You look like you need a slice of Crack Pie

(This is the fourth post about places I visited in NYC over the Holiday Break).

It's about time that I give a shout out to my brother in this series of posts.  My brother, Tristan, visited me in New York City for a few days between Christmas and New Years.  On his last night in New York City, we decided to hit up the East Village.

Our first objective was to visit Burp Castle.  Burp Castle is a Belgian beer bar that is decorated with pictures of Trappist Monks getting drunk, and with bartenders that shush patrons when they are getting too loud.  Unfortunately for us, the train we were on went from running local to express mid-ride and we had to get off at Union Square instead of Astor Place.  I told him we could still walk to Burp Castle, but it was a cold night and Tristan's blood has thinned from living in Los Angeles.  After ten minutes of walking, his opinion on the situation was to find somewhere warm as quickly as possible.

While strolling down Second Avenue, I saw Momofuku Milk Bar and made a quick decision to go there instead. The dessert haven is attached to another incredible restaurant, Momofuku Saam Bar.  The Milk Bar offers a variety of desserts, including crack pie (toasted oat crust with something gooey in the middle)  and compost cookies (made with pretzels, potato chips, coffee, oats, butterscotch, and chocolate chips).  On top of that, they offer Stumptown coffee (for all of you coffee fans out there) and to-die-for pork belly buns from the Saam bar's menu.

Neither Tristan nor I were able to finish either of the decadent pie slices we purchased.  I got the Grasshopper pie (a mint-cheesecake and brownie affair) and Tristan got the peanutbuttery Candy Bar pie.  There's nothing like some great dessert to go along with brother-sister heart to hearts.  It was nice to finally get some one-on-one time with him without cameras or the rest of our family around. 

(Crack Pie)

 
After that, we headed to Dempsey's to wash it all down, then headed back to my apartment.  Unfortunately, Tristan and I both failed to set our alarms properly and Tristan nearly missed his flight the next morning.  Thank goodness for my mom, she called around 7:15 to make sure Tristan had arrived at the airport safely (his flight was at 8:30 AM).  In a scramble, Tristan left and headed West.  With any lucky, he'll be back soon for more of NYC's many treats.

mmmm Cheeeeese

(This is the third post in a series about places I went in NYC over the Holiday Break).

I have always been a big fan of cheese.  I blame my father for this.  He took me on a wine-tour-bicycling trip of Burgundy region of the France when I was twelve years old, and I was sold.  I was the only child on the trip (my dad was overly confident in my athletic abilities even then), and at that point in my life I still thought wine was gross.  So, upon arriving at vineyards and wine shops, I would wander to the village cheese cart and get myself something. The cheese in France is phenomenal. There are no laws in France requiring milk products to be pasteurized.  This allows the cheese to retain its flavor because its bacteria is not killed off like it is in the United States.  In general, when food is processed to have a longer shelf life, flavor is lost. But I digress...

Since then, I've always liked cheese a lot and I shy away from processed slices, and am always excited to find something new to try.  Other than Whole Foods, I hadn't been anywhere in New York City that sold great cheese. This all changed when I went to my co-worker and friend Yana's birthday party a few months ago.  She ordered a few platters from Murray's Cheese Shop on Bleecker Street (very smart move on her part), which threw me into a fit of ecstasy for the evening.  The platter had  great prosciutto as well.  I think I ate enough of it to make my stuffed pig feel threatened.

Of course, from this point forward I felt strongly compelled to visit this cheese shop. I mentioned the cheese to Jon after the party, and he told me that the shop not only sold great cheese, but he often visited Murray's for their cheese sandwiches as well.  So, I coaxed Amy and Erik (ok, so maybe "coax" is not the right word here. They were totally into the idea too...) into visiting the shop on Sunday afternoon for sandwiches. 

Erik got a "Murray's Cheese" sandwich, Amy had the same with an egg on top, and I had the same as Amy with prosciutto on top of the egg.  It was pretty messy, but heavenly.  Each ingredient in the sandwich was top-notch, and the combination made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.  I cannot wait to go back and try another sandwich.  The shop itself is neat--in the front of the shop there is a place to order sandwiches to-go, and in the back there is an immense selection of cheese and meats.  They have a 'taste anything' policy, so customers can test out what they're getting before they purchase.  The staff is friendly, and the prices are not ridiculous.  They also offer cheese tasting classes (if anyone wants to get me a gift, this would be a good one.)

Suggestions: If you are walking around the West Village and want a sandwich, or if you're hosting a party and want to make it classy (and want your guests to REALLY enjoy themselves), go to Murray's. 

Visit http://www.murrayscheese.com to see their stellar selection.

Sweet Revenge

(This is the second  post in a series about places I've visited in NYC in the past week).

