Gratitude Day: What’s Next

Participating in the Neighborhood Gratitude Day yesterday got me thinking about what could be done with this concept in the future. I used the gratitude day as a reason to introduce my friend to Popover (who I might add wasn’t the most enthusiastic about the trip). Regardless we went anyway, I mean we had to, it was Gratitude Day. Upon arriving at Popover we were warmly welcomed by Carol Baer herself sitting outside the restaurant saying thanks and offering free popovers and lemonade to those who stop by. What really impressed me about what Ms. Baer was doing doing for gratitude day is that it didn’t require participants to spend money, it truly was a gesture of thanks alone. Unlike some of the other participants whose promotions were store wide discounts, popover was hosting a multi-prize raffle with free entrance, passing out popovers, and serving cold lemonade on a hot day; all with Ms. Baer herself welcoming guests.

Following our lunch at popover, and after thanking Ms. Baer and entering the raffle, we walked down Amsterdam Ave checking out the other participants. One in particular I wanted to stop by was West Side Kids, a toy store I knew fondly growing up. Most participants tied balloons outside and had signs describing the events, as far as I could tell it was only Ms. Baer who was personally welcoming guests.

As is my nature I always jump to thinking about how this can be improved next year, and in so doing I realized the biggest problem with it is that there was no third party hosting the actual day. Perhaps we don’t need a third party to do it, but we need then at least one of the businesses to step up and run it. What we need is to make a community day out of it where all the local businesses will have their own events going on with a central group, or committee of volunteers, organizing the participants, locations, and events of the day. Something like this annually would be so much better than the crowded, not locally run, traffic disrupting street fairs.

Just my thoughts for next year. Popover was still excellent for lunch.

GRATITUDE DAY! Go out and be loyal!

Today is Gratitude Day on the Upper West Side.

Visit the local businesses on Amsterdam Ave and enjoy the festivities.

Review to come tomorrow. Today, let’s all enjoy our local hotspots!

Info at Coffee Straws.

Guest Post at Westside Independent.

Original Article from New York Times.

-Huysmans

Upper West Side! WAKE UP! This is a call for Loyalty

News pertaining to the effects of the Recession are in no short supply, every day the New York Times is filled with segments on the fallout of this major economic disaster. But one article from yesterday stood out with me and this blog. Popover Cafe’s founder and owner, Carol Baer, fell victim to Bernie Madoff’s devastating fraud. Ms. Baer is one of many to feel both the sting of Madoff’s despicable lies and the loss of a consumer base from this lingering Recession. But the article, by Susan Dominus in her Big City column, is not sad or depressing. Rather Dominus’ article focuses on the gratitude Ms. Baer feels for the support she has been given by her patrons.

Too many times now we have seen restaurants and other businesses fold on Broadway do to higher rents and greedy developers. I am still morning the loss of Prestos, Time, Carne, Aix, and Docks (the last of which closes in part because of this most recent Recession) as chains and banks replace them all (except for Carne which was replaced with an excellent restaurant: Toast). But Amsterdam is holding on.

Which brings me to the point of this post: We, as the Upper West Side, MUST NOT LET OUR NEIGHBORHOOD FALL! On August 19th Popover Cafe, and others, will be hosting a Neighborhood Gratitude Event to thank us for our patronage.

The list of involved businesses include:

• The Popover Cafe
• Good Enough to Eat
• Darryl’s Boutique
• The Robert Stuart Salon
• Super Runners Shop
• Avventura

Upon visiting any of these establishments on August 19th you will be welcomed to various gratitude events including free giveaways and raffles.

The message to take away here is the importance of local establishments and the responsibility of us, as a community, to protect them by patronizing them. We cannot let the Upper West Side become a branded super mall. In the spirit of You’ve Got Mail, we must save the Shop Around the Corner.

So please join me in supporting our businesses and come out on August 19th.

Lastly if you are aware of other participating establishments or perhaps a website devoted to this event please let us at Coffee Straws know by commenting to this post.

Here is to a locally run Upper West Side.

Pink Pony: The (Possible) Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship

One problem with getting too comfortable with your favorite brunch places is that you become unwilling to try something new. In my case it’s the allure of Popover, its close by, amazing, and it has popovers. But the reality is that there are many upon many of possible locations for brunch in this city. Recently I was invited to brunch with three friends in the Lower East Side, a place I have frequented at night many times but rarely in the morning for brunch. The Pink Pony was my friends pick.

Before I begin the review I have to again mention that this review reflects only the establishment’s brunch menu, not its dinner service or entertainment.  Here is where the title comes in; I was very intrigued by both the restaurants atmosphere and its menu’s suggestiveness of the late night scene this place may sponsor. So before I even get to the brunch experience I can already say I will be returning during the evening hours to experience the other side of the Pink Pony.

The brunch menu was comprised of mostly omelets with the traditional pancakes, French toast, and granola with fruit. As you may know if you’ve been following my posts I have started a diet. This is one of those super diets where should you chose to go out you become that pain in the ass patron who orders one thing that turns into something completely different. Anyway… I went into this brunch with that concept in mind and began that excruciating process of selecting an item on the menu and turning it into the healthiest (tasteless) dish possible. And to my pleasant surprise this was not difficult at all. Yes the place does egg whites and yes they allow substitutions. I ordered the spinach and cheese omelet without the cheese and egg whites only. It was delicious and came complete with a side salad. Coffee wasn’t bad though they didn’t refill it (not a good trait). In fact the service in general wasn’t exactly speedy, but wasn’t exactly slow either. It was very much a laissez-fair style of service, giving us the time and space to eat and socialize at our own pace.

