Cranachan Café

While in Glasgow visiting friends I found myself having lunch at the Cranachan Café in the unlikely (for Scotland) bourgeoisie shopping arcade of Princes Square.  The café’s specialty is as advertised “Coffee & Modern Scottish Fayre” and it is mighty good fare, despite its cutsie Scottish spelling.  

Off their menu I chose to order the Cullen Skink soup ( I’m always attracted to menu items that could easily be misread or mispronounced…I like Poisson) which is a traditional Scottish soup consisting of smoked haddock pieces swimming in a creamy broth with leeks and corn.  Cranachan claimed this was their specialty soup which meant it could either go terribly right or wonderfully wrong, with absolutely no room for anything in between.  Thus, I was anticipating being served a liquid version of Janet Jackson and her exposed nipples, a hit or miss affair depending on mood and timing.

When the dish arrived it had an appearance a bit like that of a  leek and potato soup  and it was also  served with two pieces of hardy looking brown bread.  I could not help but feel I  stepped into a minimal security cafeteria prison where a white collar criminal was about to pinch my credit card details at any moment. My concern thankfully vanished with the first spoonful of Cullen Skink:  the creamy broth had a slightly heavy semi-sweetness about it while the haddock was a melting excursion of meatiness. These flavours made a wonderfully soothing winter soup reticent of a proper New England chowder (found mostly in New York where no actual New Englander is available to perform a culinary massacre).  What made the dish particularly delicious, however, was the brown bread that was served with the soup ( I must admit that if I miss anything by living in the UK it is decent bread). It was flavorsome and absorbent bread perfect for dipping into soup (and perhaps even for some sharp cheddar and Irish butter), the kind of bread one would like to be served for their last living meal. I wish Mary, Queen of Scots, had this delightful bread before her head ended up decorating one of Queen Elizabeth’s front parlors. Imagine the scandal of Elizabeth trying to wipe a smirk of the dead Mary’s face! Alas, even in death Mary disappointed the Scots (and me) but fortunately, back in present times, the bread was a very tasty affair for me.

Unfortunately, however, the combination of the heavy bread and creamy soup meant I was too stuffed to have pudding with my friends, who ended up ordering a sizeable scone (think face, body and stringy limbs of that round headed scientist from the Muppets). I did try the other thing Cranachan advertises, coffee and that happily was a very nice cup of coffee. I highly recommend you visit Cranachan if you find yourself in Glasgow and in need of comfort food, pleasant service and perhaps even some refreshing décor (Timorous Beasties design marks are found throughout the premises).

(For more details please visit Cranachan’s website: http://www.cranachancafe.co.uk/ ).

Pichet Ong’s New ‘Spot’

 If you werent looking for Pichet Ong’s latest venture ‘Spot‘, you might not find it. Nestled in what looks like a basement at first glance is a dessert bar whose products are a mix between Asian street food and American Comfort. Upon entering the cafe, I immediately fell in love with the faux grass on the floor. Ong tries to replicate a barn with his grass floor, raw wood furniture, and stone accents. Its really cute and kinda comfy too.

Onto the desserts, the wide array of sweets at this joint made deciding difficult: cupcakes, cookies, puddings, ice cream, bubble tea, coffee floats, and even dessert tapas. I decided to go with the cupcakes and a Thai milk coffee since I was in a semi-hurry and wanted a treat I could eat on the train.

Here’s the taste rundown:

Mocha Maldon Salt Caramel cupcake has mocha buttercream, salt caramel middle, and a moist chocolate cake base. This cupcake was a delicious salty/sweet mix with a hint of slightly bitter mocha. The frosting itself isnt really super out-of-the-ordinary BUT it did have edible glitter ontop of it: HUGE PLUS. Verdict: enjoyed this one quite a bit!

