SlicesoftheApple

TEA-KNEE, TEE-NEE, TEA-ENN-WHY, TEENIE…

TeaNY is the name of a tea café and beverage distributor founded by electronic musician Moby.  It opened in 2002 in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York at 90 Rivington Street. The cafe is known for its wide assortment of teas, vegan options, and unique decor, most of which was designed by the owner himself. Due to a small fire in june, the café is currently closed. In the meantime get a bottle of one of the teany beverage blends at a NY-Deli and enjoy. My favorite is Green Tea with Ginseng (green label, ingredients: brewed green tea using filtered water, organic evaporated cane juice, natural flavors, citric acid, panax ginseng root extract.). For more information check out the teany website.

R.I.P. FLORENT

It’s about a year since the closing of one of my all time favorite restaurants: chic and quirky luncheonette Florent on Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District. After 23 years of being open 24/7 to anyone and everyone the doors had to closed because the landlord had raised the monthly rent from $6,000 to $30,000. I really miss this french bistro and so do many New Yorkers!
Florent Morellet, the owner, had not only served very good food worth the price, with Florent he had also created an environment where you felt comfortable as soon as you set foot inside the door. It was the decor and the politics that made this place what it was, a bastion of liberal ideas. Florent's advertisements very much fit with spreading this message. For many of his early ads Florent Morellet collaborated with well-known graphic designer Tibor Kalman.
Check out this New York Times Interview with Morellet for some nostalgia.

TWO BROTHERS TO START A CHOCOLATE REVOLUTION

The Mast Brothers are the city’s only bean to chocolate makers. They buy cacao from small family farms and coops around the world. What comes out, is a handcrafted, supposedly very delicious chocolate.  Unfortunately I will probably never taste the chocolate I bought, since I’m getting my kicks just from looking at the pretty packaging…

Mastbrothers Chocolate Store, 105 North 3rd St between Berry St
and Wythe Ave, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

NON-GLOSSY FOOD MAG

 

Diner Journal is a quarterly food magazine by the owners of Diner and Marlow & Sons in Williamsburg. It is part cookbook, part memoir, and more interested in promoting farmers and purveyors than the restaurants themselves. Check out www.thedinerjournal.com

CHEESE AND GOAT MILK SOAP

On a stroll on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg I stumbled upon a cheese shop with a remarkable choice of assorted cheeses from all around the world. They even sell cheese from the Hoch-Ybrig in Switzerland. However, I did not buy any cheese but was fascinated with the variously scented goat milk soaps they had on display. I guess it was that cute label that made me go for it.
www.bedfordcheeseshop.com

CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT JACK’S COFFEE…

There are many coffee shops here, that claim to have the best, but Jack really does! Recently awarded Best Coffee in 2005 by NY magazine he attributes the rich, full-bodied flavor of his delicious drip coffee to the stir brewer, a device of his own invention that oxygenates the grinds as they brew and reducing their acidity. There's also his proprietary blend of politically correct beans-certified organic, Fair Trade, and shade-grown-micro-roasted up in Vermont.
The pastries are delightful – not too sweet and very fresh. I’m addicted to the pumkin apple muffin.
The atmosphere at Jack’s Stir Brew is perfect coffee-house - relaxed. Families mingled with village people. Starbucks can never duplicate such an authentic and personalized experience.

Jack’s Stir Brew is located at 138 West 10th St. between Greenwich Ave and Waverly Place in Greenwich Village. www.jacksstirbrew.com