Tasting Cider at the Brooklyn Cider House

Quite some time ago we had the chance to taste some Brooklyn Cider at the Lower East Side Cider Festival, and I’d heard that the cider makers had recently opened a new cidery and restaurant called the Brooklyn Cider House in Bushwick, Brooklyn. We decided to stop by and check it out last weekend when we were on the hunt for street art in Bushwick, and that turned out to be a great decision.

From a distance, the Brooklyn Cider House looked like a brick industrial building with a metal fence at one end, but there was a large break in the fence with a sign-board welcoming us in. Upon entering the property, we immediately saw the Cider House entrance.

As we stepped inside, we began to feel the magic of the place. Stretching along one wall of the front room, a sunny and welcoming bar, is a mural by Italian street artist Pixel Pancho. The sunlight made getting a full photo of the mural difficult, but in the close-up pictures you can see the details that make Pixel Pancho’s murals so beautiful yet unique.

We arrived not long after they had opened, and the person who greeted us took us on a quick tour of the cidery and restaurant. As we walked past the bar, we entered a space with huge barrels that are used to age the cider. It was a wonderful space, and behind the barrels was even more street art, this time a large mural collaboration by Israeli artists Dede Bandaid and Nitzan Mintz. This one is hard to capture in a single photograph, because of its location behind the barrels, but here are a couple of glimpses.

Behind a pair of large doors was this room where cider is made.

Finally, there was this large room, empty at the time of our visit but used for the the 5-course Basque-style tasting dinners. As part of the dinners, guests have the chance to catch and taste cider straight from the wooden barrels. We decided then and there we will have to come back and have dinner sometime very soon. (Wondering about what they serve at the dinners? Here’s a link to the menu.)

After the tour, we sat down at the bar to order brunch and sample cider. We shared this delicious cowboy steak and eggs for two, perfectly cooked and just the right amount for two people.

Although the bar offers a variety of ciders, beers, and wines, we chose to do a tasting of Brooklyn Cider House’s own ciders. The tasting came with three out of four ciders, but the bartender was kind enough to let us taste the fourth as well. The Kind of Dry, Half Sour, and Bone Dry were all delicious, but our favorite ended up being the Raw, which is described as “a dry, wildly natural cider with beautiful acidity … fresh and mouth puckering with crisp green apple and citrus aromas.” In fact, the ciders were so good we purchased a couple of bottles to take home with us.

Our entire experience at the Brooklyn Cider House was great, and the people we met were enthusiastic and knowledgeable about their ciders. It was the perfect start to our hunt for street art around Bushwick that afternoon, and we will definitely be visiting again soon.

Want to visit Brooklyn Cider House yourself? It is located at 1100 Flushing Avenue in Bushwick, Brooklyn, just a short walk from the L train’s Jefferson Street stat.:ion. The restaurant also has a small parking area inside the fence, for those who are driving.

Worth the Wait: Shopping at Di Palo’s Fine Foods in Little Italy

Last year we started a new tradition the day before Thanksgiving. You might think it’s a little crazy because it involves waiting in line for two to three hours. Despite that long wait, we did it again this year – and we’ve already made plans to do it next year as well. What could be worth such a wait, you might ask? Shopping at Di Palo’s Fine Foods in Little Italy, of course!

Di Palo’s opened on the corner of Grand and Mott Streets in Little Italy in 1925, and the founders’ grandchildren, Lou, Sal, and Marie are the heart of the store today. The experience begins as you walk in the door and take a number. This time, we pulled number 51, and the number that had just been called out was number 17. Regulars know that there’s plenty of time, and some leave to shop elsewhere in the neighborhood for a while before coming back; I stay in the store to explore my options and people-watch. As you look around, it doesn’t seem that there are too many people in the shop. Maybe the wait won’t be so long this time? As only two numbers are called in the next 20 minutes, I realize I need to adjust my expectations of time and settle in for the long haul.

