That being said, I want to jump into the cookies and treats that Schmackary’s had to offer. I don’t even know where to begin though. The assortment of flavors was simply overwhelming (in a good way). They have two groupings of cookies: ones that are offered all year-long and those that are seasonal. For their “always on” offering there were the Classic Chocolate Chip, Cookies and Cream (dark cocoa, white chocolate, Oreo pieces and vanilla buttercream frosting on top), Maple Bacon (candied bacon, maple syrup, toffee bits and sea salt – YUM), Oatmeal Scotchie (oats, butterscotch chips, cinnamon and vanilla), Peanut Butter Cup, Red Velvet, and the  Sweet Corn (gluten-free, corn flour, cornmeal, sweet corn, cranberries and pecan bits). Needless to say, all of those looked and smelled amazing. For the seasonal cookies, they featured the Caramel Apple Crisp (oats, granny smith apples, white chocolate, caramel and streusel topping), Fluffer-Nutter (peanuts, peanut butter, peanut butter chips, peanut butter-marshmallow frosting on top – amazing), Peanut Butter After Dark (peanut butter, cocoa, semi-sweet chocolate and peanut butter chips), and Pumpkin Spice (pumpkin, autumnal spices, cranberries, cinnamon chips, pecans, and maple buttercream). Out of vast array of cookies that were offered, I chose the Peanut Butter After Dark and the Caramel Apple Crisp.

They. Were. Amazing!

The Peanut Butter After Dark, as you can tell from the ingredients, was so incredibly peanut buttery that it almost killed me (in a good way!). I don’t even have words to describe. If you like chocolate and you like peanut butter then you must check this cookie out. Hopefully they have it when you’re there. The Caramel Apple Crisp, how I love thee. Growing up my mom and I used to visit apple-picking orchards and then when we got home she’d make me the most delicious apple crisp that I still have ever tasted. This cookie was somewhat reminiscent of that flavor. The caramel gooey-ness combined with the crispy apple and streusel topping were to die for. I strongly urge you to visit this cookie-heaven-land before the fall season up so you can snatch up this cookie….or 5.

At the end of the day Schmackary’s, hands down, has the absolute best novelty and specialty cookies that I have yet to try. I highly recommend going there at least once a season and relaxing with a few cookies and cup of their fabulous Kobrick Coffee. It was the perfect way for me to end an incredibly stressful Hurricane Week and I would recommend that whether or not you experienced it, Schmackary’s will make your week happy too.

So I did.

Luckily I’m traveling with a coworker who is originally from LA and more specifically this exact area. When she found out about The Coffee Crawl and that we would be in LA together this week, she insisted that I crawl to The Cow’s End Cafe. Taken right from their website, this spot is known for “where the locals hang” – and it was just that. By now you all should understand what I look for in a coffee shop and what really gets me going…or doesn’t for that matter. Well The Cow’s End Cafe hit me in all the right spots. From the local LAers hanging outside with their pooches to the easy-going laid back customers waiting for their drinks on the line inside, the vibe was that of perfection. There’s nothing I hate more than a stressful coffee experience and this cafe was anything but that. There was very low music, if any, and all the sounds that could be heard were that of the espresso machine pumping out its java goodness. The baristas were also incredibly chill and relaxed and even gave off a bit of a “hippy vibe.” And by that I mean the way they spoke, acted and assisted the customers in making their drink selections was just chill (with a few “yeah mans” thrown in for good measure).  The photos, as you can hopefully see, also tell the story of the personality of The Cow’s End. It’s quirky. It’s fun. It’s meant to bring a smile to your day, and it did just that for me successfully. I always appreciate a good grin and chuckle when enjoying my coffee.

And honestly, with cow’s being literally all over the entire shop, how could you not enjoy yourself here?! I mean, just look at the pictures. Amazing.

What really drew me here however, was their selection of fall drink flavors that are currently featured on their website: Pumpkin Pie Chai, Pumpkin Cheesecake, Frosted Cinnamon Bun, Red Apple Orchard. I basically salivate just writing those flavors. Obviously the pumpkin is what immediately drew me in, but the fact that it was Pumpkin Cheesecake?? Come on. Indulgence necessary. I ordered that latte as well as a Blondie (for good measure…I have to try everything!). The abundance of spice, nutmeg and cinnamon in the latte was delicious. It was smooth, tasty and hit the spot. If you’ve ever tried Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte, it’s nothing like that. The overly sweet feeling that the Starbucks version leaves in your mouth was not present here. What I was left with was spicy, pumpkin-y happiness…without the film of sugar.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get a shot of the latte or brownie, but hopefully from how it sounds, you get the drift that it was great. So if I have any LA readers out there, or if you’re planning a trip out west soon, please try The Cow’s End Cafe. Tell them The Coffee Crawl sent you!

