Purina One Cat Cafe: NYC

I don't wait in line if I can help it. Not for Cronuts, not for brunch, not for nightclubs. If there's a line over 20 minutes, I'm on to the next place. This is New York City, for crying out loud! Options abound at every block!

Then came the country's very first cat café to NYC. Apparently, I threw all my standards out the window – in exchange for a few minutes with some cuddly kitty cats. I'd actually been hoping to visit the cat cafe in London, but its opening was delayed until a week or two after our big trip in January (posts on THAT trip coming soon!)

I could not believe my eyes when I saw the line for the cat café wrapping all the way around the building on Bowery. It went pretty quickly at first – moving about 20 feet in about 20 minutes. Then we stood there for a long, long time. All in all, I waited THREE HOURS. I still cannot believe I did that. I had lots of company though, from tourists to locals-- and it wasn't just all ladies, either, despite the many 'cat lady' references I've heard this week. It was actually a very diverse and amiable group of people who just think cats are cool. Ya dig?

 About 30 minutes before I went inside, one of the women working at the café came out and asked us all to keep our visits to 30 minutes. Were they not already asking everyone that?

Inside the café, you can get free coffee and free snacks. They had muffins and cappuccinos and drip coffee when I went in-- all from Brooklyn-based Cafe Grumpy. I had to pass up the final blueberry muffin and go right to the kitty cats. Priorities!

By the time I got inside, the cats of had a long day of tons of attention. Most of them are very chill, sleeping on people's laps or resting on the perches around the room. The cats were all extremely well-behaved and seemed quite at ease, despite all the people (and a multi-person film crew setting up and breaking down all over the place). These cats are clearly very well cared for and look quite healthy and happy. The socializing didn't seem to bother them at all, but there were lots of safe, quiet hiding places for the ones who needed a break. I saw about six in the rotation around the room. I have to say some of my fellow cat lovers could do a better job of sharing the love, but whatever. (I'm looking at you, sofa-hoggers!) You just have to walk up to someone holding a cat and get in on the fun.

If you're going, I don't recommend going alone like I did. It's tough to snag a cat and a place to sit at the same time. I did get to cuddle with Little Miss Valerie for a few minutes – oh man, I was this close to adopting her myself. However, someone already beat me to it. In fact, four of the 16 kittens had been adopted by the end of that day

So how was the food? While I turned down the chance for a muffin, I actually did go back afterwards for a cappuccino. The baristas we're making adorable kitty art in the foam. My "cat'accino" was absolutely fantastic. Smooth, rich coffee from the folks at Cafe Grumpy- and it was free! 

Artsy kitten in the foam!

Hopefully they get a little better about managing the visitors and people won't have to wait so long. 

So it's not the same as cafes in other countries, where the food area & the cats mingle. The areas are very separate, but who cares!?! Kittens!

If you're in NYC and want to go, I do suggest you bring a friend (and/or a book and maybe even a snack) and don't be shy about asking to hold or play with any of the cats- but get there soon! The cafe closes on Sunday, April 27th!

Purina One Cat Cafe

168 Bowery

New York, NY

10013

Downton Abbey-- in Midtown Manhattan!

Are you a fan of Downton Abbey, the delightfully soapy PBS series? If you're anywhere in NYC, there's a fun little tea truck making stops all this week, offering tea, biscuits, and peeks into the series!

My fabulous coworkers & I walked a block away from our office to have some hot tea and a biscuit (what we Yanks call cookies) with a little British touch.

Servers dressed in period garb (okay, covered up in modern coats- it's COLD out this week) were there to serve us hot tea and Biscoff biscuits (have you had these? They're SO GOOD), and they all seemed to be having a grand old time.
All of this fun fuss is to remind fans (as if we actually NEED reminding!) that the fourth season of Downton Abbey airs in the US on January 5th. Set your DVRs, people! This is British entertainment at its most genteel, and genuinely entertaining.

I believe this tea is the English Rose Tea, sold just for Downton Abbey and described by the Republic of tea thusly: "This vibrant, ruby-red infusion of rose, raspberry and hibiscus has fruity, floral notes and a touch of sweetness. Inspired by traditional British desserts, this caffeine-free, luscious tea is perfect as an afternoon treat." (You can order it here!) It is very fruity, and we drank it plain, no sugar needed. I'm still more of a black tea person, but this was fun.. and free!

