Stumptown Coffee, it’s everywhere!

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63Bites, Balthazar Bakery, Brooklyn, Cafe Pedlar, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Coffee, Crespella, Manhattan, NYC, Park Slope, Stand & Deliver, Stumptown, The Roots Cafe, Upper West Side, Williamsburg

Stumptown coffee (Ace Hotel, brewed in Red Hook BK) has overtaken Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs. As rumors run wild of a new Stumptown coffee shop opening in Manhattan, be sure to check out the links below to find the cafe offering Stumptown nearest to you so you too can know what the fuss is all about.

Cafe Pedilar-210 Court Street, (Cobble Hill) Brooklyn, NY

Good for: work, study, rest, coffee with friends, meetings.

Balthazar Bakery, 80 Spring St. (SoHo), NYC

Good for: grab n’ go (and you can buy the Stumptown Balthazar blend with your credit card and not just cash like you do at the Ace Hotel).

63Bites-5 W. 63rd St (UWS), NYC

Good for: grab n’ go

Crespella-321 7th Ave (Park Slope) BK

Good for: grab a crape and coffee, sit for a few minutes, then go.

Roots Cafe– 639A 5th Ave (Park Slope) BK

Good for: kicking your feet up and reading/hanging out for a while, it’s a good spot to work, meet up friends, and relax.

Stand & Deliver cart-70 N. 7th St. (Williamsburg), BK

Good for: grab n’ go

Battling the Weekend Woes Pt. 2: The New York Philharmonic

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Avery Fisher Hall, Beethoven, box office, Carnegie Hall, Jacob's Pickle, Lincoln Center, Manhattan, MoMA, Music, New York Philharmonic, NYC, student rush, symphony, tickets, Upper West Side

Last week I spent my Friday night at the MoMA. New York city is all about doing. People never stop going and going and going and going. It’s easy to be busy, and it’s hard and takes discipline to take an evening off from the normal pace of the city. After a long work week, I’d rather enjoy an activity that leaves me refreshed and ready for the next day than trashed and ruined for the next day.  My perfect Friday evening usually consists of one (or two) of these three activities:

1. A trip to the New York Philharmonic (yes, with a Student ID you only pay $12.50, AND you get to dress up!)
2. An evening visit to a Museum (the MoMA is steps away from my office…and is free on Friday night’s after 5pm)
3. Dinner or coffee with friends (Jacob’s Pickles on the UWS anyone?)

So you want to go on an adventure to the New York Philharmonic? Good idea.

Go online to purchase student tickets to the symphony of your choice at Avery Fisher Hall. You can order your tickets up to 10 days in advance…AND you can choose your seats! I sat in the front row to a concert with excerpts from Motzart’s magical flute. It was beautiful and cost just $12.50! Don’t be afraid of the balcony, the first tier is the best place to sit, front or side, it doesn’t really matter. You can close your eyes if you wish and let the music carry you away. You’ll find me at the Philharmonic tonight listening to Beethoven. I can’t wait!

After ordering your tickets online (or calling the box office to make sure they will have tickets left at the door), you head to the venue a half hour before the Philharmonic starts, pick up your ticket with a debit card and photo student ID, and head to your seat.

If you’re a big fan of classical/chamber music and want to be a cultured New Yorker, you can do a similar thing at Carnegie Hall-except student tickets are just $10! Here’s a quick note: not every concert or symphony has Student Rush tickets. Make sure to check online or call the box office to see if rush tickets are available.

Shake Shack, NYC

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Burger, Concrete, Concrete Jungle, Gluten Free, long line, Madison Square Conservancy, Madison Square Park, milkshake, NYC, shake, Shake Shack, Upper East Side, Upper West Side, vegetarian

If you stroll down 5th Avenue towards Union Square from Midtown, you’re bound to walk past a building surrounded by green park tables and chairs, and dangling lights hanging under the the trees Madison Square Park, and a whole lot of people standing in line. New Yorkers are not well-behaved enough to stand patiently in this 1/4 mile line without reason. Beware the gut: Shake Shack is infamous for having incredible burgers, perfectly crispy zig-zaggy french fries, and thick concretes (custard blended with a glut of of mix-in’s) and shakes that are to DIE for (hellooooo strawberry!). Oh, there are vegetarian and gluten-free options too!

When I moved to NYC, there were only three locations: the original spot launched by the Madison Sq Conservancy in 2003 (of course, it’s in Madison Square Park), one on the Upper West Side (behind the Museum of Natural History), and one at the Mets Stadium.  But last year, Shake Shack expanded its operations to the Upper East Side, Midtown West, and Battery Park. Now anyone the whole city can have a “Concrete Jungle” any time they want. You have to trust me, this place is inexpensive ($10-$15 for your meal) and gooooooooood.

President’s Day Weekend, NYC: on a budget.

