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.
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