement to the light fruit, making the fruit salad more of a meal. And, for an extra twist, add sliced dried ginger strips to a mango salad to impress any houseguest.
I also think that adding dried cranberries to a salad heavy on apples is a divine addition. The dried stuff is a hearty improvement to the light fruit, making the fruit salad more of a meal. And, for an extra twist, add sliced dried ginger strips to a mango salad to impress any houseguest.
Horseradish Vodka
I recently ate (and drank) at The Russian Vodka Room. Salmon roe and eggplant caviar were wonderful but I was most impressed by the horseradish-infused vodka. The spicy shot is ideal to accompany salty Beluga, Ossetra, and Sevruga.
Horseradish Vodka would also make a lovely Bloody Mary, adding an extra bit of punch into an already piquant elixir.
To infuse your own Horseradish Vodka, grate one cup of fresh horseradish root—it looks a lot like a ginger root and is more widely available at grocery stores than one would think—and add the shavings to one liter of vodka. Let the combination rest overnight and then strain and discard the horseradish from the liquid.
The process is simple and the results are delightful, but beware: to grate one cup of horseradish will make you cry harder than any amount of onion chopping. Consider taking a shot of the stuff at the Vodka Room before you get started on your own!
Horseradish Vodka would also make a lovely Bloody Mary, adding an extra bit of punch into an already piquant elixir.
To infuse your own Horseradish Vodka, grate one cup of fresh horseradish root—it looks a lot like a ginger root and is more widely available at grocery stores than one would think—and add the shavings to one liter of vodka. Let the combination rest overnight and then strain and discard the horseradish from the liquid.
The process is simple and the results are delightful, but beware: to grate one cup of horseradish will make you cry harder than any amount of onion chopping. Consider taking a shot of the stuff at the Vodka Room before you get started on your own!
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Blessing on Saint Marks Place
I must have walked passed the Holyland Market about a hundred times without realizing the gems that it has in store. I wasn’t aware of the unique and delicious food with which Israel is brimming. In the real Holy Land, I fell in love with halloumi cheese, labane cheese, bourekas (a savory puff pastry), and laffa (a big, thin pita bread) with zatar (a spice blend of sesame seeds, sumac, and thyme). These ingredients characterized the core that made up every meal during my Israeli adventure. The new flavors stuck with me.
Holyland Market provides East Villagers and Judea-ophiles with all these Israeli staples and more like Bissli—a snack that ranges in flavors from grill to falafel, Bamba—like a cheese puff but with peanut butter instead of cheese, and chocolate spread. Excellent rugelah—a chocolate pastry, classic Israeli brands for chocolate and cheese, and necessities like Turkish coffee and pickled vegetables can be found.
These flavors were all fairly new to me—the simple pleasure of a fresh pita bread was a taste experience I’d never encountered, let alone having the doughy bread pocket be filled with the creamiest hummus and sprinkled with such unique and delicate spices. The foods of Israel are a unique balance of intense flavor and sensational texture.
My tasting was a mere ten days—not nearly enough to taste everything, but certainly enough to whet my appetite. Back in Manhattan, I feel blessed to have Holyland Market, which has versions of all my favorite Sephardic and Ashkenazi basics.
Holyland also has an extensive range of Elite cow chocolate. Creamier than the dark chocolate so popular now in the states, para (Hebrew for cow) chocolate is a richer, sweeter form—a reminder that life should be sweet as can be. And, in Israel, it is.
Holyland Market provides East Villagers and Judea-ophiles with all these Israeli staples and more like Bissli—a snack that ranges in flavors from grill to falafel, Bamba—like a cheese puff but with peanut butter instead of cheese, and chocolate spread. Excellent rugelah—a chocolate pastry, classic Israeli brands for chocolate and cheese, and necessities like Turkish coffee and pickled vegetables can be found.
These flavors were all fairly new to me—the simple pleasure of a fresh pita bread was a taste experience I’d never encountered, let alone having the doughy bread pocket be filled with the creamiest hummus and sprinkled with such unique and delicate spices. The foods of Israel are a unique balance of intense flavor and sensational texture.
My tasting was a mere ten days—not nearly enough to taste everything, but certainly enough to whet my appetite. Back in Manhattan, I feel blessed to have Holyland Market, which has versions of all my favorite Sephardic and Ashkenazi basics.
Holyland also has an extensive range of Elite cow chocolate. Creamier than the dark chocolate so popular now in the states, para (Hebrew for cow) chocolate is a richer, sweeter form—a reminder that life should be sweet as can be. And, in Israel, it is.
Shakshuka
The final evening of my journey, I dined at a restaurant known for a Sephardic specialty, Shakshuka. Served piping hot in a fry pan, Shakshuka is a steaming mixture of stewed tomatoes, onion, and sunny-side up eggs. Paprika and chilis add kick to the dish and pita bread on the side operates as the ideal vessel for pan to gullet delivery.
The Hummus Place, an Israeli-owned mini-chain with an East Village, West Village, and Upper West Side location, serves a wonderful rendition of this delicious-anytime dish.
The Shakshuka is spot on in terms of authenticity and so is the hummus. The only frustration is the pita, which, though it is the best I’ve had in NYC, just doesn’t stand up to true Israeli pita.
The Hummus Place, an Israeli-owned mini-chain with an East Village, West Village, and Upper West Side location, serves a wonderful rendition of this delicious-anytime dish.
The Shakshuka is spot on in terms of authenticity and so is the hummus. The only frustration is the pita, which, though it is the best I’ve had in NYC, just doesn’t stand up to true Israeli pita.
Raisins-Tel Aviv to Dean and Deluca
The market in Tel Aviv is dotted with stands to purchase a variety of dried fruits, nuts, and seeds. The assortment is like nothing that I have seen before, and what surprised and delighted me the most was the array of golden raisins. From small and tart to inch-long juicy ones, I must have counted five kinds at a single stand.
I bought as many as I could, but nibbling on long bus rides and an even longer plane ride didn’t leave too many to share with my Manhattan friends.
Happily, Dean & Deluca has a fantastic type of golden raisin. It resembles—in taste and appearance—the longer, juicier Tel Aviv raisin. The D&D raisins hail from California, as most of ours do in America, but this variety will transcend you further than the West coast.
For me, sinking my teeth into a few as a snack, adding them to a stew, or sprinkling them on yogurt brings me to hustling streets of the Holy Land.
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