That I opted for the Creole Slammer at Slim Goodies over the Jewish Coonass is to say I chose hash browns over potato latkes. The dish, pictured, above was topped with over-easy eggs and bathed in crawfish etouffee. As I was unfamiliar with the term “coonass,” and since it sounds incredibly derogatory I investigated. Despite its disputed origin, the term it isn’t so bad when Cajuns say it to each other and its use may have led to the Cajun people being recognized as a distinct ethnic group.

The biscuit was such a welcome addition, I ordered another. If I ate this way every day, I would certainly die. But then again, I will certainly die some day, so I should enjoy these breakfasts while I can, no? After riding bikes around town for most of the afternoon Sunday, this certainly broke my fast like a sledgehammer.

Slim Goodies’ decor endeared me to them just as much as the food. Gorgeous letterpress posters from some of my favorite shops fill the walls, including Yee Haw Industries (Knoxville, Tn.) and probably some from Hatch Show Print (Nashville), and Standard Deluxe (Waverly, Al.). Check out the back patio for some wandering chickens, shaded tables, and creepy statues.

Skip produces The Gourmetro. Check out his published works on Aisle 9, and talk with him on Twitter.

Before Urban Standard, Baked, and Mud, for me there was Tiger Lily Cafe in Port Jefferson. It was a 10 minute drive from Miller Place and it’s safe to say that I spent time there every weekend for over a year. In high school I wasn’t particularly adventurous and never tried their wheatgrass shots or any of their more interesting freshly juiced combinations, but the veg/vegan friendly cafe hooked me on their Provincal and Roma sandwiches (sliced brie, pear, crushed walnuts, mesclun greens and house white wine honey mustard; and fresh mozzarella, Roma tomato, mesclun greens, and basil pesto mayo, respectively). When my mom and stepfather left Miller Place for Williamsburg circa 2003, I found fewer reasons to be down Port.

Last weekend, I found myself with some spare time before meeting up with Vinny, so I wound my little car up, around, over and down Belle Terre hill (a half-mile stretch that still haunts my dreams due to the number of laps run during cross country training) and took a seat at the window. It was a strange time between breakfast and the hamburgers I’d planned to have with Vinny, but as I was hungry, I tried my first wheatgrass shot while deciding on a more filling option.

Tiger Lily Cafe: Wheatgrass Shot. Photo by Dan Schumacher

I am glad to now know that I am no fan of the wheatgrass shot. Its ounce of pure, just-mowed-the-lawn, slightly sweet, spicy soupiness (with more than a bit of garlic essence) is too much for my delicate self. It did help me decided to buy some food to help kill the taste. Yeah.

Tiger Lily Cafe: Cold Case. Photo by Dan Schumacher

Of the vegetarian and vegan options, I opted for a slice of tender roasted vegetable and cheese frittata. It did the job and held me over until our hedonistic burger fest a few hours later. It felt good walking through Tiger Lily’s door nearly 10 years later and finding that its heart (along with most of the menu) had stayed the same, a bit like a grandparent’s house (without all the fake plastic fruit).

Skip produces The Gourmetro. He dislikes wheatgrass shots about as much as mowing the lawn on a hazy August afternoon. Check out his published works on Aisle 9, and talk with him on Twitter.

New York: Blue Bottle Coffee New Orleans Iced Coffee. Photo by Dan Schumacher

My relationship with coffee began, as many do, as a casual friendship. I had been working overnight at Apple’s Fifth Avenue store and after a year of nocturnal living found myself wanting its warm, comforting buzz. It wasn’t the energizing chemicals so much as the atmosphere of Mud, a slightly-small, dark East Village coffee shop that really got me hooked. Manhattan felt more crowded and hostile all the time and I knew I could always wrap myself in the warm blanket of good music, hot espresso macchiatos and friendly faces.

Birmingham: Urban Standard Cappuccino. Photo by Dan Schumacher

It was a treat, a preemptive reward for being productive. I didn’t drink it daily or prepare it for myself–I didn’t own any of the necessary equipment. Months later I started a mostly-new life in Birmingham, Alabama, a city that from the start I could tell wouldn’t be as innately challenging as New York. That was a relief, but the feeling wore off as the reality of starting over set in. There was no nearby Mud to serve as my hideout, and there weren’t many people I could have shared it with even if there were. Urban Standard opened a few months later and provided Downtown Birmingham with just the kind of expertly-made coffee and social space I needed.

New York: Mud Coffee with Almond-Crusted French Toast. Photo by Dan Schumacher

After that [necessary? useful?] preamble, we fast-forward from mid-2007 to this past weekend, when I met up with longtime friend and fellow coffee lover Carla Jean. We brunched at Mud, whose food I’d never eaten. Once the sturdy orange mug was in my hand, it was like I’d never left. Their coffee, which I took black (like my heart), was surprisingly full-bodied and silky for drip. Our server explained their method (using more ground coffee, simply enough) as we finished our almond-crusted french toast.

