Monday, March 6, 2023

HOT COFFEE - A Poem







  HOT COFFEE 


  Hot Coffee I Love thee So

  Do You Love Me?
It matters not

  My love for thee?

unrequited
  
if you love me or not
Still Love thee

  You're warm 
You're Hot

  I love it hot

  You taste so Goooooood

COFFEE

   Everyday !!!!

I gotta have you

and you're always there
Each and every day

in the morning ?
you're there

  and I have thee whether or not you want me

  Your'e Hot

  then warm then cold
  2, 3, 4 Times a day
I have you

My Coffee?

Can't live without you

  Sweet or not

   I think not

   No Sugar for me

Just Coffee and milk

Oh how I love my Coffee

Everyday of my life

I gotta have you?

Coffee






a  Poem by Daniel Bellino-Zwicke





"THREE WOMEN"

Drinking Coffee

Fernand Leger

1921








"I LOVE COFFEE"





















COFFEE CUP













.

Espresso and POSITANO

 





"ESPRESSO & POSITANO"

A WINNING COMBO ?

The AMALFI COAST ?

"DON'T LEAVE HONE Without IT"





POSITANO The AMALFI COAST

TRAVEL GUIDE - COOKBOOK








DON'T GO to The AMALFI COAST WITHOUT IT !








POSITANO

The ROLLING STONES

ROCK n' ROLL TEE SHIRT






AMALFI COAST TRAVEL ESSENTIAL

CAPRI - NAPLES - SORRENTO - POSITANO

The PATH of The GODS











The FEAST of The 7 FISH

ITALIAN CHIRSTMAS











Writing at the Cafe

 

 



Me at Caffe Reggio

During the height of the Pandemic

Greenwich Village, New York

I finished my book POSITANO The AMALFI COAST

Travel Guide - Cookbook here, in February 2021





Doing a little writing today, and thought I would write about it. My normal everyday process. Well first off, it is my day off, and I am enjoying it. Just to have the time off to relax and do whatever I want, or need to do, and not have to go into work and work. That is my regular 9 to 5, and not my writing. Yes, like most writers, I do have a 9 - 5, so to speak. That is the bulk of my income comes from my regular job, and not from my writing, although I do make a decent little chunk of change from my book sales, it is not enough to fully support me. Not yet anyway.

And so I am here today at my coffee spot, and where I write, or work on promoting my books through a few blogs and websites I have as well as a bit of social media, mostly on Instagram, posting stuff, some just related to me and things I like, as well as promoting my books, and yes I guess me.

My main coffee spot these days and for the past 7 years since Caffe Dante closed, is at the Marlton Hotel in Greenwich Village, a great little spot, it is nice and comfy, quiet, and relaxing, and I love it. All the people working here are very friendly and take great care of me, which I really appreciate, and again, I love coming here for my daily coffee, and to relax, and that is exactly what I am doing right this very minute, sipping my coffee, writing, relaxing, and savoring just that, sipping coffee, writing, and enjoying the day off. The day off from the 9 to 5, not writing, and promoting, and so here I am.

I started coming to The Marlton Hotel when it first opened, I think it was about 2012. My main place for my daily coffee ( Cappuccino ) was Caffe Dante on Macdougal Street in Greenwich Village. I had my morning and afternoon, and sometimes nighttime coffee, everyday at Caffe Dante for exactly 30 years. I first started going there in the Summer of 1985, after I got back from my first trip to Italy, and many new Italian, and Worldly discoveries, being in Europe for an entire month. It was an eye opening trip that taught me many things. I will never forget it and all the wonderful times in : Rome, Florence with my high-school friend JoAnne, meeting up with friends in Barcelona, a romantic fling in The South of France (Nice & Monaco), on to the most Serene Republic of Venice, Italy, then down to Positano and The Amalfi Coast before heading back up to Rome for a couple more days before flying home to New York. Yes, again, it was a most wonderful trip.

So I had my daily coffee at CafFe Dante for exactly 30 years from 1985 until my pal Mario Flotta sold the place and it closed down in 2015, a most sad day for me. Dante was my second home, and I was friends with the owner Mario, and all the girls (waitresses) who worked there. 