Chocolate Green Tea Fruit Jam cupcake has an apricot jam, soft green tea icing, and again a moist chocolate cake base. This frosting was much different in consistancy than the Mocha cupcake. It was softer, smoother, and much more interesting plus it had the same edible glitter ontop. The fruit jam paired wonderfully with the hints of green tea and chocolate. Verdict: He’s got himself a winner here! Possibly Ongs best cupcake.

Vanilla Caramel Vietnamese Coffee cupcake has a coffee-ish type buttercream frosting with a salty caramel liquid middle and a moist vanilla cake base. This is a great cupcake for those of you who like vanilla since the actual cake is so delicious. My only problem is that is tasted very much like the Mocha Maldon Salt cupcake. I think they are the same cupcake with different cake bases - which is fine with me, just change their names. I was expecting a real punch of Vietnamese coffee in this one and was sorely disappointed. Verdict: Very good, but probably wont be back for this one.

My only real issue was with the container holding the Thai Milk Coffee. Out of the few sips I was able to get while walking to the train station, the coffee was very good.  But by the time I got off of the train and to my final destination half the cup had leaked out and all over my bag! Ugh!! I couldnt even pinpoint where the coffee leak was coming from! I threw out the rest out of  anger. If you are getting coffee at Spot - get it to stay. Or if you dont mind getting coffee all over yourself and your clothes  then by all means get it to go.

A Tale of Two Cupcakes

For starters I have to admit, I hardly ever go out for cupcakes anymore. Why? Mostly because I have been so utterly disappointed with the dry/tasteless/sugary loads of crap most people consider good. I’ve had many of the NYC standards: Magnolia’s (the frosting is crap), Cupcake Cafe (the cake is dry), Crumbs (they are too big and are overloaded with too many ‘toppings’), Buttercup Bake Shop (too sweet and always slightly stale).  After awhile, I just stopped attempting to enjoy cupcakes made by other people…until last week.

Don’t ask me why but whilst Christmas shopping I had the urge to take another stab at cupcakes so I decided to hit up 2 spots: Butter Laneand Tribeca Treats. Why these places? They were close to my shopping destinations. Here’s my review on both establishments:

Butter Lane- I walked into their temporary Soho outpost and was immediately hopeful. The atmosphere was simple yet homey. Also the cupcakes didnt look covered in goop/sprinkles but still had interesting flavors like pumpkin and blueberry. I purchased a pumpkin frosting/chocolate cake  to go and began consuming as I walked out the door. I was pleasantly surprised. I mean, they werent mind blowing but they weren’t awful. The frosting was soft but was still substantial and the cake was moist. The drawback, I didnt taste pumpkin AT ALL. I dont know where the pumpkin was or how they tried to infuse the festive flavor into the frosting but it didnt work. Boo. It wasn’t a total loss but was certainly not a win. Onto the next cupcake…

Tribeca Treats- I had avoided this place for years because my sister had insisted that it was a horrible with gross

treats/bad service and I took her word for it. The atmosphere was typically bakery-esk: a few tables, chocolate pictures on the walls, window cases filled with chocolates and baked goods, etc. Maybe it was because I went about 40 minutes before closing, but they did not have too many cupcakes to chose from which started to worry me. I decided to go with the S’more cupcake because it had everything I would want: chocolate cake with marshmallow icing and topped with graham cracker crumbs. Once again, I started consuming as soon as I stepped out the door. After the 2nd bite I knew I had found it: the cupcake of my dreams. The frosting was soft, billowy, and sweet without being cloying. The cake was moist, delicous, and fresh. The graham cracker crumbs ontop of the frosting werent stale or hard, they were soft and buttery. Better yet? Everything tasted as advertised!!  It actually TASTED like a s’mores instead of just sugary glop. I immediately called my sister while she was at work to yell at her for giving me such bad advice.

In summation: if you’re in the Financial District or Tribeca and are looking for a sweet snack - stop on into Tribeca Treats and get yourself something…no matter what your sister may tell you.

