Coffeehouse Review: Think Coffee

As I said in one of my last posts, I went to quite a unique and rustic coffee shop just south of Union square. On 4th between 12th and 13th, you'll find Think Coffee, a spacious, sparsely decorated, yet charismatic coffeehouse.

This is a very popular place for NYU students (*cough* hipsters *cough*) to hang out. So if you don't mind the possibility that you might have to drink your coffee standing at the bar for all the students using the tables as their second desks, this place is for you. Seriously though, it's not uncommon to consume your latte in between Tisch students and pretentious, women's studies majors sipping wine.The actual venue is quite nice, with a combination of hard wood and classy tiled floors, it looks like a mix between a 30's speakeasy and a 70's diner.

Their menu is pretty straightforward, though we did have a little trouble actually finding someone to ring us up (let alone do it with a good attitude... but that's another matter). Ashley ordered a hot chocolate while I grabbed a small latte (I did end up drinking half of her's). While their coffee is good, a classic coffeehouse red flag is when their main selling point is the fair-trade aspect of the beans, not the actual quality. This was the case, and thus I have concluded after finishing Ashley's hot chocolate, that Think's strength is in non-coffee drinks.

If you visit, you have to ask for a hot chocolate with two shots. Also, their brownies and other baked goods are out of this world. Ashley said the brownie was too cakey, but seeing as how her definition of a good brownie is chocolate-flavored shoe leather, I don't take her opinion on such things anymore.

I hope you are all having a lovely Thanksgiving. I am currently sitting here writing while Ashley and her brother try to figure out how to bake an entire turkey (this is the first year we've tried). After this, I will be making a green bean casserole all for myself, because neither of them like green beans. But I'm not complaining...

~Happy Turkey Day~

-H

Urban Adventures: Yorkville

Hey there lovely readers :)

I hope you are all staying as warm and dry as I currently am. This morning was a completely different story. Just a testament to how much I love you all... but seriously, it was so FREAKIN COLD today and y'all should be grateful.... just saying... ;)

Due to popular demand, my adventuring today took me to Yorkville. As I hate to go exploring (or do anything, for that matter) by myself, I took my friend Mary, a.k.a. The 45 Queen along with me all the way up to 86th street. BTdubbs, if any of you ever feel like joining me as I explore, hit me up! I'm always looking for new adventuring buddies... :)

Sidenote: I'm currently listening to Ed Sheeran's new album and having a hard time waiting until Christmas to get it (because I'm one broke college student at the moment...). I've decided that Ed Sheeran is one of my newest favorite artists. He's basically a singing Ron Weasley... so what's not to love?Specifically, this song is a nice soundtrack to my post about today's adventure. You're welcome.

Anyways... We basically had no plan for today. I had not done any research about the area and neither had Mary. At first I was hating myself for not having a game plan in this miserable cold, but as you will soon read, we stumbled across things that we could never have planned. I love my city for that very reason. Here's the basic trajectory of our walk. We wandered just a little bit...

Our first major discovery after finding each other at the 86th street station (on the 4/5) was The Church of the Holy Trinity (#1). As I almost went to school for architecture, I'm a sucker for gems like this. These are the times that I envy the majority of NYC churchgoers (basically everyone that isn't Presbyterian like me) for the incredibly ornate buildings in which they are able to worship. Just look at this...

GAH. SO beautiful... 

From here we walked down 88th street, towards the water. Walking through this neighborhood, we came to the conclusion that it is best fit for established families (i.e. with no small children), and retirees. There were quite a few sports parks, but other than that, the only things we found in abundance were medical clinics and hair salons. We did, however, find a plethora of stunning views of the East River: 

And then what do you think we stumble upon next, but the mayor of New York's mansion. It is quite a sight, let me tell you... Mary and I thought at first that it was a cool random historical house right in the middle of the park (#2). But upon further inspection, we found a plaque clearly identifying the resident of the house. I walked around several times before I realized the level of security was not going to allow for a decent picture of the mansion. Basically, it's a gorgeous yellow colonial, and from what we could see from the one ground-level window we could access, deBlasio has an extensive library and a grand piano.

The park itself, in my opinion, prettier than central. It has a river-side walkway right over FDR drive, and it's a lot less crowded. The wind was worse near the water, hence, why I look like a babushka in the second picture (I should have brought a hat and gloves, but seeing as the only hat I own makes me look the the Swedish chef, I preferred to deal with the cold...).