As I said, I started going to The Marlton ever since they opened their doors. It is a cool boutique hotel owned by Shawn McPherson who has great style and runs wonderful establishments in both New York and Los Angeles, and is also a partner at The Maritime Hotel with my old pal Eric Goode, who was a top night club impresario in 1980s NYC, with such clubs as AREA and MK. After being very successful with nightclubs in the 80s and 90s, Eric got into the hotel business in the New Millennium, and is a partner as I said at The Maritime, and now, also at The Bowery Hotel in the East Village of New York. Anyway, I am at the Marlton, but Eric is not a partner here. Anyway?

Yes, I come here everyday and I love it. Some days I write, and some days I work on my websites, blogs, and other promotional avenues. I am always doing some kind of work with these things, and because of my diligence over the years, one of my Instagram accounts has taken off, and as a result my book sales have skyrocketed by 300% as of late, and I am super excited by that. And as I write, Mina just came on over the sound system. "I love it. No Rap Hip Hop Crap at The Marlton. Just great music, they play here, and that is something that I am very grateful for, and it helps one relax, as that is a main incentive of coming here. Relaxing.

I come, and Sangee, Jack, or Fun get me my coffee. I open up my Amazon KDP Dashboard and see how many books I have sold, that is usually the first thing on my agenda. I check Facebook and Instagram, and then I either do some writing, either on the current book I am working on, to write a little article or blog post, and also so promo work, and that is what I do. Most times, before I get to The Marlton, I don't really have a game plan ahead of time, and I just do as I have just described. Although there are times that I do have a game plan ahead of time, and that is usually when I have been going on a writing tear on my current book, or the book is almost done, and I am either doing some editing, or formatting of the book, for the proper format of the manuscript to be sent in to the publisher, and that is what I do. And of course, most of the times I do not go crazy, and I am not in a rush, but taking it easy, and taking it as it comes, day by day, as far as my writing and promo work goes, that is the way I do it.











BOOKS By DANIEL BELLINO






Friday, January 4, 2019

New York Best Cafes





CAFFE DANTE

Macdougal Street GREENWICH VILLAGE
New York

100 YEARS OLD Next YEAR 2015

Is
NEW YORK'S BEST ITALIAN CAFFE


BEST ART in a CAFE

Caffe Reggio

.



photo Daniel Bellino-Zwicke


CAFFE REGGIO

Macdougal Street

BREENWICH VILLAGE

New York

For Great Art in a Cafe, You Can't Beat CAFFE REGGIO
in GREENWICH VILLAGE .. Caffe Reggio Boast
a Painting from The SCHOOL of CARAVAGGIO
and
a RENAISANCE BENCH From a MEDICI PALACE

Florence, Italy




Le COLOMBE

LAYFAYETTE STREET
Near ASTOR PLACE (8th Street)

East Village, NY

GREAT AMBIANCE & GREAT COFFEE

A Winning Combination!



STUMPTOWN COFFEE
at
THE ACE HOTEL




WORLD'S PRETIEST BARISTA

STUMPTOWN COFFEE

GREAT COFFEE & GOOD LOOKING BARISTAS

And A Great Hang in The Lobby

of The ACE HOTEL

photo Daniel Bellino-Zwicke





ABRACO ESPRESSO

NEW YORK'S BEST CORTADO

and

BEST OVERALL COFFEE

If A Bit Much on Attitude at Times ...






PORTO RICO COFFEE

BEST COFFEE in NEW YORK

WHY The HELL Would ANYONE Be DUMB
Enough to Buy COFFEE BEANS at STARBUCKS  For $12.95

When YOU CAN BUY NEW YORK'S BEST COFFEE
For 5 DOLLARS LESS At $7.95 a Pound?

Guess Some People are Just Plain DUMB ???





SUNDAY SAUCE

When Italian-Americans Cook




.


GOT ANY KAHLUA ?

aka The BIG LEBOWSKI COOKBOOK




.





New York Regular Coffee is KING









COFFEE



Coffee and Cafes. Two things very near and dear to me. Million so others as well. In New York, we have the Best, “For getta bout it Seattle” !!! I remember 25 years ago and more when there were no Starbucks and just very few cafes in the hole city. More or less the only cafes were in Greenwich Village, Little Italy, and the East Village. There were hole neighborhoods, completely cafe-less and if you wanted to go to one you had to go to the Village or Little Italy, nothing on the hole Upper East Side.