In a time when we are often impatient, seeking instant gratification, shopping at Di Palo’s reminds us to slow down and enjoy life. Customers strike up conversations as they wait and eavesdrop on the instructions Sal is giving to a young woman buying prosciutto. “Don’t fold the prosciutto; instead, slightly twist it like this to create a small rosette.” The delicious smell of cheese permeates the air. On one side there’s a large case filled with olives, artichoke hearts, antipasti and the like. Large, round loaves of bread and wheels of parmesan cheese are stacked on top.

More cheeses, olive oils, panettone, and numerous other Italian-made items fill shelves and counters, with salami and even more cheese hanging from above.

There are three chairs – all in high demand – for those who wish to sit while they wait.

Finally, Sal calls out “Number 51!” Two and a half hours in, and it’s our turn!

So what makes this long wait so worth it? Once your number is called, it is like you are the only customer in the store. Each Di Palo family member treats their customers like treasured guests. They won’t rush you as you make decisions. They will offer advice if it’s asked for (and sometimes even when it’s not), and their knowledge is encyclopedic. You can go into the store knowing exactly what you want, but my favorite thing to do is let them choose for me. Tell them what you are buying it for, how many people you wish to serve, and what your budget is, and they will come through with great suggestions every time.

They make their own mozzarella and bocconcini (mini mozzarella balls), and Sal suggests the bocconcini. (We eat it later with some of Di Palo’s homemade pesto, the freshness of the basil a wonderful foil for the creaminess of the cheese.) Perhaps a couple of other, firmer cheeses? Sal hands us slices of each of his suggestions, all delicious in different ways. We choose two, one a 6-month old sheep’s milk cheese, and a drier, aged cow’s milk cheese. Would we like some meat? Perhaps some mortadella studded with pistachios? Slices of salty prosciutto di parma, so thin they are almost translucent? Sopressata, a robustly-flavored salami? Sal know where each product comes from in Italy, and with each suggestion he hands us another slice to taste. Some colorful mixed olives round out our choices.

We leave the store satisfied, having had a snack of meat and cheese samples and choosing what we need for our celebratory holiday meal. As we head out, Sal sends us next door to the family wine shop, where he tells us his nephew Mike will help us choose the perfect red wine to complement to our recent purchases. (And so he did!) Our holiday meal was delicious, made even more so by Sal and Mike’s thoughtful suggestions.

Wish to visit Di Palo’s Fine Foods yourself? I definitely recommend it! It’s not nearly as busy if you aren’t shopping the day before a major holiday, but you should always be prepared to wait a while. It’s always worth it – once your turn comes, you, like me, will enjoy the personal experience. The store is located at 200 Grand Street in Manhattan’s Little Italy.

 

ICONYC Brewing Company

 

I recently stumbled upon a new microbrewery in Astoria, Queens, and I must say that this one immediately became one of my favorites. Named ICONYC Brewing Company, it’s owned by three friends who grew up together in the nearby neighborhood. The beer is brewed down the street, but there’s a tasting room on 34th Avenue.

First, let’s talk about the tasting room itself. It isn’t particularly large, but it’s comfortable and the tap wall is creative and fun. There’s a nice bar, and bar-level seating continues across the front of the space as well, allowing visitors to watch the world pass by outside. It’s a great place to hang out with friends.

Now for the beer.

We chose to order samplers, which allowed us to each choose 4 beers (5 ounces each) to sample. Kristy chose Uptown Haze (described as a “juicy, hazy, New England IPA”), Resonance (“rotating hop IPA, dry hopped with vic secret”), Never Settle (“white IPA, brewed with Moteuka and Centenial hops”), and a bottle pour – High Ryse (“rye saison fermented with Brett and Saison yeasts”). I went in a different direction: Steamline Lager (“California Common-style lager with 5 different specialty malts”), Spaaz (“Kolsch dry hopped with Spatz and Saaz”), Witbier (“tradition Belgian wheat beer), and the Sour Cherry Stout (“stout aged on sour cherries”). (Note: Two of my glasses are larger because they temporarily ran out of the tasting glasses – I’m not complaining.)