At this point we were both pretty hungry. I had run out the door without so much as coffee that morning, and feeling a headache coming on as a result, I had to act quickly. This is where a quick Yelp search led us to the best bagel shop I have ever been to in my entire life in the city. Yes, it was that good. H&H Midtown Bagels East (#3). I had raisin-walnut cream cheese on an egg bagel, and Mary had vegi spread on an everything, but really, there are no bad choices here... And the line is out the door well into the afternoon for a good reason. (Budget: $10, est. expense: $6.50)

Mary, being a graffiti blogger wanted to check out a couple murals roughly 20 blocks uptown, and as I never pass up the opportunity to see one of the few forms of art I appreciate, grabbed a cab with her (ain't no way we were walking 20 more blocks at that point), and boy were we in for a treat (#4). Here are just a few of the many murals we found... also, isn't she pretty? :) 

Oh also, we found a really cool bridge/tunnel on our way back to the subway station, and inside, found some really neat/potentially dangerous icicles. There you go: solid proof of how cold it was.

And now I am safely back home drinking hot chocolate and eating more than a healthy amount of cheese on flat bread (when you haven't gone grocery shopping in 3 weeks, crazy food combos start to not be so crazy...). I am already looking forward to my next neighborhood review, and I have quite a few coffeehouse reviews that should have been posted a long time ago. Next up: Hell's Kitchen! 

~Keep it classy~

-H

P.S. for those of you with a burning desire to know what we both look like, here is a par-frozen pic:

And sometimes, you have dinner with the costume designer of Mad Men...

Yeah, I can still hardly believe it myself...

But it happened... How, you ask?

Summers at home are usually spent trying to squeeze a living out of every spare minute. One of the ways I do this is providing sewing classes for girls in my area. It just so happened that one of those girls was the niece of the incredibly talented Janie Bryant. One thing led to another, and I had the opportunity to meet them for dinner while they were visiting the city.

If any of you need me, I am currently residing on cloud 9...

-H

Urban Adventures: Union Square

Good evening lovelies,

I've been half awake the entire day and studying for most of it at school has not helped the fried state of my mind so I apologize if parts of this post make no sense.

Friday night my adventuring took me to Union Square, another intersection of Broadway not so well-known because it has nothing touristy to see.... and that's why New Yorkers love it so very much. It literally has nothing substantial to offer--at least, that is what I thought until I did a little more exploring...

Union is an interesting and quirky extension of Midtown. It pretty much offers more of the same shops, but less of the crowd, and a rather pleasant park. It is an excellent place to people-watch as it is the common stomping ground of chess-players, skate-boarders, and the occasional African-drum circle. There is also a really cool farmers market that sets up here every other day. Also, there is an adorable, must-see holiday market that appears around this time of year (if you go, you have to try Belgian waffles from Waffles and Dinges).

As I said, Union is quirky, and at times, downright bizarre. Like, does anyone know what the clock means? My highly-educated theory is that it is counting down to the end of the world... don't believe any lies that anyone else has to tell you about the clock... they're all crooks.

Right down the road from the clock is a hole-in-the-wall Pakistani restaurant. Ashley, my adventuring buddy for the day, and I would have passed it had we not been ridiculously hungry.

I was quite pleasantly surprised with Desi Shack (#1 on the map). Aside from having good quality Pakistani cuisine and having relatively low prices, it has a fun and whimsical atmosphere for only having enough room to seat 10 people comfortably (how do I keep finding these places?). Compared to its closest chain-restaurant counterpart, Desi makes your rice bowl meat-heavy (like a 3-1 meat/rice ratio), whereas Chipotle has more rice than anything else. And, did I mention, it's the same price, if not cheaper? Ashley and I split a bowl with brown rice, ground beef, chicken, chickpeas, and other vegetables with cucumber chutney and my favorite, a Mango lassi (basically a yogurt smoothie. Ashley hates pretty much any dairy product so I got it all to myself :D ). 

There's a good picture of our meal before we inhaled it... I drank more lassi than anything else so I got filled up pretty quickly, but this meal totaled roughly $14, and fed both of us. What really made the experience, however, was the explanation and mini culture lesson that they have on their chalkboard: 

My reccomendation: If you are anywhere near Union, choose this place over Chipotle. It's better, cheaper, and far less basic... ;) 

Finishing dinner, we walked out and in the direction of the Strand bookstore (#2). And this is where my adventuring buddy left me for fear that I would pull her in and forbid her to leave. She knows me too well. Yes, I admit that I have been here countless times before, but I can never resist poking through the dollar or the travel section when I'm in the area. Barnes and Noble seriously has nothing on this place... aside from their miles upon miles of books, they have an entire floor dedicated to first editions, as well as tons of reader/geek paraphernalia. They totally pull off the Beauty-and-the-Beast-esque library look too... just look at this! 