   Anyway, Coffee and Cafes are a huge thing these days and part of many a life.
Coffee and cafes, let me tell you about some of the best and my impressions. Hey, I’m a guy who has been frequenting cafes for years, each and every day, just about. I haven’t Jumped on the Band Wagon in the past 5 or ten years. I’ve been riding it for 30.

   Number “One,” in New York,  a good Cup of Joe is King, “Regular” not
Grande Caramel Latte and overpriced crap like that. Not the esoteric overpriced espresso, Cortado, Machiato, Blue Bottle, and Site Specific Coffee, and blends that try to break down and make too make of a good simple thing. You know what I mean. A “Cup of Joe,” is King. Used to be Five Cents at coffee shops all over the city. Well that’s going way back. Hey don’t get me wrong, I love Espresso, Espresso Machiatto, and the great Cortado they serve at Abraco. It’s just that I gotta tell you, a “Regular” is King and let’s hope it always will be.

   Abraco is utterly awesome. Maybe the Best Single tasting coffee in town, is their Cortado. Man it’s tasty. Just out of this world. But I have some problems with Abraco, as I’m not someone to pay a Premium for what I call “Hit and Run Coffee”

What is “Hit and Run Coffee” you ask? Well, let me tell you. Hit and Run Coffee is a coffee that you get at places like Caffeteria, Abraco, Third Rail Coffee, and tiny little Coffee Bars that have little or no chairs and tables and maybe just a small counter space for standing. Listen, I’m not in the habit of paying  $3.50, $4.50 or “More” for a cup of coffee, having to stand at a counter, drinking it in short time and leaving. Ending up $5.00 or more less in my pockets. Well you may think, “What’s $5.00?” Right? What’s Five Dollars? Imagine if you have 5 $5.00 coffees a week for one year. Do you know how much money that adds up to? Relax, I’ll do the Math for you. That’s $1,300 my friends. No small sum? Multiply that by 5 years and you’re talking $6,500, or by Ten Years and we’re talking $13,000. That’s a lot of Friggin Cash my friends. Hey I’m not saying you should not go out and have coffee. I do all the time. Heck, on my days off, I sometimes end up in cafes three times in one day.  I spend about $1,508 a year on coffee, $7,500 in five years or about $15,000 in ten. That’s a lot. But I get a lot. Heck, I used to spend about $2,200 a year on coffee,  $10, 000 or more in 5, or about $20,000 in ten years. But I have cut back. I’ve seen the light. I hardly ever spend $5.00 on a coffee any more. All I need is the $2.00 variety. A good honest “Cup of Joe,” a “Regular.” And I need to get my money’s worth. If I just wanted a good cup can easily make a great one in my house for just “15 Cents a Cup,” but I go and have one at a CafĂ© for 15 times that amount. Why? The extra $2.35 I pay for the coffee plus tip, is to be able to “Sit” down and relax in a nice pleasant atmosphere. I’m not gonna pay 27 times ($3.75 Average price coffee at Upscale Coffee Bar) to stand at a counter and not being able to sit down and relax. At home I can  make a tasty cup of Coffee from the Highest Quality Coffee money can buy with the coffee I buy at  “Porto Rico Coffee” on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village, just a half block from my house. No, I pay all that extra money to sit in the pleasant environment of a nice coffee. Also to see other people, maybe a friend or the possibility of meeting someone new and interesting. I read, I write, I hang with friends, I relax. I can not do that at a overpriced “Coffee Bar” that doesn’t have any place to sit.

  And speaking of Porto Rico Coffee, it mystifies me that people are so foolish as to pay $11.95 or more for a mass-produced commercial pound of Coffee from Starbucks instead of going to the “Best Coolest Place in Town” to be some of the World’s Finest Coffee at Porto Rico Coffee, people who have been doing this for more than 100 years, not 20. It just doesn’t make sense. By the way, the coffee I buy at Porto Rico is just $5.99 and $6.99 a pound, half the price of a pound of Starbucks Coffee.

