Milk and Roses

This highly romantic, Italian cafe, located in Brooklyn is agreed, internet-wide, to be a "charming, unassuming gem of Greenpoint", and I would have to agree. My boyfriend and I arrived around 5 pm on a Sunday in early August. It was a very quiet atmosphere and almost everybody was in the back enjoying the beautiful Summer weather in the al-fresco seating area.

Everywhere I turn in this place, I feel like I've stumbled upon a still-life of old European antiquity. It's like I've walked into some kind of Casablanca-esque film-noir.

The inside has a huge collection of books, which I have learned was collected over time by the owner and his wife! I have no idea if anyone ever reads these books, or if there is some kind of lending policy, or if they are just for show, but I'd love to hear more about it if anyone knows!

In the back, you can see a piano that is in use on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and weekends when they feature live music. Unfortunately, we were not lucky enough to catch the show that night.

Porchetta Panini with Gorgonzola, Mustard, and Caramelized Onions- $12

Unfortunately, I do not remember where there bread is from (although I know they do not bake it on site), but it was amazing.

Chicken Panini with Basil Pesto, Tomato, and CaciocaVallo- $12

Again, I don't know what kind of salad this was but it had just the perfect amount of dressing. It's weird for me to say this about a plain salad but it was one of the best I've ever had.

My iced latte was served in a Hoegarden glass, which I thought was kinda funny given how cute and studied the rest of the atmosphere seemed to be (note the diamond paned jelly jars and the unmarked wine bottle containing water). It was very strong but eventually mellowed in flavor, probably done on purpose to counter the ice melting into my drink. 

The outside seating was not too crowded, with just a scattering of customers ranging from their 20's- 40's, some were working away on their laptops. It's definitely romantic, but also a slightly beer-garden vibe, probably due to the fact that this cafe also serves wines and beers.

Despite the amount of people, it was a very subdued and muted atmosphere, and there was a definite feeling of privacy. You can hear a gentle clink of dishes and running water coming from the open kitchen window. At one point, one of the cooks was standing in the kitchen doorway companionably chatting up a near-by table.

After we were seated, the waitress lit a citronella candle and placed it on the ground underneath our table to ward off bugs. The lemony scent of the citronella gently mixed with the cedar chips carpeting the ground.

Each seating area is sectioned off in some way, with plants. Here we have rosemary, cabbage, sage, and cilantro or parsley in little pots around our table.

I wish I had taken a picture of the menu as it looked like it was hand-written on an old-fashioned envelope with red & white diagonal stripes around the edge. Very old-world. Milk and Honey does not have a formal web-site but there are many reviews online, usually glowing, and there is a link to the menu here.

All in all, I'm still not quite sure what to make of this place. It's definitely on the romantic side, maybe trying a little too hard, but you can't argue with how excellent the food is and the price is not bad considering. BTW- I've read that they have a happy hour from 5-7 during the week. Also, they don't accept cards, so be sure to bring cash! 

I can't help but feel that I am trying to find something wrong with it when there is nothing really to point out. Maybe it is that it is a true cafe and I am used to going to little coffee-shops, but I couldn't quite figure out how I felt about the atmosphere. Was it romantic? Relaxed Sunday brunch with friends? Energetic study session?

Maybe I just need to go back at a time when there is more going on. I just felt like I was catching someone in the middle of getting dressed. Not quite on their game. But, maybe that's the whole point of this place: casual, relaxed, anything-goes.

(photos by: Nathanael Maharaj)

Cup

Cup is a cute and bright little neighborhood coffee-shop located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. I was surprised to learn that there are actually quite a few great independent restaurants and coffee-shops in this area. I have spent very little time in this area and Manhattan Ave. (the main drag in that area) seemed very unassuming. Cup is located off of the Nassau Ave stop on the G train. Greenpoint is just North of the oh-so-trendy Williamsburg and, while popularin it's own right, is kind of like the slightly less cool little sister of Williamsburg.

My boyfriend and I went there on a Sunday afternoon in early August and I really had to look for the place, hoping that my Google Maps directions were not leading me astray. (usually my motto is: 'Trust in Google') It did not help that it was a weekend and, as usual, the MTA was having 'issues', but sure enough we found Cup, a bright emerald gem, in the middle of a very quiet and residential block. There was another interesting shop right next door, Brooklyn Mac, and I still can't believe we didn't try it.