Upon walking through the doors of the bakery I was instantly enamored with the decor. Halloween was to be found everywhere! From the decorations placed around the entrance to the featured goodies in each of the cases, the spooky Halloween spirit was in the air. I don’t know about you, but this time of year is my absolute favorite. Moving past the entrance and into the restaurant proper, it was a true Italian diner / bakery at its heart. Large bistro-style tables, families enjoying their food and treats and waiters bustling around. The thing that I love about diner atmospheres, especially Italian ones that are family owned and operated (I’m assuming) is that the level of service and care are top-notch. They ensure that your every want, need and desires are met and in a timely fashion. Very pleased.

Once we sat down at our table in the back corner of the bakery, a waitress quickly came over to tell us of the specials treats of the day as well as encouraged us to venture over to the bakery cases for viewing the various treats. There were 4 massive cases filled to the brim with all forms of baked goods ranging from cookies to cakes to pies to tarts. Everything you could possibly ever imagine wanting. I was in sweets heaven. As you can see from the photo, there was even a pumpkin-shaped cake! Ah-mazing. While I didn’t order the entire pumpkin cake, I did order 2 (yes, 2) yummy treats.

My first dessert to my Sunday Funday excursion was a Pumpkin Pie tart. Inspired by the Halloween decorations as well as the giant Pumpkin cake, I simply had to order this. As you can imagine it was fabulous and delicious. Smooth pumpkin creamy goodness and a dollop of whipped cream. YUM. My second dessert was a Double Chocolate Cake Souffle. I mean, do I really need to say anymore about it? The amount of chocolate was, for me, fabulous however I could see it being overwhelming for people who may not be as obsessed with sugar and chocolate as I am. I will say though it was fabulous.

For my drink I chose to order their dark chocolate hazelnut latte, in other words, a Nutella Latte. Honestly, I don’t think I need to write how great it was, but it was the most chocolatey, hazelnutty, creamy goodness and I will most definitely order it again. It probably was the best latte that I’ve had to date on my coffee crawl.

…and that’s saying a lot.

I knew that once I selected to Crawl to the Housing Works Bookstore Cafe that it wouldn’t be an experience akin to that of Birch Coffee. It’s a completely different atmosphere and environment. The location of the bookstore appears to be that of a large, old, warehouse or other storage room. The ceilings were high. The floors were all original hardwood. The walls were stacked to the ceiling with used books upon used books. For the bibliophiles out there, this place should be on your bucketlist. Especially for myself, I love used books. Although we live in an age of iPads, Kindles and other various e-readers, I still gravitate to my trusty old book – an even better if it’s used. The texture, the smell, the history that comes along with a used book is priceless. The life that it’s led is simply astounding. Needless to say, I was in book and coffee heaven.

The patrons of the bookstore were also a perfect fit for my day. All relaxed, East Village-artsy, book lovers. The atmosphere wouldn’t have been complete without them. You could just sense the air of relaxation permeating throughout the space. That calmness, that relaxing-with-nowhere-to-go vibe is exactly what I look for in a coffee shop (and, well, bookstore). If you remember correctly, the reason why I first started on my coffee crawl was to seek out why New Yorkers loved coffee and coffee shops so much. It’s a place such as the Housing Works Bookstore Cafe that make me see why people love relaxing in coffee shops. All that it was missing was a giant comfy couch and fireplace to curl up into. And honestly, that’s my secret passion (well not so secret anymore) – starting my own coffee shop in the City. Staring the Coffee Crawl. Attending business school and receiving my MBA. All were done with the endgame being opening my dream. I’ve refused to give up on that dream and I hope that you follow me on this path to realizing it.

Towards the very back of the bookstore was a cute neon “bar” sign next to a Pabst Blue Ribbon antique sign denoting that this was the spot for coffee and treats. Yum. I ordered the usual latte and tried out their cinnamon roll and Pumpkin bread. Of course pumpkin. As I mentioned earlier, Housing Works Bookstore Cafe isn’t what you’d call a true cafe or coffee shop. You went there for the books, the mission of helping out those living with HIV / AIDS and donated / tipped them for added help. The cinnamon roll was good enough, the pumpkin bread was great and definitely baked fresh that day, the latte was a latte. I was able to check out various Halloween books while enjoying my treats so I had a great time.

