Birch Coffee

At Paris Baguette, the Manhattan Sideways team grabbed a tray and a set of tongs and indulged. We found each baked bread to be more desirable than the next, from the simple white loaf to the peanut crumb to the chocolate cream bread. The cakes are magnificent pieces of art. We were particularly drawn to the strawberry and fresh cream, and the chocolate and banana. A chain that originated in Korea, Paris Baguette now provides baked goods to almost three thousand stores. Although not everything is prepared in-house, the aroma alone makes it worth a visit, as does the show of people who come through Paris Baguette each day.

“We wanted to be that diamond in the rough,” explained Ashley, the co-owner of Blank Slate. When Ashley and Zach, spouses and co-owners, were searching for a location for their restaurant, they wanted to find a neighborhood with a large crowd but not a lot of quality spots to eat. Blank Slate is successfully that hidden gem located in NoMad, one of Manhattan’s up and coming neighborhoods. Blank Slate attracts a crowd full of young, creative professionals who are quickly changing the area.Ashley and Zach established Blank Slate, which opened in November of 2015, in an effort to create the first coffee-shop-restaurant hybrid in New York City. Ashley explains that they were tired of going to places that provided quality coffee but low quality food. She wanted a place that offered superb grab-n-go coffee as well as more formal dining where friends could meet for a long meal.Ashley and Zach’s vision has been realized. Blank Slate serves killer coffee as well as an impressive assortment of salads, sandwiches and even gourmet desserts. Their coffee is proudly served from farm to cup in close to 20 days. They have a sign at the cash register indicating the green date and roast date of the coffee being served that day. My intern, Emily, hesitantly tried their brussels sprout Caesar salad and only had positive things to say about it, even though she usually does not enjoy Brussels sprouts. Blank Slate also has a small but wonderfully curated market located inside the restaurant, which offers primarily locally sourced products such as cookie dough, yoghurts, pickles and a host of beverages.In addition to serving excellent coffee and food, Blank Slate has a fun, creative atmosphere. Ashley and Zach chose Blank Slate’s name because they wanted to convey the idea that people can make or create everything here. While customers wait in line for coffee, for example, there are etch-a-sketches on which to play. They even have Instagram competitions that reward one talented etch-a-sketcher with a free meal. Ashley hopes that Blank Slate can be a space for people to create. She explained that the etch-a-sketch sends a message: the “possibility of everything."

In the frenetic center of Korea Town on 32nd, Grace Street is a quiet haven. Couches line one wall, and there are plenty of tables for folks who want a more upright experience. Smoky charcoal sketches and colorful photos enliven the walls. Wi-Fi is not in the usual coffee house mix, as people come to Grace Street to relax and chat. But enough about the space – what is style without content? The coffee is nice, and my Americano treated me exquisitely. But the homerun is the Ho-dduk, a traditional Korean filled pancake—reminiscent of a donut—that is a perfect companion to a cup of coffee.

Dover Street Market is a seven level hodgepodge of runway-ready designer looks laid out like a modern art gallery. On the ground floor is a fun café, Rose Bakery, with an assortment of light eats like toast and eggs, market salads, and sweet scones, as well as a comprehensive listings of cold drinks, teas, coffees, and wines. Shoppers and art-enthusiasts alike can effectively spend their entire day here.As a fellow Sideways member and I explored the market with from head to toe, we could not help oohing and aahing, pointing at curiosities for the other to see, and interacting tangibly with some pieces. On the seventh floor, we tried on almost every pair of the funky glasses displayed. On the sixth, we were met with whimsical creations, all somehow embodying the phrase “we make noise not clothes” that filled a corner in bold, lit-up letters. One of these, a tee-shirt with a picture of an apple, was captioned “pepper.” A large pole (an infrastructure found on each floor) was collaged with miscellaneous beer cans, shower items, and holiday-specific ornaments.The walls of the fifth floor were decorated with cooking utensils, and mannequins in motion sported looks that combined the aesthetics of circuses and lawyers. Probably the smallest floor, the fourth featured architectural garments fashioned from hard leather and light lace. At the end of the floor, a water park themed staircase, equipped with a tunnel, beach ball and sand structures, slid us downstairs to splash into the pattern-filled third floor. On the second, we were met by statement sneakers and more fun glasses.Back on the first floor, we decided to linger a bit longer, checking out the Bo & Play headphones that were set against a white wall surrounded by neutral shapes in all dimensions, each bringing the accessory more focus. We flirted with the shiny pieces of jewelry on the other side of the floor, wanting to bring each ring, bracelet and necklace home. Collectively, our side street exploration of Dover Street Market was filled with a beautiful assortment of artistic garments and accessories, eye-catching artwork and infrastructure, and a great deal of smiling.