All of the beers were delicious – and it’s rare to say that when tasting such a variety of beers. The brewery is turning out high quality beers, and there’s something to please pretty much any beer lover’s preferences. (Not tasted this time: a grapefruit sour; a saison brewed with hibiscus, rose hips, and lemon grass; a cucumber saison; and a dry-hopped blonde ale.) In fact, ICONYC was so good that we returned the following weekend, and this time I ordered a full glass of my favorite, the Sour Cherry Stout. It has the coffee and chocolate notes of a traditional stout without being too heavy. The sour cherry hints are subtle, but somehow give the beer a hint of freshness. It’s so good that it will be my beer of choice any time I can find it.

ICONYC doesn’t have a kitchen, but they offer takeout menus for nearby restaurants. As a result, we discovered Homemade Taqueria next door. Their tacos, made with fresh corn tortillas, were absolutely delicious. We’ve been talking about them ever since and plan to make another visit soon.

Want to visit the ICONYC Brewing Company’s taproom and taste their beer? They are located at 45-13 34th Avenue in Astoria. If taking the subway, take the R train to the 46th Street station. Walk one block south/southwest down 46th Avenue to 34 Street and then turn right. The tasting room is only a short distance away.

Chinese Food Inspiration at the Museum of Chinese in America

One of my favorite museums in New York City is the Museum of Chinese in America, located in Manhattan’s Chinatown. The long-term exhibition, tracing the history of the Chinese experience in the United States, is excellent. But I always look forward to the temporary exhibitions. (I previously wrote about one of those temporary exhibitions here.)

The current temporary exhibition, titled Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy: Stories of Chinese Food and Identity in America, is the best one yet. The main part consists of a large space, set up to resemble a dinner table. Around the table are 33 place settings, each representing a Chinese or Asian-American chef. At each place is a small ceramic sculpture symbolizing that chef’s food influences, as well as a card giving more information about the chef’s personal background, food inspirations, signature dishes, favorite ingredients, and choice of ultimate comfort food. Museum visitors are invited to sit down at each place and learn more about the chefs.

It’s worth taking a closer look at some of the beautiful ceramics. There are larger pieces in the middle of the table that symbolically represent various geographic good influences. Then, each chef’s place setting has a smaller ceramic sculpture that includes the geographic symbols from the larger pieces. All ceramics in the exhibit were created by two ceramic artists: Heidi Lau and Lu Zhang.

Symbolizing Beijing (Jing) influence

Symbolizing Sichuan (Chuan) influence

Symbolizing Chino-Latino influence

Symbolizing Taiwan

Around the room, large screens hang on the wall. Visitors can sit at the table and listen to some of the chefs talk about their personal experiences with various topics, such as immigrating to the United States, growing up Chinese or Asian-American, and their food influences. The videos really add another layer to the whole experience – being able to see and hear the chefs that you are reading about, maybe even as you sit at that chef’s place at the table.

MOCA’s website has the following explanation of the exhibition’s title, which I found compelling: “In Chinese the saying Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy refers not only to the delicate balance of flavors that defines Chinese cooking but also the ups and downs of life.”

Once visitors finish in the first room, there is a second, smaller room across the lobby that offers another approach to the exhibitions theme. In the smaller room, each chef loaned the museum an item from his or her kitchen. The artifacts are very practical, but also very personal. On a surface level this room may seem less impressive, but if you read the descriptions for each item you begin to understand the chefs’ connections to the food they create.

For example, Wilson Tang loaned these moon cake molds to the museum:

And Ken Hom has loaned his cleaver:

Want to see Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy in person? The exhibition was originally scheduled to end on March 26, 2017, but it has been so popular that the museum has extended it to September 10, 2017. The Museum of Chinese in America is located at 215 Centre Street in Manhattan.