Canon Ball Presents: Prints Gone Wild Bunny Graffiti. Photo by Dan Schumacher

From Mud, we headed to Williamsburg’s Secret Project Robot Art Space for the Cannonball Press print show. One of my favorite letterpress houses–Yee-Haw Industries of Knoxville Tenn.–was on hand with their beautiful prints and will be back in NYC this December for the Chelsea Market Christmas thing. Carla Jean had to head back to Midtown in a rush, so she missed out on Blue Bottle. Oh did she miss out on some sweet, sweet coffee.

Blue Bottle Coffee. Photo by Dan Schumacher

After randomly running into a former suitemate who turned out to be periodic percussionist for the Richmond, VA band The Diamond Center, I met up with an old friend at Blue Bottle. They are perhaps best known for their niche brewing techniques, which include nel drip and siphon, and they are certainly worth a inter-borough trip. The weather was brisk but I was overdressed and overheating so I opted for a New Orleans iced coffee (pictured, top). It was, as the menu suggests, slightly sweet and just milky enough. The experience would have been perfect if stroller-toting hipster parents had kept their monstrous baby carts from impeding traffic at every turn. But that’s what you get in Brooklyn. I can’t wait to go back and try some hot coffee.

I’m always taking suggestions, so if you have a favorite coffee spot in the city (or anywhere. I’ll travel), please hit me up with a comment.

Skip is the producer of The Gourmetro. He can’t find his French press and it kills him, absolutely, every day. Check out his published works on Aisle 9, and talk with him on Twitter.

]]> http://www.thegourmetro.net/2010/11/nyc-fully-caffeinated/feed/ 5 http://www.thegourmetro.net/2009/08/farm-dispatch-the-donut-king-cambridge-ny/ http://www.thegourmetro.net/2009/08/farm-dispatch-the-donut-king-cambridge-ny/#comments Sat, 29 Aug 2009 17:51:41 +0000 Skip http://www.thegourmetro.net/?p=247

It should be no surprise that The Gourmetro loves doughnuts. Yeasty or cakey, we’ll take a good one however it comes and Charlie showed us some of the best. Hidden away in the sleepy hamlet of Cambridge, James King (pictured above), his wife Jana (never pictured), and his mother, make up a sort of doughnut royal family. Each Sunday and Monday, they serve hundreds of doughnuts of a dozen varieties from a charming red cart in their driveway.

I am not the first to rave about the King. Suvir and Kim have both written love letters to the little pastries. We got to have a quick tour of their kitchen and I was impressed at how they could pop so many donuts out of such a small place. The machinery, a filling-injector, a dough portioner, a proofing oven, a big mixer, and, of course, a cauldron of boiling oil, fills most of the usable area.

In our short time there, we sampled apple fritters, maple glazed local potato doughnuts, a creme-stuffed bismarck, a glazed cherry-plum-filled, and raspberry jam-filled.

The doughnuts themselves defy logic. It would be reasonable for a clear-minded person to assume that since these doughnuts are deep fried, that they would retain some degree of grease. James King’s doughnuts feel greaseless. I’ve been twice already and found it fascinating each time. I hope to go again tomorrow.

If you’re near Cambridge on a Sunday or Monday morning, get to The King’s. They close for the winter, from November to spring. The exact dates are not usually announced, so call for info. Jana says that in the spring her customers begin to have doughnut anxiety, which is probably exacerbated by spring fever.

KING BAKERY AT DOUBLE K FARM
108 West Main Street
Cambridge, NY 12816
Tel: 518-677-3530

Skip is the producer of The Gourmetro. Read about his culinary travels through the South as Dan over at ‘Ham Sandwich.

Oh. Heavy cream? Skip, is there anything I can substitute?

Absolutely not. No. Please Robin, don’t substitute anything for the heavy cream. We’re talking 1 tablespoon (per serving). Please. Just have a little less and eat a salad.

This story started last week when I didn’t feel like making dinner. I’m still settling into Birmingham, and cooking sometimes feels a bit overwhelming. It’s getting better, though. Anyway, I decided to walk over to Chez Lulu and have something light.

I ended up ordering penne alla vodka. It rocked. I was very pleased. Good sauce. Pleasantly spicy. It was great. That dish helped me figure out how I gauge restaurants: if I can make it better than the restaurant, it wasn’t worth it. When I finished my pasta, I decided that it was at least as good as something I could have put together.

And then I got the bill: $16 for a plate of pasta without any meat. I was not happy. Right, and they don’t take American Express. Ugh.

On my walk home, I decided to make the pasta for myself. The next day I found Lidia Bastianich’s recipe, gathered the ingredients, and rocked it out. I cannot remember a dish I’ve prepared that tasted so good, so quickly with so few ingredients. I ended up using a can of crushed San Marzano tomatoes (instead of whole) and didn’t puree them (because I still don’t have a food processor larger than 1/2 cup). And since Lidia didn’t give any kind of direction with the red pepper flakes, I used three large pinches (which I estimate at around 1 1/2 tablespoons).

It wasn’t much more than 35 minutes from boiling the water to sitting down at the table. So worth it.

Final cost per portion – $2.05 per serving.