Do I look proper yet??

There was, shockingly, no real line. We got our tea in seconds, and had a few minutes to linger and pose for cheeky pics and whatnot. Is it high tea, with finger sandwiches and sweets and cloth napkins? Of course not-- but it certainly was a fun break in our day, as we are all quite excited about the upcoming premiere!
Hang in there, fans-- not much longer until we find out what happens with Mary and the rest of the Downton clan!

Thursday, December 12th
The New York Times Center, 41st St. between 7th & 8th Avenue

Friday, December 13
Broadway between 66th and 67th Street

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Dinner Party: Foods from Chile!

The talented & lovely Alejandra Ramos of Always Order Dessert invited me this week to a dinner party at her home-- featuring foods (and wines) from Chile! I think I replied yes before I even read past "Would you like to.. " I'm in! These parties were happening all over the country on the same night-- fun!

A touch of Chile was in every bit of the evening-- that lovely floral arrangement features sliced clementines from.. you guessed it.. Chile! Foods from Chile sponsored the event, and as their ambassador, Alejandra schooled us on some sweet facts-- such as:

80 percent of the cherries we buy in the US come from Chile!

Chile has to meet the EU standards to sell their products in Europe--and those standards are higher than those in the US!

Chile is the largest exporter of fresh plums, grapes, & fish filets (our entrée that night)

They're the 2nd largest exporter of frozen salmon

Chile's seasons are opposite ours-- so fresh fruits and other delicious things are in season there now (hence the twitter hashtag #nowinseason)

A lot of the juice we drink? You guessed it--from Chile!

Here's a shot of Alejandra working her magic in her kitchen. She's preparing endive spears with Chilean raspberries, Chilean clementines, goat cheese, Chilean olive oil and cracked pepper (I had 3 just to make very, very certain they were delicious). A TV crew from Chile came later, and the gentleman who interpreted for us said that Chilean olive oil has won best in the world for 2 years running. #themoreyouknow

There was a lovely almond & merquen-spiced (smoked pepper spice popular in Chile) gazpacho waiting for everyone. It wasn't until later that I realized I never tried this, but I heard rave reviews.

I might have been distracted by the smooth, lush red wine.. a 2009 Pinot Noir.. from Chile's Kingston Family Vineyards. Their Tobiano was so full, fruity, and velvety. I'll have to see who carries this in NYC!

There were so many delicious bites-- a smoky, slightly-spicy chorizo, a soft and mild goat cheese smothered in a luxurious blueberry sauce, gorgeous grapes and nuts that paired perfectly with a merquen-spiced fig paste. Woooh---that was a fabulous spread! So fabulous that I kept eating instead of taking photos!

I did snap a quick pic of the merquen bottle as we passed it around the room for a show-and-tellsmell. Smoky but not overpowering, this was a delicious spice that wouldn't burn your tongue, but definitely kicks up the heat.

Our main course was an almond-crusted salmon fillet with black sticky rice and a fresh, crunchy, slightly spicy salsa made of grapes, jalapenos, tomatoes and more. Grapes in salsa--never would have thought of it before, but I will now! I ate every single bite on my plate. Tender salmon, crunchy veggies, and nice, chewy rice.

I should mention I had a half-serving, splitting it with another party-goer, as I wanted to have room for dessert. I wish I'd gotten a whole one now! But.. I DID have room for dessert this way....

And dessert was a cherry-berry crisp. The crisp was so good--not overly sweet, crunchy crust, and just enough vanilla ice cream to be melty and marvelous.

There were also merquen-spiced brownies-- I had one at the party and took another home for 'later.' By 'later' I mean 'about 10 minutes after I got home that night!' I had a great time that night! I got to catch up with uber-blogger Yvo (her kick-ass site, The Feisty Foodie, is here)

...

And I met some fun new people, many fellow bloggers, including:

Lara Ruth of Grits in the City. Her review here.

and Irina of Healthy Latin Food (nice pic here)

Despite the number of bloggers there, we did a good job of actually talking to each other and not staring at our phones all night-- tho we did take a quick group Twitter break here and there.

Alejandra cooked an amazing meal for a large group, which is no small feat on its own, but she cooked such flavorful dishes and flavors I've never tried before, which is a delicious adventure all its own. She also sent us home with goodie bags from the folks at Foods From Chile...can't wait to try everything!