This site, that now houses Starbucks, was the American novelist Edith Wharton's childhood home. 2012 was the 150th anniversary of her birth. Edith Wharton was one of the few New York writers whose feelings for the city were almost unambiguously negative. The author of classics such as The Age of Innocence and The House of Mirth far preferred Paris, where she spent much of her adult life. However, her early years were spent here in a brownstone her family built.

“By accident,” answered Olga Blanco when I asked her how she got her start in the printing business. Her husband started Nobel Printing in 1979, and Olga took over a short while later when he became ill. “I learned and I kept going,” she smiled, remembering a time when the business was new to her. She, in turn, has taught her son, who works for a printing company in Florida. Olga shared with me that when her son's business decided to use the traditional printing press in an effort to distinguish themselves from others, his knowledge of the machine lead to a promotion. “No one else knows how to use these,” she gushed, “so they increased his pay.”Originally from Columbia, Olga journeyed to the States in 1969 at the age of seventeen. Since living here, she has seen a lot of changes, many of which have had an negative impact on her custom printing company. “Everything is digital these days,” she rationalized, "And everyone thinks they are a designer.” With so many people in possession of a computer and the means to make their own digital copies, her fears are not unwarranted. Topped off with rising rents, Olga is not sure her business will operate for longer than a few more years. Indeed, she has seen many others pushed out of the neighborhood for similar reasons. “The real estate business is hungry for money,” she said, shaking her head.Despite the obstacles, Olga remains quite confident in the product, itself. She happily deals solely in custom printing, taking on any job no matter the size and “creating something beautiful.” When I visited in the summer of 2016, Olga was working on a wedding order of 2000 invites and could not conceal her passion for the project. She showed me her early drafts, pulling out the quality card stock and brushing her fingertips over a soft design that depicted a tree just in bloom. There is no replacement for “that human touch.”

Co-founded in 1994 by former number one middleweight boxer, Michael Olajide, and Leila Fazel, a former ballerina, Aerospace claims to offer “a revolutionary new fitness that engages body, mind, and spirit.” Leila explained that the Aerospace workout is “revolutionary” in two ways: first, it does not involve any machines, and second, it has its foundation in athlete-level boxing to engage cardio, muscle endurance, and core strength. The company has its own boxing ring and jump rope line.We had the pleasure of seeing Michael, who lost vision in one of his eyes in the early 1990s, guide a student through some boxing combinations as part of the Aerospace workout. Although Michael and Leila intend to maintain the “authenticity of boxing” in their program, Aerospace is open to everyone, with or without boxing experience. While some learn to hit bags on the second floor, others in a more advanced program spar in the boxing ring on the first floor. Leila also runs a workout that combines shadow boxing with ballet.

Jon Eisen is not only one of the partners of Between the Bread and its director of strategic growth, but he is also heir to one of the pioneers of the venture, which has delivered sandwiches to office workers since 1979. Ricky Eisen, Jon’s mother and the company’s president - who was born on the outskirts of Tel Aviv - decided to use large-scale catering to bring healthy meals to her clients in a more efficient way. Jon claims that the result was the first catering company in New York City. Ricky’s idea to use only healthy and local ingredients proved to be a pivotal moment in the way catering to corporate clients is done today.In 2013, Ricky put her son in charge of the retail and café side of the business, which up until that point had been secondary to catering. Recognizing the recent popular trend of eating healthy and local, Jon quickly began streamlining the production process, including installing digital cash registers to track customer orders. This lead to a doubling of revenue. His success prompted Ricky to name him partner in 2015. Despite these changes, the core of the business is still the same: using organic, fresh, and seasonal to serve “high quality meals.” And to hear it from Jon and the head of brand strategy, Victoria Rolandelli, this core seems to resonate well with customers. Between the Bread opened two more locations in October 2015 and has plans to have a total of twelve locations throughout the city.Located in the Chelsea Terminal Warehouse, the 27th Street Between the Bread is in a massive space that was previously an unloading station for trains. In the not-too-distant future, once Hudson Yards is complete, it is Jon's hope that they will become the "new Chelsea Market."