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Ace Hotel, apple cider, budget, Central Park, Doughnut, Farmer's Market, Harlem, John Dorie, Le Pain Quotidien, living on a budget, Lower East Side, Manhattan, Mineral Springs Pavilion, New York City, No. 7 Subs, NYC, Opening Ceremony, OST, Prospect Heights, Prospect Park, Riverside Park, running, Saturday Morning Matinee, Stumptown Coffee, The Artist, Upper West Side, young professional

As a young professional in NYC, I’m not quite rubbing my pennies together, however living in the city with an entry level salary can be rough. If you’re creative, having weekend full of fun doesn’t have to cost a lot of money-and living on a budget won’t feel like the worst thing that could happen to you. It’s fun to wander the city and look for inexpensive things to enjoy. This President’s Day weekend, I decided to give myself a challenge: chronicle my city adventures with the Instagram app on my iPhone and only spend $30. This is what I’ve been up to:

A trip to the NYPL with my sister (free!):

A beautiful early morning run from Harlem down the length of Riverside Park (there is so much history here!) then to Le Pain Quotidien at the Mineral Springs Pavilion in the middle of Central Park for a glass of water and $2 cup of coffee.

A Saturday morning matinee in Brooklyn with my friend Sam for $6 (The Artist anyone??), then a trip to the Prospect Park farmer’s market for snacks (doughnuts, cider, and apples all for $5)

I’ve dedicated this afternoon to reading, writing, and catching up with friends at Sumptown Coffee at the Ace Hotel ($4 for a cappuccino).

Now, I’m off to grab a late lunch with a friend at No. 7 subs ($9) next to Opening Ceremony and John Dory’s at the Ace Hotel. After church tonight, I’ll grab a glass of wine with another friend at OST on the Lower East Side during happy hour ($4 glass of wine from 4-8p). All-in-all, this weekend will only cost $30! See? Living in NYC doesn’t have to be expensive at all!

Joe: the Art of Coffee, NYC

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Art of Coffee, Brooklyn, Chai Latte, Chelsea, Coffee, Columbia University, Grand Central, Joe, Joe the Art of Coffee, Mud Coffee, NYC, Stumptown Coffee, Union Square, Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Warby Parker, West Village

If you’ve lived in NYC for any decent length of time chances are you’ve stumbled upon Joe’s the Art of Coffee. For good reason, it has eight locations all over the city! I love Joe’s because:

1.  I’m incredibly sentimental and have great college memories of mornings-turned-evenings spent with my nose in a book, sipping chai lattes, debating politics and philosophy with the hipsters in thick framed Warby Parker glasses sitting next to me.

2. The Chai Lattes are perfect..they aren’t too spicy, the froth is perfect–light, thick, and smooth–and they aren’t made from a powder mix (like the ones from Mud coffee).

3. It’s a super-chill place with awesome artwork displayed all over the walls (find out about it on Joe’s blog).

Tip: Basically, this is the place for a latte. Delicious! The coffee is mild and a perfectafternoon pick-me-up (mind you, it’s from a filtered coffee maker. None of that fancy French press or pour-over business).

Grab n’ go? Yes. If you’d like. There is free wi-fi, so if you want to work, have coffee with a friend, or a small meeting, this is your place. It’s not where you want to be if you have a large group (go to Stumptown in the Ace Hotel if you want a meeting over coffee).

Prices? Average. A medium drink and a biscotti are about $4.

Food? Pastries, you know, the usual: croissants, cookies, sweet breads, etc.

Remember: this place is CASH ONLY, and the Brooklyn location (on Flatbush Ave) is closed until April 1, so if you live in BK and want a cup of joe from Joe’s you’ll have to come to the island.

Jacob’s Pickle, UWS

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85th Street, Amsterdam Ave, Biscuits, Cheese Grits, Craft beer, Food, Fried Chicken, fries, Home cooking, Jacob's Pickle, Pickle, Pub, Sausage, Southern, Upper West Side

Jacob’s Pickle is a Southern pub with a thing for pickles, well…beer, pickles, and biscuits. The menu is chock-full of mouthwatering southern food cooked just the way grandma does it: fried chicken, biscuits n’ gravy, mac n’ cheese, thin cut fries, sausages, cheese grits, specialty craft beer, biscuits (served warm! A first for NYC.), and of course pickles to round out the menu. This pub opened to the public in mid-December, so you better make your way on over before word gets out that this is the hottest dinner spot in town.

Good for: dinner dates & dinner/lunch/beer with friends. If you like beer, southern food, pickles, or all the above, this will be your new go-to place. Jacob’s Pickle gets crowded and is hard to accomodate more than two without a reservation during the weekend. If you arrive around 7p and you should find a table. If you arrive after 7:30, you’ll have to wait 20-40 minutes before you’re seated. Fortunately, you can hang out by the bar and grab a drink so the wait doesn’t seem so bad.

Price: Reasonable! Expect to pay about $18 for food and their to-die for specialty rootbeer.

Where? 509 Amsterdam Ave. (Between 84th and 85th Streets). The nearest transportation is to take the 1,2,A,B,C to 86th St, or the 1 or 2 to 79th St. It’s your call.

Downers: Although the decor is impeccable (think: Roman & Williams), the restaurant is incredibly loud and not conducive to an intimate conversation-you’ll have to speak loudly, which skews the ambiance of the place. Also, the background music is terrible (top 40’s from three or four years ago), but all this fades away when fried chicken biscuits and gravy and a side of steamy cheese grits arrive at your table.

Beer and pickles...need I say more?