   Anyway. It’s all up to you. I’ll  stick with my Regular “Cup of Joe” with a Espresso and Cappuccino thrown in here and there, and as a special treat a Cortado from Abraco every now and then. And I’ll get to sit down and relax with my coffee each day, putting an extra $1,000 a year in my pocket, or Airfare and a few nice meals when I go on vacation. How bout you, “Hit and Run”and pay more, or Sit Down and Relax, Pay Less, Save, and put a Thousand Bucks a Year in your pockets, or $10,000 in ten ? 






by "DANIEL BELLINO ZWICKE"







 


The BIG LEBOWSKI COOKBOOK





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.
 

Morning Coffee Newspaper







My Sunday morn Coffee?  I love it so! There's nothing quite like it, and it's one of my best moments of the week, most times "the Best." Yes it is. And not for just me but millions I'm quite sure. If you work 6 days a week as I, or you work five, that Sunday morn coffee just can't be beat. Most might have it down at the kitchen table. The coffee pot brews, you retrieve the Sunday Paper and settle in. Settle in with that good ol friend, your morning cup of Joe. You chit chat with the husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, whoever, and you sip that good beloved Brew, your morning cup of Joe (coffee). Is it Brazilian, African, Colombian  Jamaican, or Sumatran, no matter, it's your favorite and it brings you so joy for just a pittance of a cost. Most of us drink good ol regular American Coffee, regular, Black, with milk and sugar, just milk no sugar, Milk, Cream, Half & Half, there's a number of ways to enjoy, your morning cup of coffee.
   For me, my morning cup is never in my house as it is with most. No, I always go to the cafe for my beloved cup. I've been doing so for almost 30 years now. Nothing wrong with having it at home, but for me, I always have it out, at one of my local cafes. One is American (Regular Cup of Joe) the other Italian (Espresso or Cappuccino). For the past few days, I go to the American Bakery/Cafe more often. I usually have a little breakfast before I go, sans (without) coffee. The coffee is reserved for the cafe. I do this for two reasons, never having coffee at home. Number one, after I take a shower, I have my breakfast and put on my clothes, I just want to get out of the house and into the city, (New York). Two, I only have my coffee at the cafe because to me it makes it more special this way. And it's not just about the coffee, it's the whole total experience of it all. I have my coffee, yes, but I'm among others. There are always the counter girls at the cafe who are all quite lovely. A nice morning with my cup of Joe, perhaps a bit of chit-chat with the girls and they're always so sweet. Usually I have friends there, so there's a bit of conversation with them, sipping my regular coffee, "Milk No Sugar." I read, I write, I listen to the music, sip, love, and enjoy my coffee, that very simple and one of life's "Great Pleasures," the morning coffee. It cost very little, and especially if you compare it to the outrageous price of cocktails these days, that with the price of the drink $14-$17, and tip, can end up near $20.00 per. I love a good cocktail, but not at these prices. My morning cup of coffee has superior value compared to the current days cocktail prices in New York. It's sad really.
   Yes, I usually see friends, have a good chat, then it's into the papers, The Times, Post, The Daily News, whatever is lying around the cafe. Guess what, it's free. I can go on my computer and surf the net. I'll get any news or info I could possibly want. If I don't like the music playing at the cafe, which is usually good, but can occasionally be quite bad, I'll just plug in my ear-plugs, go to Youtube, and watch a Rolling Stones video. Listen too, of course. Or I'll just plug into my iPod Touch and listen to my great Musical Library. No Crap Rap of course, just good ol Classic Rock, R&B, and "Frank" Sinatra that is!
   I write, I read, I load up news from the Huffington Post on my iPod to read on the train (Subway) later, I see friends, sometime make new ones, sip my Coffee, I enjoy, that's my Sunday morning Coffee, or any day of the week for that matter. My morning Coffee, "I just Love It."


 Daniel Bellino-Zwicke




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510aa-mrnewyorkny4


THE BIG LEBOWSKI COOKBOOK

ABIDE in IT !!!

..
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Celebrities Drinking Coffee







ADUREY HEPHURN


DRINKING COFFEE


In Front of TIFFANY'S


In BREAKFAST at TIFFANY'S













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HOT COFFEE - A Poem

  HOT COFFEE     Hot Coffee I Love thee So   Do You Love Me? It matters not   My love for thee? unrequited    if you l...