C Is for Coffee (Carts) and D Is for Doughnuts

C Is for Coffee (and a whole lot more) Carts

Actually, today should be a "D" post, but yesterday totally overwhelmed me. In an effort to keep on track, I'm acknowledging it and combining coffee (C) and it's great go-to, doughnuts. Our "C" post is the ubiquitous New York City coffee cart.

I spent most of yesterday with friends visiting from Atlanta. I met them at the Highline and then we stopped at Chelsea Market for lunch. We then walked to Lower Manhattan and paid our  respects at the 9/11 Memorial. My coffee fuel for this wonderful trek came from a coffee cart very similar to the one pictured above. 

The coffee cart is a descendent of the street vendors who populated the Lower East Side at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. The pushcart was  a way for recent immigrants to earn a living without making a big investment. Coffee carts, which sell a lot more than coffee, are ubiquitous all over Manhattan. I've bought as many cups of coffee from carts as I've bought in much more upscale locations, and most of the coffee has been very tasty. I have tremendous admiration for people who provide street food. It's a long day of standing in the cart and cooking, in cold and hot weather. 

Welcome to Doughnuttery

While I was at Chelsea Market I found a branch of one of my favorite sweet stores, Doughnuttery. Somehow I had the immense will power to walk past this source of mini doughnuts, but from past visits I can recommend these doughnuts. The aroma is amazing and the unique and delicious sugar blends make these doughnuts the perfect match for a cup of coffee. 

Tomorrow promises to be a lower key day and I hope to be posting a lot earlier in the day. I've got my photographs ready for my  A to Z "E" post.  It's going to be a sweet treat, but also involve major alphabet gymnastics. Please stop by. 

As ever, thanks for visiting and take good care. 

 

TurnStyle Pink Saturday

For this week's Pink Saturday fun we're going to the subway. We're not riding the subway, but we're going to a new shopping area that opened last month at the 59th Street Station. Twenty years ago I worked in a building right above this station and I've spent a lot of time here. We're going to follow the arrows...
 

...through the station to the exit closest to West 57th Street.

And we arrive at TurnStyle, the just one month old underground food hall. I get off at this stop often and I know I'm going to have fun exploring all the little food shops. I first stopped by last Monday on the way to my eye doctor -- just two blocks away -- and didn't have time for coffee, but I'm thinking a some research on the best coffee in TurnStyle is in order. 

 

There are a number of other branches of Fika, a Swedish coffee chain, in New York City, but this one looks especially inviting.

If I decide to take a hiatus from pastry abstinence, I'm coming here to Doughnuttery. Yes, I love the name, but the little doughnuts were enticing, too. I spent some time watching the custom dipping that takes place in the store, pictured below. 

It just happens that tomorrow morning I'm due to return to the same station and will be exiting via TurnStyle for a trip to the allergist. I'm not a morning person, so I don't anticipate stopping on my way to my appointment, but I might take the subway on the way home in order to start my coffee sampling.

Here's to a week of coffee, doughnuts, books and fun! As ever, thanks for visiting and take good care.