There were a lot of cute gardens in the neighborhood and I really got the feeling that Cup was a popular community spot.

Cup's claim to fame is their Cococano (advertised above). It is basically an Americano made with coconut water and apparently a great hangover cure... so of course I had to get one! The barista helpfully recommended adding a lot of milk to help adjust to the flavor. He also said that if you're not used to it, it can be a bit of an acquired taste and I have to agree. I was getting used to it by the time I was about half-way through but I'm not sure I will ever order it again. It's a shame I didn't really like it because I've read other reviews on Yelp that say the coffee there is great and brewed from local roasters! I guess it doesn't always pay to go for the gimmick.

Luckily there was no wait when we got there on a lazy Sunday afternoon, but I can easily imagine the line going out the door with early weekday commuters. The interior is on the tiny side, but it has very cute window seat with a little community library! The policy is: you bring a book, you take a book! Brilliant! They even had a decent selection of children's books!

It's surprising to me that their website is such a basic webpage, rather than the elaborate setup that most of their competitors seem to have, especially considering they have been opened since 2009. Their webpage includes a description, location, hours, and an email to contact them. Perhaps that is because they seem to be a much smaller setup then other chain spots (imagine running a coffee shop out of a garage). Come to think of it, most of the companies with an elaborate site, classes, etc have at least two locations.

Actually, visiting Cup has really given me hope for my own ventures. It can be very intimidating seeing the highly polished cafes that NYC offers but Cup proves that good coffee is really all you need to be successful. 

FYI- Cup takes cash only.

On a side note, we were also hunting for good record stores (it's one of the only ways I can lure my boyfriend into coming with me on my reviews). We were having a nice discussion with the barista and when we told him we were looking for record stores, he recommended a place just two blocks away called: Co-Op 87! Luckily they placed this sign at the corner or we would have had a really hard time finding it. It's very easy to walk past it in this residential area. Incidentally, it's a great record store and the salesperson was very funny and helpful. Definitely a place to check out while you drink your coffee from Cup.

Roasting Plant Coffee

Roasting Plant Coffee has two New York locations and one recently opened in Detroit. The location I visited is in the West Village, which is known for having a strong artistic and cultural community, filled with theaters, restaurants and shops. This is their 2nd location, their first and flagship store located in the Lower East Side. Upon approaching, there is a definite industrialist vibe to this place with lots of exposed concrete, big glass windows, and steel materials. Inside, this is further emphasized with a maze-like system of clear, pneumatic tubes winding all over the interior of the shop, going along the walls and even the ceilings. The industrial, mad-scientist look is broken up by a counter and benches made from ply-wood, and bright primary accent colors scattered about. Something about this combination of hard industrial materials mixed with warm plywood and primary colors always reminds me of the west-coast, California-surfer vibe, and indeed, their owners feel that an infusion from the west is just what the New York coffee culture needs to shake things up a bit.

I actually discovered this place completely by accident when I was on my way to brunch at the nearby Morandi Restaurant. I was very surprised that this shop was not listed in my beloved New York Coffee Guide, as it seems to already have had an extensive number of reviews done on it by some pretty big names!

Menu

I noticed that they seem to have the basic sugary coffee options, but not of the coffee shake variety such as Starbucks' Frappuccinos. Maybe they will make something like this if you ask nicely, but I kinda doubt it.

Eureka! At last! This wall explains everything!

On The Shelf: Bodum Products

Their shelf products consist primarily of Bodum products, which you can buy directly on their website, including drink-wear, grinders, and brewers. They have a very pretty Cona Vacuum Brewer which I am currently lusting after and looks like a Steam-Punker's wet dream (see top shelf of pic above).

The JavaBot System

The JavaBot. Where to begin? This is a patented system of pneumatic tubes designed to keep the coffee beans at their peak of freshness. The coffee is changed every 48 hours and is meant to take the human element (i.e.- mistakes) out of the usual roasting process. I won't go into detail about the entire system as you can find multiple explanations across other reviews and on their website. Also, I have to include the usual maniacal, paranoid warning/reference about the machines rising against us, but other than that, I will say it's pretty darn cool to watch this baby in action! Dinner and a show!