Overall we were all satisfied with our meals and left planning on returning (at a different hour though). If I lived in the area I could see myself choosing this as a brunch to patronize but seeing that it is a little far away for the morning meal I would rather choose Popover or Edgar. That being said it was at a far better price range than the Upper West Side locales. Lastly, and keep in mind this is speculation, the Pink Pony appears to be one of those select few places that is attempting (and maybe succeeding) at providing both for the morning and evening crowd. We will soon see if that’s true.

The Ranking (for explanation, see “Review Key”):

Food: 3 Straws (They met my needs, the group was satisfied, and the food good).

Price: $traws, Cheapish price (about $13 for a main course and a beverage which was enough for me but were this a weekend brunch visit I would have wanted to order more).

Atmosphere: Quiet and personal. We were given a corner by the window and we were left alone with plenty of space to enjoy our meals. The décor is something to see, it is reminiscent of the hidden cafes of Montmartre in Paris. I am excited to see what it is like at night.

Overall: 3 Straws (Very satisfying brunch and it left me wanting to come back to experience the Pink Pony evening).

The Details:

Website: http://www.pinkponynyc.com/index.html

Location: 176 Ludlow Street, between E Houston and Stanton Street.

Phone: (212) 253-1922

Reservation: We didn’t need one and it didn’t seem like one would.

Dress: Casual.

Hours:

Daily: 10:00am- 2:00am

Popover Cafe: Brunch’s UWS home.

For the rebirth of Coffee Straws the Popover Cafe was chosen for a dual review. The Coffee Straws team met in NYC last weekend and as the resident New Yorker I had to select Popover as our Saturday brunch/lunch spot to discuss the return of CS. While at this brunch we (for obvious reasons) selected Popover as our special return review. What makes this a special review? That is where the duel review part comes in. Both members of the CS team will be sharing their thoughts on this historic UWS landmark.

Personally I’ve avoided reviewing Popover because it is such an established locale of my neighborhood but as is the tradition of New York, all traditions need to be evaluated. Now I know I will probably have a bias when reviewing this place unlike Washdcgirl who experienced for the first time this past weekend. Regardless, let’s dive into this review.

Now it goes without saying that at the center of the Popover Cafe is the Popover, which is tricky to define, eggy, bread pudding-esque accompaniment served with strawberry butter and now strawberry jam too apparently. If for nothing else, the experience of indulging in one of these makes the journey here worth it. This is arguably the best brunch amenity I’ve ever seen come with a meal, though you can also order them on their own.

Popover’s menu is another tradition of its own. Each different section has its own time frame of service making it potentially difficult to navigate for first timers. The Griddle (where you can find various breakfast favorites such as challah bread French toast and whole wheat flapjacks) ends at 11am on weekdays but goes until 5pm on weekends (a perfect length for weekend brunches). The morning specialty, one might say, of Popover is their Eggcetera menu. This portion of the menu consists of all their egg based dishes including many uniquely named omelets as well as specialty items such as the special scramble with smoked salmon and cream cheese and the famous flopover (an eggy crape filled with various sliced fruits and topped with sour cream). To top that off, egg fans will find that this part of the menu is all day long.

Once that afternoon hour arrives (well actually starting at 11:30) the sandwich and salad options become available. Here is where the tradition and personal adoration comes in because I can mark my own history by what I would order growing up. When I was younger I loved the breakfast menu, in particular the flopover and the French toast options. But as I grew up I discovered the Special Scramble (see above) and the lunch options. Some favorites include: The Mad Russian (ham, turkey, gruyere and Russian dressing), The Granny (akaTAB) (Turkey, apples, bacon, cheddar and a raisin-horseradish dressing), and Sandy’s Favorite (classic BLT with a hardboiled egg and Russian dressing). And that is only a taste of their sandwich/melt options. On the salad front their portions are huge and they are extremely flexible with ingredients.

Here I must confess, though I am a lifetime patron of Popover, I have yet to visit for the evening menu. Personally I believe that that is due to my love of their signature item, the popover, and I have some reservations against eating it at night (it’s like mimosas and lox and bagels, these are morning items!). So in some ways this review is incomplete or better put it is only concerning the breakfast/brunch/lunch aspects of the establishment.

Overall this deserves its place in the list of hotspots of the Upper West Side and furthermore is my go to place when entertaining visitors to the city, example being Washdcgirl’s visit last weekend.

Quick Note: As a local I am very good at avoiding the line waits but if you waltz in to Popover at brunch time on a weekend during the year (summer always sees many New Yorkers leave for the weekends) expect a LONG wait with you waiting outside because the entire (tiny) waiting area is filled, ironically mostly with strollers. But it is worth the wait, I promise you that.

The Ranking (for explanation, see “Review Key”):

Food: 4 straws (The choices are all infused with a unique touch, the menu is evolving over time, and with the addition of the unique creation that is the popover this need that fourth straw).

Price: $$traws, Moderate price ($15 to $20 will cover the average brunch of a popover, coffee, and a main course).

Atmosphere: Relaxed yet bustling. There is no question that Popover is popular and because they don’t do reservations the waiting area can get hectic and cramped. But the dining areas themselves are somewhat spacious for an NYC restaurant and the décor echoes the age of the restaurant.

Overall: 4 straws (There is no question that were someone to ask me for recommendations of places to eat at while in New York I would strongly recommend if not demand that they go here for brunch. This brunch is in it of itself an experience for visitors and yet has that familiarity for locals. Do not leave New York without eating here.)

The Details:

Website: http://www.popovercafe.com/index.html

Location: 551 Amsterdam Ave (corner of 87th).

Phone: (212) 757-2277

Reservation: No reservations and come expecting to wait if going during meal times, especially brunch.

Dress: Casual.

Hours:

Weekdays: 8:00am- 10:00pm

Weekends: 9:00am- 10:00pm