Alices Tea Cup

I know I’ve blogged about Alice’s Tea Cup before but I have to do it again. That’s how much I love coming here.

Is it the food? Kinda. Is it the atmosphere? Maybe. To be honest, I’m not sure why I love it here so much. One things for certain: I love scones and the people here make pretty damn good ones. Although the scone lineup changes daily, they almost always have my personal favorite: pumpkin. Now I know you’ve probably had pumpkin scones before. Just about every bakery makes them when the leaves begin to fall. Why is this one so different? Because it is MORE than just a dry scone. It’s a bakery wonder. Circular instead of the traditional triangle, it has the consistancy of a moist pumpkin loaf with the added bonus of a thin sheet of caramel glaze ontop. When its warm, there is no better accompaniment to a cup of ginger tea.

Speaking of tea, lets talk about the kinds of tea they have here. Well, they 100’s. At least it seems that way. They’ve got all your typical tea types: black, green, red, white, herbal, tisane, organic, and decaf. Each category has about 20 different flavors with all the standards like ginger, chai, chamomile, french vervain, peppermint, vanilla bourbon, jasmine, rose, and genmaicha. Along with some other outstanding teas such as Hawaiian Paradise (apples, berries, apricot, orange peel, rosehips, and hibiscus), Mango Mate, and Herbal Detox (alfalfa, dandelion, nettle bush, and mint). They basically have a tea for every palate and they are all delicious.

So if you are in the neighborhood come on over to Alices for a pot of tea and a blt…unless it’s a national holiday and kids are off from school…then be prepared to wait in a sea of 5 year olf girls.

Fika Coffee: The Perfect Drug

FIKA [fee:ka] = Swedish verb that roughly translates into “take a coffee break”

I love a good cup of coffee and in a world filled with Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts this can be hard to find. Now before I come off as a pretentious douche let me explain something. I go to Starbucks and DD all the time. I’m not above it. In fact, I use to drink about 3 cups of SB’s addictive gruel a day when I worked at Morgan Stanley due to an insane work schedule (mental note: never work for an Investment Bank again). But just because I drink their coffee out of necessity, doesnt mean I love it.

I decided to make my way over to Fika after sampling some of their fine chocolates at this months NYC Chocolate Show. The chocolate was so delicious, the coffee HAD to be at least a knotch above medicore. I walked into the somewhat small cafe and ordered myself a mocha.I had planned on ordering a sandwich but the lack of a bathroom in this cafe made me change my mind. With one sip I was sold. It was smooth, creamy, and hot without being scalding. Finally! A cup of java that doesn’t initially burn my tongue. The coffee needed no other added ANYTHING and had the most lovely layer of ‘crema’ ontop of it. Divine. The only thing that might turn someone away (besides the lack of a bathroom) is the price. A mocha is about $4.25 - which I’m sadly ok with given NYC prices for..uhh…anything. Think it’s too much money? Think of it this way: a Starbucks grande mocha is the same price.

I Want Macaroons!

The best part about NYC is how easy it is to walk around and find a gem. One day while I was wandering around West 36th street looking for a decent cup of coffee and I found the Macaron Cafe. Here’s my review:

They have dozens of macaroon flavors:  Vanilla, Bourbon Vanilla, Dark Chocolate, Pumpkin, Caramel, Pistachio,  Raspberry, Strawberry, Apple Spice, Lavender, Earl Grey, etc. The flavors change for the season and can be either fruity, floral, citrus, nutty, and/or chocolately.

The sandwiches are also really delicious. The ‘Paris’ has thick slices of ham, homemade mayo, gruyere, and cornichons. Add 2 macaroons and a cafe latte and you’ve got an amazing lunch for under $15.  If you’re lucky, you’ll arrive right when they’re making a fresh batch of the delightful namesake cookie. Watch them while you’re waiting for your java.

 

161 W 36th St (between 7th Avenue and Broadway)
New York, NY 10018