I would love everyone to check out the Housing Works mission and give their website and cafe a look and visit (if you’re ever in the SoHo area). The good vibes, the positive atmosphere and the beautiful people will make it all worth it. And your heart will feel so good when you’re done.

Located at 307 East 9th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues, I was making a venture out of my usual territory: East Village land. And to be quite honest, I loved it. The personalities. The people. The sights and sounds. The atmosphere. Everything was just so…different…from the West Village. You would think that 6 avenue blocks wouldn’t make that much of a difference, but boy did it. The most noticeable difference between the two neighborhoods were just the people’s attitudes. Inside and outside of Mudspot everyone was a little more relaxed and “cool.” It was nice not to feel so rushed by rude New Yorkers all the time. Yes I live in and love the West Village but we can have some attitudes over here. That was the first main difference. The second difference being the coffee shop atmosphere, which you can say goes hand in hand with my previous statement. The baristas, employees and customers made the coffee experience amazing to enjoy. The friendliness, helpfulness of what to try out (being new to this part of town) and all around cheery demeanor made my crawl with Mudspot a fantastic one.

I was able to score a seat in the window at Mudspot which was a “help yourself” place to sit. The majority of the coffee shop being table service, I simply wanted to enjoy my coffee and snack without annoying the waitstaff with taking up a table (although I don’t think they would have been annoyed – remember the cheery demeanor?) The front half of the shop was of course the barista station with a bar area to sit at which led down a narrow hallway, opening up in the restaurant portion. There were probably a total of 6 tables inside, which then opened up into a cute little garden outside with much more places to sit. It was covered and decorated in a bohemian-chic style making it very pleasant to sit and enjoy your selection of food and drink. The bathroom was every super cute (small, but cute) with a lovely little stained glass window leading outside (don’t worry, you can’t see in and you can’t see out – I was worried for a second but all ended up being fine).

Back to the food. Mudspot featured a full American style menu of breakfast, lunch and dinner fare as well as freshly baked (in-house!) muffins, cookies and brownies. Brownies! Huge brownies. I definitely snatched one of those up (chocolate brownie with chocolate chips) as well as a carrot, apple cinnamon, pecan muffin (now that’s a mouthful – of food…and words). The brownie was quite literally the most fresh, moist and delicious brownie that I’ve ever tried. Ever. It almost melted in my mouth it was so scrumptious. The muffin was good as well, definitely something I would order for breakfast though. Both treats, you could tell, were fresh from the oven baked on-site. I just love when coffee shops and bakeries take the care to make their food in-house. It adds that little touch of “home.” The coffee: divine and strong. Probably one of the best coffees I’ve yet to experience in New York City, only next time I need to do so in one of their cute burnt orange Mud Mugs. I want one!! That’s probably why so many bakeries and coffee shops in the city outsource their beans from Mud, because of the deliciousness and popularity: Smart choice New York City, smart choice.

Then, as I was last weekend, I was in awe of the location. I mean, nestled inside of the Gershwin Hotel at 5 East 27th Street? Fabulous building to be a part of. The quirky design and aesthetic alone will draw you in. But the funny thing is that I didn’t really realize that Birch Coffee was the same place that I’d been to so many years prior that when I approached its doors I was instantly transported back to those memories. It was a fantastic feeling to remember the innocent days of wanting / dreaming / aspiring to own a coffee shop. Those wonderful little butterflies of excitement that danced inside me as I thought to myself, “wow, this could be me one day if I just put my mind to it.” I still have those hopes and wishes, they’re just on hold as continue to share with all of you my coffee crawling experiences.