Cider Week in NYC

New York City is in the midst of Cider Week at present, and there are numerous opportunities to taste the New York-made ciders throughout the city. Cider is becoming more and more popular in recent years, and New York state cider makers are producing excellent hard cider varieties. Cider Week celebrates the variety of those New York ciders in tastings, dinners, and a variety of other activities.

One of the early events of Cider Week was the second annual Lower East Side Cider Festival, held this past Sunday on Orchard Street. Numerous cider makers offered samples of their delicious ciders, and there was food – both apple-themed, and otherwise – for sale. Wassail, the cider bar I’ve previously discussed here, also offered a variety of ciders on tap. Here are a few photos of my visit to that event.

There’s still plenty to do before Cider Week ends on October 30. Want to check out some of the events yourself? You can find the schedule here.

Tasting the City at Broadway Bites

There are numerous opportunities to experience the variety of restaurant offerings in New York City, including food halls, flea markets, food trucks, and food carts. Another popular option is any of the markets organized by Urbanspace. This past weekend, I had the opportunity to experience firsthand Broadway Bites, a pop-up food market curated by Urbanspace.

Broadway Bites is great on so many levels. There are 28 food vendors participating in the fall market, ranging from sweet to savory and spanning the globe with different food styles and cultural influences. Meeting up with friends who all want something different? Broadway Bites is the perfect choice! Everyone can get exactly what they want, or you can get several things to share. There’s plenty of seating scattered around the park as well.

I was invited to taste some of the delicious food offerings, and I thought I would share some of my favorites. There was this incredible truffle cheesesteak by the Truffleist, with its perfect balance of grilled meat and peppers, cheese sauce, and crusty yet soft bread, crowned with freshly-sliced truffles from Burgundy, France. The Truffleist is known for its handcrafted truffle products, and the company is based in Long Island City, Queens. More recently, they have been participating in pop-up markets and have just opened up a permanent kiosk at Gaansevort Market in Manhattan. All I can say about this is Yum! I plan on having this cheesesteak again sometime soon!

I love poutine, that delicious Canadian comfort food that usually consists of french fries covered in gravy and cheese curds – and Birds & Curds by MeltKraft offers some creative and flavorful poutine options. The Birds & Curds people suggested that I try the “Nacho Average,” a marriage between nachos and the traditional poutine. The crispy hot fries were covered in a refried bean gravy (yes, it did have that delicious flavor of refried beans) and then topped with cheese, salsa, and pickled jalapeños. Poutine traditionalists might be shocked, but this dish was really good!

Or how about the fresh, clean taste of Gotham Poke‘s spicy tuna poke? Poke is becoming popular in New York City, with new poke shops springing up across Manhattan on a regular basis. Gotham Poke is among the best, and its spicy tuna poke included Vidalia onion, seaweed, pickled ginger, chili mayo, and gochujang sauce, and was garnished with spring onion and thinly sliced radish.

I was intrigued by Hai Street Kitchen & Co.’s sushi burrito, which is offered in this box, almost like a present.

Once the package was opened, I discovered this Instagram-worthy and delicious treat – this one with salmon. The “burrito” form turns the sushi roll into a hand-held street food.

I’m a fan of Korean food, making Chingdu New Korean’s offerings intriguing. I tried this tender bulgogi, made with ribeye steak and garnished with pickles.

The man taking orders at Bar Suzette Creperie persuaded me to try the lamb burger, topped with carmelized onions and fried goat cheese and garnished with arugula, grainy mustard, and fig jam. The goat cheese added a tangy, creamy taste to each bite, and the mustard and fig jam balanced sweet and savory.

What made this stop particularly fun was watching one of the guys make a delicious looking crepe as I waited for my lamb burger to cook. Doesn’t this look tempting? I think it will require a return visit to try it as well!

Perros y Vainas has one of the most colorful kiosks at Broadway bites, and is the inspiration of the people behind New York City’s very popular Wafels & Dinges, Rossanna Figuera and Thomas DeGeest.