For the most part, everything here is cheaper than at Barnes and Noble *gasp* (yes, it's true... everything in NYC really is better...). I mean, nowhere else could I buy 3 books and a calendar for only $10. This place is truly a New York City gem, and if you do not already live here, I highly recommend scrapping that lame touristy thing you were going to do and coming here instead. We also visited a coffee shop during our adventure but I will have to save that for another post... ;)

Au revoir! 

-H

Oh! but before you go... here's what I bought at the Strand :D 
(bottom to top) The title of the first obviously captured my attention... the second is about living in Australia during the 1960's, the third is an adorable calendar that is currently hanging above my desk, and the last was simply intriguing... all for $10! I still can't get over it...

Urban Adventures: Kips Bay

Hey there everyone!

I hope you are all having a fantastic week. The knowledge that Thanksgiving is just around the corner is really the only thing keeping me going through these next few weeks. Thanksgiving has always surpassed Christmas as my favorite holiday because I get to spend it with my enormous, loud, crazy, and flamboyant, Cuban-Venezuelan-Dutch family. As the family has grown, it is not uncommon for over 30 of us to all stay in a 3-bedroom house (hard to imagine, I know...). Unfortunately, I won't get to fly home to them this year, but I'm still looking forward to seeing the Macy's parade and making dinner with some of my school friends.

Tonight I was a bit restless... I had finished all the homework I could (i.e. all the homework I felt like doing) and there is only so much Netflix I can stomach in one semester, so I put on my walking boots, called up a friend, and headed to Midtown. A close inspection of both our wallets narrowed down our options considerably, so we decided to pick a direction, and just start walking.

I am always pleased when I am proved wrong about a neighborhood. I had heard from several people that the Murray Hill/Kips Bay area was a major bar-crawl scene and to avoid it after 11pm. What I found instead, was an refined and fascinating neighborhood complete with mysterious edifices and breathtaking views of Brooklyn. This was the general course of our walk:

There are dozens of gorgeous brownstones in the area... I dream of moving into one after I graduate. The streets are quiet just like the Financial District and are lined with oaks. It's as if someone cut and pasted a little bit of Brooklyn Heights in Manhattan. 

Then we came upon what looked like an enormous, abandoned manor (#1 on the map). The building takes up almost the entire block and is covered with ivy. Graffiti scars the entrance and the courtyard is completely overgrown. The iron gates at the front were chained closed, so we didn't try to go in (and I've watched a bit too much American Horror Story to make that kind of a rookie mistake...). I still have no idea what this is, but we got scared when we heard voices coming from inside... I seriously feel bad for whoever could be living in that place because it is clearly not fit to be lived in.

Walking down 29th street, we stumbled upon an urban farm complete with patches of grass (because we New Yorkers forget what it feels like from time to time) and a magnificent view of Brooklyn from across the East River. (#2) It was a breezy night, and I could smell the ocean from the garden balcony, which always brings life to my soul. This would be a perfect place to come study, have a picnic, or otherwise while away your time with a book. It's nicer than the high line, and infinitely less crowded. Plus, Chelsea is practically the new midtown these days...

Our meandering then lead us to the U.N., which wasn't immediately identifiable because they had taken all the flags down... I had a picture somewhere but the U.N. is not nearly as impressive a building without its flags. I recommend going to see it on any other day though! (#3). Here we crossed the street into Tudor City. Does anyone know why it is called Tudor City (besides the obvious appearance of the buildings, I mean...)? Fun fact: did you know that it is considered the first neighborhood of residential skyscrapers in the world? You learn something new every day...

I think I'm going to end up living in Tudor City (#4), and I'll be a rich old hag that walks her chihuahua every day in her fine furs (that's not true... I'll end up blowing my life savings on a plane ticket to somewhere random and never coming back. ;) )  Anyway, where was I? Oh yes... While it may be the most inconvenient place to live as far as commuting by subway, the architectural craftsmanship of these buildings (inside and out) almost make up for it.

So thus ended our walk... I hope you enjoyed the pictures as much as I did taking them (risked my life on the last one... facing away from the traffic while in the middle of the road is not a mistake I'll be making again). All in all, I really loved the neighborhood, but I am still curious as to what that one building is... when I find out, I'll let you all know!