I was already pleased with my experience this time with my crawl. Birch Coffee hadn’t changed much from the time that I was there other than the fact that it was bustling with customers. I was so pleased to see that the business is still thriving, with what appeared to be locals and tourists alike. Always a good sign of a great coffee shop when locals feel comfortable enough to plant themselves with their laptop, iPad, a good book or even better company. I found myself a seat by the window before I went up to place my order with the baristas – hey, it was a window seat, I wasn’t about to give that up! The food counter itself, along with the baristas, had great personality. Aside from being stacked to the brim with food and decorations (like the Birch Iced Coffee bottles featured), there was a fun chalkboard with daily “brain” written on it. The previous day’s answers could be found on the wall beside the food-ordering station. What a nifty idea! I would definitely come here every day with the little anticipation of seeing not only what the daily question was, but also to make sure that I was correct on yesterday’s! And actually, I have no idea what the answer to the question was for this weekend when I was. Do you think you know? If Birch reads this, maybe they can comment with the correct answer – inquiring minds want to know. After I placed my food and beverage order (which I’ll get to), I remembered there being an upstairs section to the coffee shop. Then, I saw a sign printed by the register that said, “for the library head into the hotel lobby and make a right.” So, like any good lover of scavenger hunts, I went for it. The path led me into the hotel’s interior staircase with their luggage carts and a sign that directed Birch patrons up the stone staircase to the library. The secluded little library was just perfect. Tucked away upstairs away from the bustle of the coffee shop proper, it is probably one of the best and most relaxing places in that neighborhood to catch a good read when you want to escape from the real world. Even though Birch is a good 20 minute walk from my apartment, I’ll probably venture over here to do a little of that myself. Love it.

Back to the food and drinks. I mean, what was I not going to order. You know me, I love my sweets, and with a scrumptious assortment of locally sourced and homemade muffins, cookies, brownies and more, I had to have some. I started with the chocolate chip cookie, which was gorgeous. Yes, it was so good that it was gorgeous. Try it, you’ll see. Then I moved on to the pumpkin cranberry bran muffin. I am also obsessed with all things pumpkin in the fall. That’s why every year, the first day that Starbucks brings back their phenomenal Pumpkin Spice Latte, I’m the first in line to place my order. Anyway, the muffin at Birch was good. A perfect breakfast option, especially for those of you wanting to be on the healthier side, this muffin definitely hit the spot. I finished my food frolic off with their chocolate-dipped macaroon. Now, I’m not normally a coconut eater, but this looked to good to pass up…and boy was a right. I think there must have been a whole can of condensed milk in just my macaroon because it was the most moist and yummy macaroon that has ever passed my lips. I also ordered myself a coffee (because I was craving it) and a mocha. The coffee that Birch used, the Birch Blend, was the perfect blend of sweet and strong espresso without being burnt or overpowering. It honestly just hit the spot to top off all of my sweet treats.

So, I hope all of you find your way over to Birch Coffee on 5 East 27th Street. Order yourself a large cup of coffee to stay, a chocolate chip cookie (or muffin for breakfast) and take yourself up to the library. You definitely won’t be disappointed and I’m positive you’ll be coming back for more memories the way I have. Enjoy!

This past weekend was the 86th Annual Feast of San Gennaro in Little Italy. I go every year. Gorge myself on fabulous pastas and meatballs. Become overstuffed with freshly made cannolis. Even get a little tipsy from the Pina Colada man when you order yours, “with” – a sneaky little New Yorker secret. Try it out sometime. As I was saying, I’ve gone every year that I’ve lived in New York City. Filled to the brim with wannabe gorillas, juice heads and Snookis, this Italian Feast is not one to miss. How could you pass up the opportunity to see the over-tanned and over-dyed messes that, more often than not, fill up the already overcrowded streets of Little Italy?! “So why not make a trip out of it and hit up a coffee shop,” I asked. And I did. Looking through my guide, I noticed a shop called La Colombe Torrefaction which was literally around the corner from the Feast. Perfect…or so I thought.

Honestly, and I really try not to judge or be overly critical of anything (well, not of coffee shops and bakeries at least), but this location of La Colombe at 270 Lafayette Street, left a little too much to be desired. There’s something to a minimalistic and “coffee shop attitude-style” places, but this was ridiculous. It had to be the coldest and most unwelcoming environment I’d crawled to yet. From the exposed brick (which I normally love) with 2 paintings in the whole shop to the seats that barely fit one butt cheek to the tables which barely held my cup of coffee and little else – I think it’s safe to say, from my point of view, that this shop was cold and not relaxing in the least. Matter of fact, I left more stressed than when I entered (and I’m not exaggerating). The front barista also left a little to be desired. He could barely make eye contact with me while I placed my order. I wanted to purchase more than what I did, but he really was so unfriendly that I didn’t want to converse any longer. The barista who made my drink order was actually pretty fabulous and somewhat redeemed La Colombe from receiving an even worse write-up. She was talking to me as she steamed milk, ground coffee beans and pulled espresso. I also got to watch her form of latte art-making, which she made look relatively simple. After the foam had been placed on my latte, she simply took a little of the remaining espresso, drizzling it across the top thus creating her version of latte art. I loved it. So simple yet so incredibly beautiful. I would probably go back just so I could talk to her again – she really was lovely.