On Sunday afternoon, after leaving Becky and Drew off near Penn Station for the Megabus and then picking Amy up from a different Megabus, hunger started to set in.  Me, Erik and Amy headed towards the West Village in search of espresso beans (at Porto Rico) and then sandwiches (at Murray's Cheese shop).  While at Murray's Cheese shop, my friend Jon joined us, and then the four of us headed to his apartment to eat.  Jon was moving out of Manhattan that day for greener pastures (Williamsburg, Brooklyn) and waiting for his friend Frank to arrive to help him with the move.  After discussing New Years Eve at length, and realizing that Frank was going to be late, we all decided to head down the street for another treat.

Sweet Revenge is one of those New York City places that make you think "I can't believe I haven't found this place yet." In fact, Jon commented on the irony of visiting Sweet Revenge only an hour before moving out of the West Village.  Each time I visit, I think to myself "why didn't I come up with this idea for a business?" and then start to think of all the other cities that would stand to benefit from a restaurant like this one.

The idea for this cupcake shop is ingenious.  In a city inundated with cupcakes to the point that many people claim that cupcakes are going out of fashion (TREND ALERT: the next small treat trend is pies and tarts, apparently) Sweet Revenge remains as a trend-setter. It stand out for one small reason:  It pairs its cupcakes with alcoholic beverages.

 I first visited Sweet Revenge in May for my friend Melissa's birthday, and have gone back several times since then. It is the perfect place for out-of-towners, birthday parties or other celebrations, or for single-readers: it's a great date spot.  Neither Amy nor Jon had ever been, so the decision of what to do next was very clear on Sunday afternoon.

There are only six flavors of cupcakes served on a daily basis (four Signature cupcakes served everyday, and two Artisan cupcakes that rotate daily).  Each cupcake is individually paired with a wine and a beer. 

 

(Amy Enjoying her Crimson and Creme with Raspberry Bellini)

 The four of us squeezed into the tiny restaurant and enjoyed. Jon had the densely peanut butter flavored Sweet Revenge paired with a Malbec,  Erik had a Cafe Mocha Cupcake with a Guinness, and Amy had the Red Velvet Crimson and Creme paired with a Raspberry Bellini.   Needless to say, I regretted my decision to not get a cupcake after about 10 minutes of watching their ecstatic expressions.  Unfortunately, I was still full from my sandwich at Murray's...

Hark! Good Coffee in the Financial District/Tribeca Area

Living in New York City has many advantages.  One is that people always want to visit.  I'm lucky enough to live in an apartment that is conducive to hosting people (we have an extra bedroom), so during long weekends and holidays I typically have a steady stream of visitors.  

This year's holiday season was no exception: My brother Tristan was home from Los Angeles, my cousin Becky and Katie were in town, and Erik's friends Drew, Amy, and Vaughn were around as well.  When this many people are in town, exploring the city and patronizing its fine establishments is a main form of entertainment.  Apartments are too small to sit around in for too long or host too many people, and there is ALWAYS something new to discover.

Over the next few days I'll write about a few places I visited over the last week or so.  If you're an out of towner visiting soon (or a New Yorker looking for something new to visit) these places might be worth checking out.

Kaffe 1668: (on Greenwich at Warren). After a late Saturday night of jigsaw-puzzling and New Year's Eve recuperation, Drew, Becky, Erik and I woke up on Sunday morning with coffee on our brains.  We attempted to go to the Blue Spoon Coffee shop on Chambers Street only to discover that, like many things in the Financial District, it is closed on weekends.  We Smartphoned and Yelped our way to Kaffe 1668 after this (a few blocks West and South), and I was pleasantly surprised with the result. 

The facade of Kaffe 1668 is deceiving. From the outside, it looks like a store front of a suburban strip mall. It doesn't scream for attention in the way many coffee shops do--you don't get that "oh this place looks so cute and cozy, I really want to go inside" feeling when you walk past it.  In fact, the outside is so unimpressive that even though I had walked by it at least one-hundred times on the way to and from the grocery store over the past few years, it had never once beckoned me inside.

The inside is warm and inviting with long tables, art on the walls, lots of sheep decor and hipster-ish baristas. This scene is a bit an unusual for somewhere so close to the business-oriented Financial District, but in a good way.  Its ambiance makes it feel like it belongs in the West Village or Lower East Side.

There was not enough room for us to sit inside, and my Cappuccino took a long time to make, but the quality of the drink made up for it.   This is definitely a place I'll be frequenting now that I've discovered it.  If you find yourself in the Financial District or Tribeca, enjoy coffee, and are sick of seeing the umpteenth Starbucks in a two-block radius, this place might be for you.  

(http://www.kaffe1668.com/)