Goodnight!

-H

P.S. There's a poll on the left column of my blog. Go ahead and vote on which neighborhood you would like for me to visit next!

So it's raining and you're stuck in Midtown...

MIDTOWN of all places! No, it's not charming, pretty, or pleasant. There's trash floating where the pavement dips at the corner, and poncho-wearing tourists still plague the sidewalk. This was precisely my dilemma today. And I had planned to give you all a sparkling, classic New-York-style blog tour of my old neighborhood. Bummer. Thankfully, I have had my fill of rainy days in midtown and have developed a list of things to do despite the weather. 

The New York Public Library 
This is where I was headed today to do some research for a paper, and I guess I was glad the weather gave me a reason to stay indoors, otherwise I would have had no motivation whatsoever, to study. While this is not the branch to visit if you are looking for a "fluff" novel, it's the perfect scene for photographers, as well as a fascinating site for historians. Note to the gutsy: do refrain from sliding down the banisters, no matter how tempting it looks... the security guards are not interested in allowing you to fulfill any childhood dreams.

The Rockefeller Center

30 Rock has been my favorite place to steal away for an hour or two to study or just people watch. It is essentially an underground labyrinth filled with shops and restaurants. I have come here dozens of times and still cannot claim to have explored it all. If any of you manage to get farther than I, i.e. into any "Staff Only" areas... I'd love to hear about it! You can also pull up a chair and watch the ice-skaters go around on the rink while staying warm and dry behind the floor-to-ceiling windows. If you're looking for a good meal, Tri-Tip has salads and Philly cheese steaks that are to die for.

The Plaza Hotel
Can someone please draw the definitive line where midtown technically ends? I'm not quite sure if the early 60's counts as midtown... but it's not the park yet and not Hell's Kitchen so... who's to say? The plaza holds a special place in my heart... I hope one day to spend a week or two there when I have a couple thousand or ten to burn. Mostly, I just lived (and still do) vicariously through Kevin in Home Alone 2. Also, did you know there is a completely pink, tutu-festooned room in the basement completely devoted to Eloise everything? It would be my dream-come-true if only I was about 14 years younger... That's totally not me in the pic btw...I don't even know that person...

So next time it rains, it's not the end of the world... Go somewhere random and push the envelope. Don't let the weather stop you from exploring anywhere and everywhere! 

Stay classy, my friends.

-H

Coffeehouse Review: Bluestone Lane

For my first coffeehouse review, I decided to stay in my neighborhood: the classy streets of the Financial District. I had planned to walk into a random coffee shop near my apartment, and I walked around for a good 30 minutes trying to do just that. But after a while I realized, who am I kidding? Bluestone Lane is the best--and my favorite by far--coffee shop in the FiDi and it deserves to get my first coffeehouse review. So without further ado:

My budget: $10 (for my entire breakfast since I hadn't had any this morning)

Location:  30 Broad Street, New York, NY 10004

Who doesn't like Australian anything? Seriously though... this place completely owns its ausieness, as evidenced by their walls covered in sports memorabilia. It gives the entire shop a rustic, homey feel without coming off as too hipster. This is your classic, hole-in-the-wall shop that is just overflowing with personality. While the limited space may seem like a drawback (the place is crowded with 10 people in line, and there aren't even as many seats), it works as a stop-in on your way to work. New Yorkers don't let limited space get in the way of something good, anyway.

Everything, and I mean everything, about this place is Australian, including the baristas. Did I mention they flirt with you? My barista asked me where I went to school, and as my mouth was full, I gestured behind me (my school is literally across the street). He then asked me if I was an MCA major, and I about choked on my coffee. 

I ordered my usual: a large flat white (a basic coffee with milk), as well as something new off their lunch menu: a Jaffle (I was confused as to what this could possibly be as well). My coffee was on point, and the barista had even embellished a bit:

Then I got my Jaffle and my eyes were opened. Whatever made a grilled cheese sandwich taste like the food of the gods when we were little kids--this thing has it. It is essentially a panini-pressed swiss on white with tomato and honey-smoked ham, except that the edges are pressed shut so that the cheese melts with everything else inside the bread... Pure. Genius.

I would hit you over the head with how much you need to visit this place, but I think the Jaffle just made my point for me. I love this place, you will too, end of story. 

Total $$ spent: $9.99

XOXO

-H