So clearly I had a skim latte and was mesmerized by the art. I didn’t want to take a sip because it looked too good. Unfortunately, it didn’t taste too good. I won’t go on and on about how much I didn’t personally care for the taste, but I will say this, the latte tasted incredibly bitter and burnt. I used to think that Starbucks was the same way, but after this, it’s in its own class. I also ordered this scrumptious-looking chocolate chip cookie. You KNOW that’s my favorite. Well again, not this time. The texture of the cookie, the crunchiness, was so amazing, I only wished that the rest of the cookie was the same. Unfortunately for me again, rather than having a yummy brown sugar, chocolate and slightly salty taste, I couldn’t get past the baking soda taste permeating throughout. So not yummy.

The saving grace of this crawl was the fact that I got to go to the Feast of San Gennaro because I was so close.

I’m really not this mean, honestly, it’s just that I’m a bit of a coffee shop and coffee taste snob – demanding the utmost in product freshness & quality along with a relaxing, well-lit & friendly environment. As I’ve mentioned quite a few times, La Colombe Torrefaction in Little Italy let me down – or maybe they simply were having an off (really off) day.

From the picture you can see that I decided not to start at #1, but instead to start with #7. Kaffee 1668 located in TriBeCa actually has 2 locations fairly close to each other. Kaffe North and Kaffe South. I hit up North for this edition of the Crawl. Situated at 401 Greenwich Street, between Beach and Hubert Streets, this coffee shop was perfectly located in a quiet enough part of TriBeCa to make it enjoyable yet not dead enough to make it seem as if we were enjoying our espressos and treats in the middle of an urban graveyard. To that point, walking into Kaffe 1668 I was instantly at ease and relaxed. The atmosphere was such that it was very dark (saving on electricity?) and peaceful from all that New York City usually has to offer its residents. One thing that quickly caught my eye was the use of sheep everywhere: the sign up front, stuffed sheep hiding in all nooks of the shop, the loyalty cards had no stamps but the employees drew little sheep (found in my picture above) to indicate your visit there. I wasn’t able to track down the significance of said sheep other than a nod to the shop’s folkloric nature and heritage, but when I venture out to Kaffe South that will be my main mission, aside from sampling the caffeine and sugar-laden treats that would await me.

As I was saying, everything about Kaffe 1668 was peaceful. The birch wood decor was stunning. The pillars adoring the walls. The tables and stools lining the cafe. The use of the wood and attention to detail was great. Walking through the forest of birch to get to the barista counter, light electronic music with airy vocal accompaniment greeted my ears. My favorite for a coffee shop setting. There were 2 baristas working the day that I came in. One seemed to be a bit on the rushed and “rude New Yorker side” which I didn’t really care for. Yet one was incredibly sweet, cute, totally dressed the part of a New York barista (whatever that means – take it for what it is) and was willing to chat with me about my blog and help me select some really delicious treats.

So what did she recommend that we get? I mean, what did we end up NOT getting would probably be the shorter of the 2 lists. I started out ordering a chocolate drop cookie with a ginger black iced tea (it was surprisingly humid yesterday in New York and I know that an iced tea would do just the trick). The cookie, where do I even begin?! From the picture to the right you can see that it looks quite heavy. However it was probably one of the lightest brownie-like cookies that I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting. It practically melted in my mouth – and would have done so had I not inhaled the entire deliciousness so quickly. The ginger black iced was exactly as it sounds. An iced with a strong taste of ginger. Definitely not for those who don’t like a good ginger essence in your food and drinks. It did, nonetheless, hit the spot.

The next round of treats ended up being an iced mocha (yes, with whole milk, duh) and a slice of their fresh-from-the-oven pumpkin ginger bread (do you see a theme emerging?). The pumpkin bread was out of this world: incredibly moist and incredibly pumpkin-y. For those of you who love fall as much as I do, then you’ll want to indulge in this treat. It’s all fall in your mouth, all the time. The iced mocha, I mean what’s not to like when you mix espresso, whole milk and chocolate into a drink? Yummy.