Originally constructed in 1905, this building became the home of the beloved Gershwin Hotel in 1992. In 2014, Triumph Hotels took over the space and invested a good deal in renovations, renaming it The Evelyn. As an homage to building’s artful and musical past, the guest rooms feature music note-tiled bathrooms, trombone-shaped chandeliers, and decorations inspired by the Art Nouveau style of the 1900s.

At Paris Baguette, the Manhattan Sideways team grabbed a tray and a set of tongs and indulged. We found each baked bread to be more desirable than the next, from the simple white loaf to the peanut crumb to the chocolate cream bread. The cakes are magnificent pieces of art. We were particularly drawn to the strawberry and fresh cream, and the chocolate and banana. A chain that originated in Korea, Paris Baguette now provides baked goods to almost three thousand stores. Although not everything is prepared in-house, the aroma alone makes it worth a visit, as does the show of people who come through Paris Baguette each day.

Besfren’s official motto is “Hopping into a pastry fairy tale,” and that is exactly what it feels like to wander into this hip dessert café. Truffles, macarons, caneles, and delicate slices of cake are displayed in shining glass cases, while customers sip on tea and chat at low tables along the wall. But Besfren and its partner company, Korean Red Ginseng, also have an unofficial motto – “traditional with a modern twist” – that perfectly captures the café’s Korean-American roots.On my first visit to the café, I had the pleasure of speaking with Min Ree, who co-founded Besfren in 2012 with his friend, Paul Park. Though neither of them had any culinary experience – Min had studied accounting, while Paul was a student of fine arts – they were determined to bring traditional Korean rice cake desserts to an American audience. After more than a year of experimental baking, Min and Paul felt that they had perfected their catering menu and their signature dessert, the chaps pie.The next step, Min explained, was to contact event coordinators and catering companies. “We brought our desserts to the meetings,” he said with a smile, “and it went really well.” Soon, Besfren was catering for the likes of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Vogue, the Grammys, and the United Nations. Most of the guests at these exclusive events had never tried anything like the chaps pie, an oven-baked, gluten-free rice cake, but Min said that “they could not get enough.” It quickly became apparent that Besfren had transformed the traditional Korean chapssaltteok, and now they needed to make it accessible to a larger New York audience.It did not take long for Besfren’s modern twist on Korean desserts to appeal to the managers of Café G, owned by Korean Red Ginseng. Hoping to expand their business and bring ginseng extract teas, powders and roots to a larger audience, they approached Besfren about a collaboration.Min and Paul agreed, and after a series of renovations, Besfren x Korean Red Ginseng opened in May of 2015. One side of the café is still devoted to red ginseng extracts and powders, whose health benefits include memory enhancement, increased energy, and anti-aging functions. But the main entrance opens onto the shining Besfren dessert counter, where customers can buy pastries, Toby’s Estate coffee, and fruity ginseng drinks. The floor-to-ceiling windows and simple interior design create a sense of space inside, and the café’s location on the corner of 32nd Street and Fifth Avenue makes it perfect for people-watching. The café is bustling at all hours of the day, but the smiling employees make sure to devote special care and attention to every customer who walks in.Sitting down with Min, the Manhattan Sideways team sipped on the fizzy Korean black raspberry chia cooler, the pink grapefruit yuza, a delicious balance of bitter and sweet, the ginger lemon tea, which was strong and spicy, and the refreshing ginseng latte. Before finishing our drinks, we were presented with a beautiful tray of desserts: The chewy, dense texture of the chaps pies delighted us, and while Nina was partial to the maple multigrain variety, Flannery said she would come back just for the black raspberry. Next, we dug into the triple cheesecake, which was made with cheese mousse, a layer of New York cheesecake, a graham cracker crust, and raw cream cheese on top. The hint of lemon in each delicious bite brought me back to my childhood, when I would sneak into the fridge and steal a taste of my mom’s cheesecake before her dinner parties. The honey earl grey cake was pleasantly light, especially after the rich cheesecake, and we all enjoyed the green tea jasmine roll cake, which was moist and flavorful. Even though we were stuffed, we each took a bite of a delicate canele, savoring the sweet, caramelized crust and the soft custard center.While we ate, I asked Min about the Besfren logo, which I had noticed scattered about the café, and even on his bolo tie. According to Korean legend, he explained, there is a rabbit who lives on the moon and pounds ingredients for rice cakes. Paul and Min decided to adapt that idea for Besfren, and their logo features two rabbit “best friends” who pound rice cakes together.With a constant flow of customers, particularly because of their close proximity to the nearby Empire State Building, there is always a buzz at the café. It seems that word has spread enough so that Min mentioned that they are scoping out locations for a second cafe in Manhattan. In the meantime Min, Paul, and their team of bakers are always developing new recipes to add to their fairytale menu of sweets.

