New York City, Day 2: Cafe Grumpy, Marcus Samuelson’s The Nook at Red Rooster Harlem

Fri., May 10.

BREAKFAST.
Cafe Grumpy is a cozy little coffee-house a stone’s throw away from our hostel in Chelsea. We went there almost every day for their flat white, which were creamy and bright and considerably smoother than the ones I’ve had in Toronto.  The cute lemon poppy-seed bundt cake, baked off-site at their Lower East Side location, went perfectly with our morning coffees. If you’re in the area, I highly recommend it.

SNACK.
For something different, The Nook is a take-away counter at Chef Marcus Samuelson’s Swedish-American-Soul-Food restaurant in Harlem. They sell sandwiches, coffee, teas, and a variety of pastries, but all with the twist you’d expect from the Nigerian-born, Swedish-raised chef and now American transplant restauranter. There was some confusion on how to go about ordering our food from The Nook counter –  they sat us at the bar – but after a 10 minutes wait, our cookies and iced tea finally arrived.

The ‘A’ Train, listed on the Nook Specials, is smack down the best sandwich cookie we’ve had. It’s two curry, blueberry, and oatmeal cookies filled with cream cheese.

Cafe Grumpy
224 West 20th Street, Manhattan | Website

The Nook at Red Rooster Harlem
310 Lennox Avenue, Manhattan| Website

Toronto Doughnuts: Mini Doughnuts at Little Nicky’s Coffee

Our Homer’s Odyssey into Toronto’s doughnuts continues…

- O -

Do you remember the first time you had Tiny Tom Donuts? I can, it was at CNE and while I haven’t actually been to the Ex in years, there will always be a fairly substantial part of my heart devoted to baby doughnuts that come into the world via conveyor belt. So, imagine my delight when Little Nicky’s set up shop back in 2010 and we all started enjoying their mini doughnuts made bar-top for all to see (and smell). The best seat in the house actually faces the “donut robot” that sends piping hot doughnuts tumbling towards you straight out of the fryer. They’re made to order, tossed in cinnamon sugar and served hot. True to form, Little Nicky’s has bucked the trend of specialty doughnut shops that constantly experiment with new/innovative flavours because sometimes all you want is something simple and perfect to dip in your coffee. If only they had endless batter and longer hours (till 6pm daily and closed Sundays), I might sit by the fryer and fade away like Degas’ absinthe lady. Mini doughnuts are $2.75 for six, $4 for a dozen.

More Toronto Doughnuts: Bake Lab / Benna’s Bakery & Deli / Bonjour Brioche / Caldense Bakery /Glory Hole / Mexi-Can Market / Nova Era Bakery / Paulette’s Original Donuts and Chicken / Venezia Bakery

Little Nicky’s Coffee
375 Queen St. W. | Yelp

Some photos on Fujifilm Pro 160S

I picked up a roll of expired Fuji 160S at the Lomography store about two months ago and finally got it developed! Because it was still winter and I shoot indoors a lot (i.e. eat indoors a lot), I ended up taking those photos at wide open at f1.8 on my 50mm. They’re all a bit soft focused…but I don’t mind the creamy bokeh it yielded though.

Café Pamenar

It’s been a while, but I finally got a roll of film developed. I decided to take my chances and push my 800 film by one stop, which, for those wondering, means it was developed at 1200 instead of 800. (Oh man, I hope I got that correct. I think that’s what it means.) The shadows are bit washed out, the grains are very noticeable, but I like the contrast. The highlights on these shots are way overblown, as expected, but I can live with that. I have better results in other interior shots. More to come!

Also, cool story: Leo sat back to back with Sook Yin Lee, that’s her on the bottom left corner.

Canon AE-1 | Fuji Pro 800z, pushed +1

Also, if you’re wondering, I got this film developed and scanned at Toronto Image Works.

Café Pamenar
307 Augusta Avenue (Kensington Market) | Yelp

Jittery John’s Cold Brew Coffee

One of the silver linings in having friends and family move abroad is the exchanges that take place whenever they return home on visits. My cousin, who recently expatriated to San Francisco, smuggled back a bottle of the liquid gold that is Jittery John’s Cold Brew coffee. If you’re skeptical about New Orleans style coffee that’s “handcrafted since just recently” in San Francisco, JJ’s is as rich, smooth, strong, and delicious as billed – and the chicory accent is something I can get used to. Fun fact:  chicory root is a common coffee substitute in US prisons, a tradition that dates back to the American civil war!

Yashica FX-7

Jittery John’s Cold Brew Coffee
San Fransisco CA | Twitter | Fb