If I drink this, will I become lucky?? I'll let you know...

As usual, I don't really like to review the actual coffee because I think it is highly subjective and I hardly consider myself a connoisseur on the subject. Instead, I prefer to review a shop from the average consumer's point of view and try to comment on what I see as good marketing/business strategies. I don't know enough to say that this is actually as fresh as they claim but as coffee goes, I liked it.

Milk Bar

Love this high-tech way of pouring the milk! So easy- no muss, no fuss! Brilliant! Although, I am curious how they clean it- seems complicated, but I'm sure they have their ways. I have no complaints about the cleanliness of this place. Everything seemed polished and cleaned to within an inch of its life!

Chocolate Chip Cookies are said to be the 'best in the city' according to Serious Eats

According to Serious Eats, the chocolate chip cookies, baked fresh 4-5 a day at the Roasting Plant cafes, are the Chocolate Chip Cookie Champion of New York City. A pretty lofty title if I do say so myself! The dough is actually made by Tom Cat Bakery and is sold in many cafes across the city, but Roasting Plant is the only one which bakes them fresh at their location throughout the day. What did we learn from this? Freshness is key! Also, exceptional ingredients. These cookies are made with pastry flour and Callebaut chocolate, commonly believed to be the best quality chocolate by professional pastry chefs (or at least the French pastry chef I used to work for, who has been in the industry for almost 20 years).

I wish I had known this before I went there, (I usually like to do a little research before reviewing a place) as I would have tried one, but who am I to turn away from fate just because of a lack of research? Instead I purchased the Peanut Butter & Jelly Bar, a scrumptious concoction that looks like a giant chocolate candy bar and does little to hint at the yumminess inside. I did not take a picture of this as it was a scorching hot day in July and my purchase completely melted before I had a chance to even eat it! Luckily it was packaged in plastic or I would have had a gooey disaster inside my purse. I didn't let that stop me though. I solved this little problem by briefly sticking it in my fridge at home to harden up the chocolate enough to peel the plastic off before devouring it. Wow. So- good. It was a little hard to tell as it had melted together and re-solidified before I had a chance to eat it, but it seemed to have 3 layers: peanut butter with little bits of peanut, a thin layer of something spongy (maybe a cake?), and jelly that was not your typical straight-up jelly- it seemed like it did not have as much moisture as regular jelly and was probably made from scratch and boiled down to make it concentrated, but I have no way of confirming this. If anyone happens to know how this was made, I would love a blow-by-blow! All-in-all, I was very impressed.

Their website is also very good and offers a 'subscription' service where you can sign up for a regular, scheduled delivery of coffee, either:  weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly. On their Shopping Section, you can order from a decent selection of their coffees. What I really like about this feature is that they include a very detailed description of each coffee and include a scale of how the coffee rates according to Acidity, Body, and Roast. You can also specify what kind of grind you need for the coffee according to your brewing method and even whether you want the coffee roasted or un-roasted! It really takes the guesswork out of the equation for both the average consumer who just wants the coffee they make at home to be the best it can be and the connoisseur who wants to control every aspect of their brew. A very smart plan of attack!

Cupping Lab

January 23, 2011

If anyone recalls my previous post regarding a coffee shop review of Joe & the Art of Coffee, you may remember me mentioning the classes they offer there. Well, I finally did it and went to one of their free Cupping Labs!

I rushed over to their 13th St. location after work and barely managed to make it. By the way, they do offer seating at this location! Hallelujah! Although, all of said seating seemed to be taken at that moment. It was a very lively Friday night and the caffeinated patrons were definitely buzzing. After asking the barista where the class was, she informed me that everyone was waiting until the manager was ready and then she would announce the class. While I waited, I looked at the art on the walls from local artists and the ginormous blackboard behind the counter. I was marveling at the lofty position of the manager's office, which you had to reach by ladder into a whole in the wall, when the manager popped out of the office whole, climbed halfway down the ladder, stopped, turned around, and with a Japanese teakettle in one hand and the other clinging to the ladder she made the announcement of  the beginning of the lab. She looked like a jaunty coffee pirate. She had short black hair in a pixy cut, a plaid shirt, jeans, a grey sailors cap, 2 lip rings at the left corner of her mouth and a crystal stud sparkling from her right cheekbone. We all followed our fearless leader past a tall fridge crammed with milk, squeezed past a couple of trashcans and walked down a narrow staircase into the basement. The first thing I noticed was the smell of coffee everywhere. Heaven. It was a room filled with sinks and shelves of coffee machines and coffee paraphernalia, so I wont describe every little detail. It was amazing though.