Finally, up on the treat menu was a strawberry mint lemonade. Similar to the ginger black iced tea, the strawberry mint lemonade was the perfect thirst quencher for a hot and humid day like the one that we experienced. It was wonderfully refreshing, very minty and tart yet not overly sweet. I was surprised at that last part. Being a strawberry flavored drink one would think that your taste buds would get served with tbsp after tbsp of sugar. Nope. Not this drink. It was just the right amount of sugar + lemonade + mint. Refreshing and delicious! And two things you’ll notice from my pictures. One, is that I clearly enjoyed using the sunflower table decorations as my picture prop. It was cute!! Two, is that Kaffe 1668 served their cold drinks up in mason jars. I loved this nice little touch.

Overall I give Kaffe 1668 a great rating. If you find yourself in TriBeCa and in need of a peaceful sanctuary from the busy streets of New York, stop in. You can also contact them at kaffe1668@gmail.com or (212) 693-3750 – tell them The Coffee Crawler sent you!

Stay tuned for my next Crawl adventures with my pal, The New York Coffee Guide!

I suppose, to the usual passersby and tourists, that Blue Bottle would appear to be your run of the mill coffee shop. It definitely was not that. Upon entering, I was greeted with polite hello’s, calm and not overpowering music, and the delicious aroma of coffee. While the seating area in the front of the shop was quite small, allowing for 8 stools, there was a second floor (which I will get to in a bit). As far as drinks go, there were a few things from the menu that I wanted to try, and couldn’t settle on just one so we decided to settle on a Cafe Latte and an Orange Peel Hibiscus Iced Tea.

The latte was absolutely delicious, especially being made from skim milk. The texture was creamy, the temperature was just hot enough and the latte art on top was exquisite. I noticed that, while we were being taken care of by one person, there was a second employee, the artist / barista, who did the actual coffee making magic. The work he did was simply put, amazing. It’s pretty difficult to find a great latte artist as the intricacy put into the craft is one that is incredibly detail-oriented yet must be quick. People don’t want to wait a long time for their beverages yet they do like the care and effort put into it. Go figure.

We also decided to try something on the cold side, as it was as I mentioned earlier, 80-something and muggy outside. I had asked if they had any iced teas, and to my luck, they did!! An orange peel hibiscus iced tea. That was a definite yes. Sounded scrumptious and exactly what I needed to quench my thirst. As you know from my past crawls, I have a bit of a sweet tooth, so you’ll be surprised to hear that I didn’t add any sweetener to the iced tea. The orange was sweet enough, combined with the floral aspect of the hibiscus, that it satisfied even my cravings without being over-the-top for those of you who don’t care for sweeter things. I would say that it’s a must-have here. The next time I’m cruising the High Line, I’ll make sure to swing by Blue Bottle for my iced tea to go!

We then noticed that a second floor existed. A little sign in the corner of the shop pointed upstairs and read “Siphon and Toast.” My interest and curiosity were piqued. What we found was a cute little bar. It looked like a cleaned up version of any neighborhood bar, where everybody knows your name, except that this version served up siphoned coffee, cute little cookies and brioche toast with butter and jam. Hence the name siphon and toast.

Blue Bottle’s Siphon and Toast was modeled after Tokyo’s intimate coffee bars which allowed locals to come in and enjoy a very clean and light brewed coffee with the conversational setting of a bar. Siphoned coffee is made using  a halogen burner, a siphon upper and lower bowl, a cloth-like filter, a bamboo stirring paddle and of course, coffee. The water is heated in the lower bowl to a temperature that forces the liquid to rise into the upper bowl, because there’s nowhere else for it go. The water that now is in the upper bowl is heated even more to temperature of around 90-95 degrees. Once there, the coffee grinds are stirred in, with the bamboo stirring paddle, until the coffee is made. Following this step, the coffee then filters back down into the lower bowl through the cloth-like filter, leaving a very rich and clean drink. It’s so clean in fact, that it resembles a hot tea, only with much more caffeine.  We tried two flavors, one that was a Hawaiian bean and consisted of a very floral palette and one that had much more of a chocolate and fruit appeal, with notes of pomegranate. Both were absolutely delicious.