Perros y Vainas offers Venezuelan street-style hotdogs, which are cooked to create a crispy exterior and then loaded with a variety of toppings. I gave Rossanna free rein to garnish my hotdog as she saw fit, and this was the result – a masterpiece of flavor! My favorite part is the crispy potato sticks (papitas) that offer an unexpected but satisfying crunch with each bite. What also makes Perros y Vainas special is that Rossanna and Thomas are donating part of their sales to organizations that provide food and medical care for children in Venezuela.

Ending on a sweet note, I stopped by Mochidoki to try some Japanese-style mochi. The ice cream comes in a variety of natural flavors and is covered in the rice-based mochi dough. Ken Gordon, the company’s founder, presented the mochi with well-found pride, and I was excited to try it. In fact, I’ve already been back to try additional flavors since my first visit. So far I’ve tried coconut, double chocolate chip, mandarin orange cream, and salted caramel – and I’ve loved them all. Another bonus for those who can’t have gluten: all but two of Mochidoki’s flavors are gluten-free!

Want to check out Broadway Bites for yourself? The market is located in Greeley Square on Broadway between 32nd Street and 33rd, only a short distance from the 34th Street – Herald Square subway station. (The N, Q, R, B, D, F, and M trains all stop at this station.) Don’t wait too long though – the fall Broadway Bites market only continues through November 18, 2016.

The Doughnut Project’s Everything Doughnut

I’ve heard intriguing things about the Doughnut Project, a doughnut shop in New York City’s West Village neighborhood, and decided it was time to check it out. Unfortunately, my first attempt ended in failure. I’d decided to go on National Doughnut Day, and by the time I arrived at the shop they had sold out of doughnuts and closed for the day! I should have known that such a national holiday would result in a rush on doughnuts! Not to be deterred, I ventured out again on Friday, determined to not be turned away a second time without my prize. This time, I experienced success.

The Doughnut Project specialized in yeast doughnuts, with flavors inspired by classic food pairings and cocktails. On the day that I visited, they offered a number of tempting doughnuts, including flavors such as salted chocolate with buttered pretzel, lemon with sea salt, olive oil and black pepper, peach pie, beet and ricotta, corn and blueberry, and the maple bacon bar, accessorized with a full strip of bacon on top. They all looked delicious, and I asked which doughnut I would regret if I didn’t try it. Without hesitation, Doughnut Project co-founder Leslie assured me that I must try the everything doughnut.

Now, New Yorkers love their everything bagels, but I wasn’t convinced that this flavor profile made good sense for a doughnut. But I trusted Leslie’s advice and ordered one despite my reservations. And I was glad I did. It might not taste like a traditional doughnut, but it was delicious! The yeast doughnut was covered in a cream cheese glaze, creating the first reference to a bagel traditionally spread with cream cheese (known by New Yorkers as a “schmear”). The baker then liberally sprinkled the doughnut with poppy seeds, pepitas, black and white sesame seeds, a very small amount of garlic, and sea salt. Thankfully the dehydrated onion, so prevalent in everything bagels, is missing here! The glaze adds a light sweetness, which is balanced by the nutty, slightly salty crunch of the seeds. It’s a delicious bite.

Like most doughnut shops in New York City, the Doughnut Project is small – but the store is airy and inviting, with bar stools lined up along a wooden ledge by large windows. The walls are decorated with spray painted graffiti/street art, like this colorful stenciled and spray painted wall by Buenos Aires-born and Brooklyn-based street artist BNS (Instagram: @bnswhat).

So how do you get to the Doughnut Project? It’s located at 10 Morton Street in the West Village. The West 4th Street subway station, accessible by the A, B, C, D, E, F, and M trains, is only a few short blocks away. Don’t wait too late in the day to visit this shop though. The Doughnut Project opens at 8 am Monday through Friday and 9 am on the weekends, but it’s only open until the doughnuts sell out.