 

Buono Coffee Drip Kettle $59

Everyone who showed up for the class was very friendly and eager to learn. There were people from Spain, Greece, Japan, and NY (of course). Most of the 10 person crowd seemed middle aged, but we were all newbies to the cupping experience and we were told that we would not be doing a blind cupping today because of that.

Our pirate queen led us through the ritual as precise as any Japanese tea ceremony. She seemed to be very knowledgeable and told us how she had started in Seattle (the coffee capitol of the US) and had helped to test some of the first of the elusive Clover machines!

 

We learned how to experience the coffee in its many forms, with all of our senses. We had three regions to test from:  Brazil, El Salvador and Rwanda. We smelled it dry, we smelled it wet, we broke the crust and smelled it again, we tasted it hot, we tasted it cold. We tried to identify all the different nuances of flavor, acidity, mouth-feel, and aftertaste. (Interesting Tip- you taste so much more of the flavor when it's cold than when it's hot!)

In the end, I decided my favorite was Brazil and, a close second, was Rwanda. All in all, it lasted an hour and I was sad to see it end. It was nice to be around so many people who shared the same passion as me. I thought it was a great experience and would definitely recommend more classes.

Has anyone else been to one of these classes? How was your class compared to mine? I'd love to hear your story!

Joe The Art of Coffee

January 3rd, 2011

This week I went to Joe and the Art of Coffee.

See! I did too go!

I went to the location at Grand Central Station, which was very difficult to find. (Tip: If you are looking for this location, use the entrance closest to the Strawberries clothing store, around the South-East side of Grand Central.) We also got there pretty late, and managed to slide in right before they closed the doors. There was no one in the store when we got there, except for the two exhausted looking baristas. The decor was a nice, soothing robin's egg blue, not unlike the signature blue of a Tiffany's gift box. They also had some neat coffee facts posted around the store.

Fact. It says so.

I had researched the place beforehand (of course), and was looking forward to taking home the Columbia Finca Santuario Micay blend advertised on their website. Unfortunately, they were out at the store, so I purchased the Kenya Kiunya blend instead. A little pricey at $18. I asked the girl behind the counter to grind it a little coarser than espresso grind, like the consistency of sugar (just right for my little pour-over). I should have known from the blank stare that she wouldn't get it right, but I'll chalk it up to working a long shift. Everyone makes mistakes. It turned out the grind was more like powder and brewed a very strong cup of coffee. I never really fell in love with this blend, but that could be because of the grind.


I ordered a latte and my boyfriend ordered a chai. My boyfriend was not impressed with either drink, but I thought they were great! I thought the chai had great body and flavor (though I usually like a little more spiciness to my chai) and the latte was so good I didn't even need to add sugar to it! Joe is known for having great foam art and for putting their baristas through a rigorous training process. I have to say the foam on my latte did not disappoint. It was beautiful and rich and light at the same time. By far, the best foam I've had yet!


Joe even offers classes on espresso making, foam art, the history of coffee, and much more to the general public! (Details are on their site.) Though classes are only offered at one of their locations and seating is limited (so be sure to RSVP) but many cost as little as $25 and some are even free! I also really liked the sense of community on their site. They even have a running club you can join with their baristas, and they offer free coffee afterwards to those who participate! Also, all of their baristas have a biography on the site (though that seems a little risky in this day and age).


Again, my complaint is the lack of seating. It's more of an in and out setup that doesn't encourage lingering. Their emphasis is more on the product than the experience. And there's nothing wrong with their product, but I'm looking for both. Although this could have been just because of that particular location being inside Grand Central Station. Their main location may be bigger.

Doot-di-doo, people wandered in

Baristas in their native habitat! Oooh-aaaah.

Love the penny-tiles on the backsplash.

Like how her scarf matches the decor.

I hope you liked this latest review! I'm thinking of taking one of their classes so if you've been to one of Joe's lessons or to one of their locations, I hope you'll comment on your experience!