We also had to try (lol) the Brioche Toast with Butter and Jam. The bread was flaky, had a hint of sweetness and topping that off with blackberry jam, I was in heaven. We were told that it was actually a great way to soak up some of the caffeine because apparently, the siphoned coffee was a little more intense than your regular drip coffee.

Of course the siphoned coffee was a bit on the pricey side totaling $20 for both, but knowing the work and care that went into it – it was well worth the money. Our barista was a doll, also make the money worth it! Taking the time to explain every last step to us in detail, telling us about the origins of the beans and even about the history of Blue Bottle.

I will be making a return in the near future. I’ve needed to find a great little out-of-the-way coffee shop for quite some time now and Blue Bottle may be just that. We’ll see how quickly Time Out or The Voice get hold of this, but for now, I’m going to keep it my little gem.

In addition to loving anything with large quantities of butter and sugar, and the slightest touch of personal nostalgia attached to it, I decided to try out Chelsea’s new doughnut shop, Doughnut Plant. Although new to the neighborhood, Doughnut Plant also has a location on the Lower East Side which I have had the extreme pleasure in trying a few years back. Truly amazing. Amazing! Deciding to explore this new location on 23rd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues, it was clear that what I was about to taste would be no exception. The outside of the doughnut shop already showed me that I would be in for something wonderful. The black and white tiled entrance, the sandwich board sign calling out the day’s specials (today was an interesting-sounding Green Tea Doughnut which I did not brave myself enough up to try), and the beautiful floor-to-ceiling windows giving me a sneak peek into the fabulous shop inside. Walking inside it’s clear that the theme of a “doughnut plant” is carried through well. Wrought iron lamps hanging from the ceiling, a beautifully designed iron bar and just an all around industrial look give this place that plant/factory feel. Although it may not sound all that welcoming and comfortable, the smells and the tastes of the round (and square!) delicacies more than made up for any lack of comfort. Another theme carried throughout the store incredibly well (obviously) is that of the shape of the doughnut. From the traditional round shape to the more modern square, they are found throughout. From the wall pillows to the roped-off line stands to even the seats and booths, they were everywhere. The booths in particular were of utmost interest to me. It looked as if the initial bench was constructed of cement, overlaid with painted and glazed ceramic doughnut shapes (check out the picture on the left). Honestly, the decoration and clear thought that went into the design of Doughnut Plant was outstanding.

Now, onto the food!! It was incredibly difficult for me to refrain from ordering one of every last doughnut on the menu, but because I don’t have 25 hours in the day to workout at the gym to make up for it, I had to hold back. Sadly. The thing with the Doughnut Plant that you may or may not know is that their menu of available flavors can change daily. One day your favorite flavor will be there (or sold out) and another day it just might not have been on the docket. Because I had been there before, I did have a favorite: the Carrot Cake Doughnut. I mean, do I need to say more than that? Carrot cake batter, a ring of cream cheese icing piped throughout and drizzled in a light sugary syrup are the makings of this fabulous little treat. Unfortunately for me, they were already sold out. But lucky for me on the other hand, I like everything with butter and sugar (remember?) so I was easily able to substitute it for another. Today’s flavor happened to be a Vanilla Bean. You’re probably asking why I would pick such a plain flavor. Well I wanted to be able to focus on the craftsmanship of the “original” so that I could better judge the others at a later time. I definitely was not disappointed. Tasting what I would only be able to imagine my grandfather’s tasting like, the Vanilla Bean was just the right amount of sugary and cakey dough smothered in icing. Smothered. And, to be honest because I can’t lie to my readers, I went up for seconds. That’s right. Seconds. And what, do you ask, I went for? Well, the Peanut Butter and Jelly Doughnut. This was square-shaped, peanut butter dough, covered in bite-size peanuts and piped full of jelly. Ummm, amazing. Do I really need to say more about it? And because this is technically The Coffee Crawl, I did have coffee, although this really should focus on the out-of-this-world doughnuts. The coffee unfortunately was a bit burnt tasting and not very hot.  It was a little disappointing, but mainly because when I think doughnuts I also think coffee. What sounds better than a fresh-from-the-oven doughnut and a bold, fresh cup of coffee?

Despite that slight negative remark, Doughnut Plant was fantastic. From the moment I walked through its front doors I remembered what I once loved about its Lower East Side location. I also was able to try to catch a bit of the nostalgia in thinking about my grandfather’s bakery. In one respect I was sorry that I was never able to experience it, but in another it’s great that a place like this exists in Manhattan.