Exploring Brooklyn’s Dumbo Neighborhood

Across the East River from the lower part of Manhattan, roughly between the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge, you will find Brooklyn’s Dumbo neighborhood. Dumbo actually gets its name from the phrase Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. With its proximity to Manhattan, it is a popular place to live and visit, and there’s a lot to do regardless of your interests. I especially recommend going on the weekend, when the Brooklyn Flea is set up in the streets almost underneath the Manhattan Bridge.

With that in mind, let’s start with the Brooklyn Flea. During warmer months, the Brooklyn Flea sets up an outdoor location in Dumbo, including approximately 75 vendors. There are quite a number of food vendors, if you are looking for a snack or lunch while you are out and about.

You can find everything from handmade clothing to furniture, records to vintage knickknacks. There are numerous vendors who sell items handcrafted in Brooklyn. I was very intrigued by this vendor, who had a collection of old globes (most from the Cold War era).

If you buy something to eat while you’re at the Brooklyn Flea, there’s even seating underneath the bridge! (The Brooklyn Bridge Park is also close by, and you may also choose to take your food and sit down by the water to watch the boats go by and admire the city skyline and bridge views.)

And also keep an eye out for this sculpture by Australian husband and wife artist team Gillie and Marc, called Paparazzi Dogs. I think this one is really fun!

In this same area there is an interesting temporary public art project, sponsored by the New York City Department of Transportation, called Personal Mythologies. The art is by a number of different artists, and it stretches across a long expanse of fencing.  Although it is impossible to include all in this post, the exhibition includes 6 artists and approximately 40-50 different images. There’s really quite a variety of styles as well.

Here are photos of a few of my favorites. (Because the images are printed on long banners, they occasionally have wrinkles in them that make photography a little difficult.) This first one is by Viktor Koen, and is called D.P. Toy No. 22.

This one, by Judith Haberl, is Untitled I from the series A Decadent World Topiary Garden.

And this piece by Klaus Enrique is titled Diana. I really liked Enrique’s work. He creates portraits using organic materials and then photographs the result.

I can’t resist, so here is another of Enrique’s creations: Ghandi. I find it interesting to try to figure out all the materials he has used to create his portraits.

As you continue to walk, make sure that you head over to Washington Street. As you walk down Washington Street towards the Manhattan Bridge, you will have the opportunity to take this iconic New York City photograph. If you look closely, you will see that the bridge’s lower supports frame the Empire State Building in the distance.

Make sure that you keep your eyes open as you wander around Dumbo, especially once you get a few blocks away from the river – look under overpasses and around corners as well. There is a lot of street art, including some really beautiful and interesting murals. Most of the murals are a few years old, so the paint has faded some, but they are impressive nonetheless. There are 8 official murals in all, but a lot of other street art out there as well.

Here’s a few examples of the street art you will find in Dumbo. This first one is by artist, graphic designer, and activist Shepard Fairey, whose Instagram feed is @obeygiant. I really like Fairey’s art. His murals are in numerous places, and for those who follow presidential election politics, Fairey was the person who designed the 2008 Barack Obama “Hope” campaign poster. This piece is located in a parking lot around the corner from the F train’s York Street Station, near the underpass.

This mural was designed by Japanese artist Yuko Shimizu (currently living in New York City), and painted by Coby Kennedy. This mural (and another one as well), are located in the underpass right up the street from the York Street station.

There is a long, colorful mural by local artist Craig Anthony Miller, also known as “CAM,” that is visible through the trees. Somehow, even thought this mural is partially obscured, it didn’t bother me that I couldn’t see it fully, as it seemed like the owls were peering through the trees at me!

Craig Anthony Miller and Tron Warren painted this Aztec-themed mural for Pedro’s, a Spanish and Mexican restaurant in Dumbo.

