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

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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




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GOT ANY KAHLUA ?

aka The BIG LEBOWSKI COOKBOOK




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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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Thursday, January 3, 2019

Coffee at The CAFE

CaffeREGG.jpg
My 1st CAFE
CAFFE REGGIO
caffereggioartmamouns
CAFFE REGGIO 
GREENWICH VILLAGE NEW YORK
 
Copyright 2016 Daniel Zwicke
Gotta have my coffee at the Cafe. There is not much in life that pleases me more drinking a nice hot tasty Cup of Joe in the warm welcoming invirons of a nice cafe. And I don't mean Starbucks. Yes I can have my coffee at home each day, and save quite a lot of money. Yes i could have it at home and instead of spending about $1,600 a year or $16,000 every 10 Years on the stuff, I'd just spend about $120 a year or $1200 in ten instead of that 16 Grand. Yes I could put a whopping $15,000 in my pockets every ten years or so if I wasn't so extravagant in my daily coffee habit, but it juts wouldn't be the same, I wouldn't be in a cafe which I love so dearly. I'd be at home alone with my coffee and no one else around. I'd have my coffee but I wouldn't have people nor the surroundings of a nice cafe like one of my favorites of all, the former Caffe Dante in New York's Greenwich Village where I had my coffee ( Cappuccino, Espresso, Caffe Latte) nearly everyday for 30 years.
You see it's not just about the coffee but about being around other people and the community and conviviality of this thing called the cafe, a place to gather and be among like-minded people, those who life the cafe life. I could just go there and burry myself in a book, do some writing, or converse with a friend, the waitress, or someone new who I just met, "you see I'm at a cafe," and this is what you do, you read, you write, sip your coffee, you relax, that's the essence of any good cafe, and I've been to many. I've been to Caffe Florian in Venice, Duex Maggot and Flore along with many more in Paris, to Greco in Rome, Gambrinus in Napoli, Biela in Buenas Aires, du Monde in New Orleans, Caravelle in Macau, and many more.
CaffeGANBRINUS.jpg
 
 
Caffe Gambrinus
 
Naples, Italy
 
for the World's BEST ESPRESSO
 
Yes I could have my Coffee at home, but why would I when I can go to the cafe, for "It's an affordable Luxury, and one that I love so." Coffee.
 
 
 
Daniel Bellino Zwicke
GambrinusBARISTA.jpg
BARISTA At Caffe Gambrinus, Napoli, Italy, you're served your Espresso in this beautiful cup.
 
 
 
 
 
CAFFE FLORIAN
 
St. MARKS SQUARE
 
VENICE ITALY Since 1720
COFFEE at FLORIAN'S
 
 
"Now THAT'S COFFEE" But For a PRICE !
 
 
 
 
WAITER SERVING BEIGNETS And CAFE CREME
 
CAFE Du MONDE
 
NEW ORLEANS
 
ONE of MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE CAFES
 
 
"I JUST LOVE IT" !!!!
 
 
CAFE DUEX MAGGOTS
 
St GERMAIN De PRES
 
 
PARIS
CafeFLOREee.jpg
CAFE FLORE
Blvd SAINT MICHELE
PARIS
 
 
CAFE BIELA
 
BUENOS AIRES
 
ARGENTINA
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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BarFAUNOoo
FAUNO BAR
PIAZZA del TASSO
SORRENTO
Bar Fauno iw without question one of the World's Great Cafes (Caffe). It is without question Ground Zero, the # 1 undisputed most popular spot in all of Sorrento, which is a town filled with travels from around the world, who make Sorrento their home, base for exploring; Capri, Pompeii, and the Amlfi Coast of Italy.
You haven't been to Sorrento if you haven't gone to Bar Fauno. On a recent trip my cousin Tony and I had brekfast every day at Bar Fauno, and we might be found there at the end of the evening for a nightcap before retiring for the evening, as well as having a couple Apertivo's during our stay.
You can get whatever you want at Bar Fauno, including; simply and Espresso or Cappuccino, a snack such as a Panino (Sandwich), Pizza, Gelato, or a whole complete meal. If you are staying at a hotel nearby, you're sure to go to Bar Fauno a number of times during your stay. I highly recommend this, one of the World's Great Cafes."
MeeNdTONYFAUNObar
Me and Cousin Tony (L)
BAR FAUNO
May 2018
DinoFaunoBAR
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screen-shot-2017-01-03-at-3-10-16-pm
CAFFE REGGIO
 
Macdougal Street GREENWICH VILLAGE New York
 
MY FIRST CAFE
 
Started going there when I was just 15 years old ...
 
 
 
 
 
 
PICASSO
 
 
He loved his Espresso
 
mostly at Cafe Flore in PARIS
 
 
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The Classic Coffee to GO CUP
 
PICASSO would have Loved it !
 
 
 
 
 
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MANGIA ITALIANO !!!
 
The Latest from Best Selling Cookbook Author
 
DANIEL BELLINO ZWICKE
 
 
 
Look for IT Soon on AMAZON.com
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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...