FOODIE FRIDAY : THE JOURNEY FOR JAVA

Cappuccino with chocolate swirl over the foam, Italy 2010

By Debbie Mitchell
For as  long as I can remember I have loved coffee. Jamaica's Blue Mountain coffee was my favorite as a kid and  when I landed in Italy for the first time 15 years ago my first meal was a slice of pizza and a cup of cappuccino. Yum!  


This morning's Foodie Friday takes us on a NYC journey for good coffee. Written by fellow yogi Stacy China, a self-taught connoisseur of fine chocolate, tea, salt, and most recently, coffee.  Enjoy!

by Stacy Y. China

Taking advantage of a crystal-clear, warm NYC day that would better fit into late May than mid-March, I made the rounds to three very different coffee shops/bakeries in search of a new joy. A small smackerel of something. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I'd know it when I saw it. Or at least when I smelled and tasted it.

Beginning in the West Village, first up was Cafetiny on West 8th Street. One of my co-workers used to liken me to Turkish coffee. Having no taste for any coffee whatsoever until I turned 40 (who knows?), I had no idea what she was talking about. I inferred it was denser and more intense than the traditional kind, but that was about it. Now that I'm finally learning about coffee, I thought it would be good to taste this Turkish version. The Google machine listed Cafetiny as serving the best one in the city, so off I went. I told this to the owner, Jacob, who smiled broadly as he prepared my cup. Soon I had a small paper cup in front of me, the size of an espresso cup, but filled almost to the brim with a very dark, very hot liquid. The cocoa-like flavor was dense. Concentrated. And slightly sweet, thanks to the raw sugar Jacob threw in since I was an admitted neophyte in the Turkish coffee game. The first two thirds of the cup lasted a good 15 minutes. By then, I had forgotten about the grounds that had settled to the bottom third, so that was a bit of a jolt. So according to my co-worker, I'm dense, slightly sweet, but coarse at the end? Not sure this is as much of a compliment as I thought it was. The coffee itself, though, is fascinating. I feel it's an acquired taste, but I'm glad I tried it.

The third place was Dominique Ansel's Bakery on Spring Street. Mr. Ansel previously worked for famed chef Daniel Boulud, and he is one of the few New York City bakers who makes kouign amann, a hard-to-pronounce croissant-like pastry that's super-dense with a caramelized, crunchy crust. Parisians will no doubt glare in disapproval of my obviously American gauche characterization, but it resembles a golden brown low-rise muffin. Intrigued, I took my pastry to the outside seating in the back and dug in. Pull it apart and the scent of butter drenches you, so it started out promising. But the eating of it is another matter. There's nothing "wrong" with it; it's a lovely creation. But it's good the way a Mercedes is fast. Beautiful machine, harnesses all the rules, not afraid to go fast...but it has no soul. No warmth. It didn't move me. I need to be moved.

I found what I was looking for in the middle, when I wandered into Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria, located on Great Jones Street. Everything is made by hand: the breads, the sandwiches, the pastries, everything. Walk in and you smell salt and olive oil and rustic loaves and all the things that make Italian cooking special. There were no croissants, per se -- just small loaves of bread with chunks of chocolate protruding from them. That's usually enough to make me reach for a wallet, but then they had something new -- a white chocolate brioche. Wha? The white chocolate is melted and folded into the batter, they explain. So you don't get big chunks. Um, sold. I sat at the bar (and I mean a real bar, with real liquor overlooking the espresso machine and the jars of loose leaf tea) and munched happily. It's sweet, yes. But good. So good. Like damn-these-Italians-been-holdin'-out-on-me good. Happiness.

My smackerel turned out to be a brioche (and may well turn into a bombolini if I can get there one day before Il Buco sells out the daily batch). I knew it when I saw it.

Stacy China is a professional writer and active philosopher raised in Brooklyn, NY. She has written/edited for several major media outlets in the NYC area, including The Newark Star-Ledger, Newsday, Major League Baseball, and the Associated Press. She is a lifelong admirer of art and architecture. Her descending angel needs work. She credits her yoga practice with keeping her sane. Check out Stacy's blog here.

A journey to Italy for great coffee

TV/Social Media Producer Debbie Mitchell is currently a member of the James Beard Broadcast and New Media Awards committee.  If you are a food blogger interested in television placement or connecting with brands follow Debbie Mitchell @TVProducerDeb or email Ready4Airtv@gmail.com .