There are also other interesting smaller art pieces, many of them illicit wheat paste pieces (where flour paste is used to adhere artwork to buildings), or stenciled work. This skateboarder is by WK, also known as WK Interact. Supposedly he has 7 different pieces up around Dumbo, and I was able to find two in my walk.

I also liked this doorway.

And here’s a little bit of interesting graffiti on the side of a garbage dumpster cover – showing that you never know when you may find something interesting or provocative. Here’s the stick bug:

There’s one more place you’ll want to go during your visit to Dumbo – Brooklyn Bridge Park. Learn more about Brooklyn Bridge Park in this post.

How can you get to Dumbo? If you walk across the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan to Brooklyn, the path across the bridge basically ends in Dumbo. If traveling by subway, take the A or C trains to High Street or the F train to York Street.

Doughnut Plant: NYC’s Decadent Doughnuts

Whenever family or friends come to visit us in New York City, they never fail to comment on the number of Dunkin Donuts locations in the city. It seems like there is one on every block – even more than the number of Starbucks coffee locations! (In fact, this article claims that by the end of last year there were 568 Dunkin Donuts stores in NYC.) But this post is not about Dunkin Donuts. It will do in a pinch if you need a quick cup of coffee, but if you want the best doughnuts, in my opinion, you must head to Doughnut Plant.

So what makes Doughnut Plant so special? Their doughnuts are absolutely delicious, with rich, sophisticated flavors like vanilla bean, Valrhona Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Banana Cream, and Coconut Cream. But you can also get doughnuts here that you can’t get anywhere else, like filled doughnuts that are square-shaped, with a hole in the middle. (I just can’t figure out how they do it, but they are really cool!) Or a doughnut “seed” (larger than a doughnut hole but smaller than a full-size doughnut), including one flavor called creme brulee. This one even has the melted sugar crust on top, like real creme brulee, that cracks when you bite into it, as well as a creamy custard filling. They make both light, fluffy yeast doughnuts and the denser, sweet cake doughnuts.

Here is a view of just part of their case, showing the beautiful cake doughnuts.

And here is my personal favorite, the coconut cream yeast doughnut. In addition to the sweet shredded coconut covering the outside, the doughnut is filled with an absolutely delicious coconut cream custard.

Where can you find these amazing doughnuts? Doughnut Plant currently has four locations in New York City. There are two in Manhattan: one at the Hotel Chelsea (220 West 23rd Street, between 7th and 8th Avenues), and the other one on the Lower East Side at 379 Grand Street, between Essex and Norfolk Streets. There’s one in Brooklyn’s Prospect Heights neighborhood, at 245 Flatbush Avenue, and one in Long Island City, Queens, at 37-00 47th Avenue. (The photo of the shop above is of the Lower East Side location.)  There are also numerous coffee shops and other locations in the city that carry their doughnuts, if you are not near one of the Doughnut Plant shops.

LIC Beer Project

There are 4 microbreweries in Long Island City, across the East River from Manhattan – they make for a nice walking tour, if the weather is nice. We’ve previously explored 3: Transmitter Brewing, Rockaway Brewing Company, and Big Alice Brewing. Today, I’m going to introduce you to the fourth and final one: LIC Beer Project.

Located on the opposite side of the Queensborough Bridge from the other microbreweries, LIC Beer Project offers a taproom and brewery space that is architecturally interesting.There’s a small bar area and a few high tables with bar stool seating, as well as a large area where visitors were playing a beanbag game called “cornhole.” You can also check out the brewing area.

Unlike the other microbreweries in Long Island City, visitors currently cannot order tasting flights at LIC Beer Project, but they do offer full glasses of beer. On the day that we visited, the taproom offered 6 LIC beers as well as 2 guest taps. I tried a Belgian-style stout called Evening’s Empire, which was very good.

LIC Beer Project is located at 39-28 23rd Street in Long Island City. The closest subway station is approximately three blocks away – take the F train to the 21st Street – Queensbridge station. Make sure that you check the brewery’s website before you go, as it is only open for limited hours.