Thank you, Alejandra, for a fantastic night! And thanks to the folks at Foods from Chile! Follow @Lkpnyc

Woolworth Tower Kitchen

ABF & I met for a mid-week dinner recently, and we popped back into a place that makes its mark on the downtown skyline: The Woolworth Tower, which is also one of America's oldest skyscrapers.

Inside the famed Woolworth Tower building (pop in the lobby of the main building to get a look at the STUNNING marble ceiling) is this fabulous eatery, Woolworth Tower Kitchen, where dishes are well thought out, fresh, and fabulous.

We each started with a drink--the Malbec for me (lovely!) and a dry gin & tonic for ABF. Life in London definitely gave him a new fondness for that drink. Me, I just can't do gin so much.

ABF ordered their Chicken Paillard salad, which is one of their most popular dishes. Arugula, thinly-pounded chicken filets (buried under a pile of greens), sliced green apples, spicy candied pecans, and two lovely slices of brie topping it all. I think this is going to be something one of us orders every time we visit.

I opted for the Cobb salad with grilled chicken. They make it in the chopped style, which normally I don't care for, but these were manageable bites, and not pulverized pieces. The scallion ranch dressing was so good that I asked for an extra serving of it. Yeah, that's right! I don't think I'm ready to start saying I LIKE ranch dressing, but I think I like flavored ranch dressings (chipotle ranch, avocado ranch etc).

Our salads were both quite filling, but we still decided to get dessert. Our server told us that the chocolate mousse cake was really good, so we decided to share that, but we honestly weren't expecting it to be spectacular. And yet it WAS. Deep, rich, decadent chocolate, with a fluffy, almost spongecake-like base and velvety mousse filling--great googaly-moogaly!

Even if you're not in the financial district area, WTK is just a few steps from the R and the 2/3 train. It's the perfect spot for grabbing a bite before or after walking across the Brooklyn Bridge (which is our plan once the weather gets nicer)!

(Note: WTK is closed on weekends)

Woolworth Tower Kitchen
The Woolworth Building
9 Barclay Street
New York, NY 10279
(212) 571-2930

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Lunch at the Library (sort of)

It's Summer Restaurant Week in NYC! Want ideas on where to go for Restaurant Week? Visit the site, or check out some of my previous blog posts!

The New York Public Library has a FREE exhibit that opened this week--which is also the start of NYC's Summer Restaurant Week (this is the 20th year!)-- dedicated to the history of lunch in New York City. I got to take a tour of it last night thanks to a Gothamist invitation, and my coworker CJ came along with me.

From the very origin of the world 'lunch' itself (I'm such a word nerd) to establishment of the 'lunch hour,' yes, THE lunch hour, to inventing metal hot dog carts, NYC was at the head of it all.

Another example of word-nerdness that I enjoyed: this shot of diner slang/jargon!

You can see everything from a restored Automat (now filled with recipes instead of grab-and-go dishes) to an old-school luncheonette soup dispenser.

There's also a vintage Heinz soup machine. Apparently the server behind the counter would open up the can, pour it into the pitcher, and in 2 minutes flat, you had hot, delicious (turtle???) soup!

The exhibit was fascinating, full of historic bits and pieces of our country's story.. from menus touting 35 cent pork chops to an impressive display of old-school metal lunchboxes. You can even listen to immigrants from all over the world share how certain recipes bring a bit of home to you with one bite.

Want to listen to food-themed songs? There's a display for that. :)

(I'm listening to "Ham N Eggs" by A Tribe Called Quest.)

After my coworker CJ & I made our way through the displays, we sat in on a panel that featured (L-R) Zagat guide co-founder Tim Zagat, Andrew P. Haley, author of "Turning the Tables", Rebecca Federman, curator of the exhibit, and well-known chef David Burke. We enjoyed hearing everything from Burke's rise through NYC's restaurants, and how cuisine has changed over the decades to each panel member's memories of dining in NYC.

It's a great display and well worth a visit. Also, did I mention it's free? Who doesn't love free?? Go here for more info on the exhibit, which runs through February 2013..

Lunch Hour NYC

New York Public Library's Steven A. Schwarzman Building (Entrance at Fifth Avenue & 42nd Street)

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