“We wanted to be that diamond in the rough,” explained Ashley, the co-owner of Blank Slate. When Ashley and Zach, spouses and co-owners, were searching for a location for their restaurant, they wanted to find a neighborhood with a large crowd but not a lot of quality spots to eat. Blank Slate is successfully that hidden gem located in NoMad, one of Manhattan’s up and coming neighborhoods. Blank Slate attracts a crowd full of young, creative professionals who are quickly changing the area.Ashley and Zach established Blank Slate, which opened in November of 2015, in an effort to create the first coffee-shop-restaurant hybrid in New York City. Ashley explains that they were tired of going to places that provided quality coffee but low quality food. She wanted a place that offered superb grab-n-go coffee as well as more formal dining where friends could meet for a long meal.Ashley and Zach’s vision has been realized. Blank Slate serves killer coffee as well as an impressive assortment of salads, sandwiches and even gourmet desserts. Their coffee is proudly served from farm to cup in close to 20 days. They have a sign at the cash register indicating the green date and roast date of the coffee being served that day. My intern, Emily, hesitantly tried their brussels sprout Caesar salad and only had positive things to say about it, even though she usually does not enjoy Brussels sprouts. Blank Slate also has a small but wonderfully curated market located inside the restaurant, which offers primarily locally sourced products such as cookie dough, yoghurts, pickles and a host of beverages.In addition to serving excellent coffee and food, Blank Slate has a fun, creative atmosphere. Ashley and Zach chose Blank Slate’s name because they wanted to convey the idea that people can make or create everything here. While customers wait in line for coffee, for example, there are etch-a-sketches on which to play. They even have Instagram competitions that reward one talented etch-a-sketcher with a free meal. Ashley hopes that Blank Slate can be a space for people to create. She explained that the etch-a-sketch sends a message: the “possibility of everything."

In the frenetic center of Korea Town on 32nd, Grace Street is a quiet haven. Couches line one wall, and there are plenty of tables for folks who want a more upright experience. Smoky charcoal sketches and colorful photos enliven the walls. Wi-Fi is not in the usual coffee house mix, as people come to Grace Street to relax and chat. But enough about the space – what is style without content? The coffee is nice, and my Americano treated me exquisitely. But the homerun is the Ho-dduk, a traditional Korean filled pancake—reminiscent of a donut—that is a perfect companion to a cup of coffee.

Striking up a conversation with Richard Bock, a psychiatrist a few doors down, I learned that, of all the Korean eateries on 32nd, there is one that stands out for its coffee and sweets. As soon as we got to Cafe M, I knew that he had not steered me wrong. With a distressed country wood decor in soft colors, this quaint, adorable shop is constantly filled with people coming and going. Some baked goods are made in-house, while others are prepared off the premises, but the combination is perfect – macaroons, croissants, sandwiches, madeleines and good coffee and tea to wash it down. Café M is a warm, welcoming place to while away the hours or grab a tasty snack on the go.