5 BEST New York City - ICED COFFEES

So, coffee isn't local. Or is it. the LOCALVORE uses the 80% by weight rule. And a coffee is nearly 97% water. So as long as the water isn't imported, then coffee is local.

So here's my list of the best iced coffees. No, I have not been to each and every coffee shop in New York City. No, I didn't hermetically seal 20 iced coffees, rush to my lab and taste them blindly.

What did I taste? Well, all drinks are ICED LATTES and the smallest size. Why a latte? Well, it ensures that an espresso is pulled fresh and thus the concerns over how long as the iced coffee been in the fridge, how often is the tupperware container washed, what detergent was used to wash the container - all are moot.

Here we go:

1. Cafe Grumpy - I believe that they are the only place that uses a specific coffee roast for iced beverage drinks. It takes a LONG time, but is worth the wait.
2. Gorilla Coffee @ GORILLA - Somehow, the iced coffee tastes better when at Gorilla.
3. Taralucci Y Vino - TyV uses a very mild coffee and noticeably fresh/clean equipment INSIDE (at 18th street - note the little kiosk is not very good).
4. Blue Sky Bakery - they simply do everything very well.
5. Ciao For Now - A newcomer and the MOST expensive iced latte at 4.50, but the use of Hudson Valley Fresh (also at Blue Sky) gives this coffee a nice mouthfeel. The morning barista does a slightly LONGER pull for the iced coffee.

Notables that were left off: Cafe Regular, Sit & Wonder, Mojo, 9th Street, Joe - the art of coffee (btw, the 23rd street location feels very dirty, no?)

Still to try : Cafe Pedlar, Clover, Simon Sips, Abracao

a dinner gone right!

cocina alla casa - cooking at our house - has been, well, not great for the last month. We've been uninspired to make anything really tasty.

All that ended yesterday as the farmer's market inspired some creativity.

"Fricassee of scallops & black fish"

Serves 2

Prep time = short

Cooking time = short

Ingredient procurement = moderately difficult

1. 1/2 pound of Long Island Sea Scallops
2. 1/2 pound of Long Island Black Fish Fillet
3. 1 pint non-greenhouse cherry tomatoes (heirloom preferably)
4. 1 fresh, local white onion
5. 1 lb. haricot vert, blanched
6. 1/2 pound Israeli Cous Cous (non-Local alert), cooked like pasta
7. salt / pepper
8. Best Olive Oil you can afford

Slice the onions as thin as you can

Quarter the tomatoes

WASH the scallops

Pat Dry the fish and cut into three

---

Heat Non-stick pan to medium high

Add sliced onions and more olive oil than you think

Just before they burn, add 4 oz water and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt

When there's no more water, add all the tomatoes and a 1/2 teaspoon of oil

stir occasionally and let cook 10 minutes

toss fish/scallops with salt and pepper

add fish to pan

2 minutes later add scallops and 2 oz water

stir

add a little salt and olive oil

after 2 minutes, turn off heat and leave pan alone for 4 minutes

To plate:

mound cous cous

surround with haricot verts

add a piece of fish, 2-3 scallops and some onion-tomato sauce onto the mound

ENJOY

letting Strawberries well just be strawberries

the weekend has come and gone. The home front ate a 1/2 gallon of strawberries and a pint of blueberries (Jersey blueberries already, hmm?).

Now, I saw lovely kohlrabi but didn't buy any. I saw it made once with love and taste. Each year I buy some and proceed to make something inedible.

any ideas for this vegetable?

local vinegar

everywhere i turn (not physically, but to podcasts, blogosphere, magazines), people are stating just how easy it is to make vinegar.

if that's the case, can anyone point to a source of good, local vinegar? with the apples and grapes in our region, we should have some quality choices...

Pasta with Sugar Snap Peas

Dinner was a hit. The primi was Tagliatelle with Sugar Snap Peas. Aside from the pasta and olives, it was all locally sourced.

Recipe Info

shopping = moderate

time = significant

technique = easy

Pasta with Sugar Snap Peas

1 lb dried tagliatelle (bionature brand)

1 lb sugar snap peas

1 garlic scape

3 scallions

1 to 3 T butter

handful oil-cured olives

salt / pepper

1. wash and clean peas
2. snap each pea at the end and pull out the string
3. cut each sugar snap pea on the bias, about 1/4 inch wide (this will take a long time)
4. cut the scape into the thinnest discs you can
5. cut the scallions into thin discs
6. heat large pot of water with fistful of salt
7. heat large saute pan with 1T butter on medium-high
8. when butter stops sizzling, add scallions and pinch of salt
9. saute 2-4 minutes
10. add scape and saute 1 minute
11. add sugar snap peas all at once and toss well
12. [put pasta in boiling water]
13. saute 5-7 minutes
14. add olives
15. turn heat low
16. add pasta and 1/2 cup pasta water
17. toss and toss and toss
18. add more butter for more deliciousness
19. add salt and pepper as you see fit
20. turn out into large bowl