elbow bread

bakeries, and those of us obsessed with visiting them, have been on my mind lately...

these are photos taken on a sunny day in january, at elbow ludlow on the lower east side.

this is jezabel, who traveled in from 
philadelphia to visit; she owns her 
own bakery, restaurant, market
for over fifteen years
@jezabels.phl

@elbowludlow
at elbow bread, ludlow street, nyc

college girls

near Columbia

 

merveilleuse at aux merveilleux

on the day after Christmas, fashion, alive and well in a west village patisserie....

aux merveilleux, west village

 

dear Gilli

found this in my blog drafts from April, 2014, not sure how it got stuck there!

the first time i visited Florence was possibly in the year 1995 (or was it 2004?) to meet up with my parents, sister and cousins who were already there, renting a house in the hills of Chianti. 

i remember that it rained for most of the trip, poured at times, and that my parents and cousins took us for coffee at Caffe Gilli on the morning i arrived.

we sat outside in the damp Piazza della Repubblica on cold, wet metal chairs. it was divine.

thought work took me to other areas of Italy, i  do not think i returned to Firenze until 2014, when i took a week or so to join a food tour coordinated by the daughter of a designer friend of mine.

we again stayed in a house just outside the city gates and had daily field trips into the hills for various culinary focused adventures. we also made it into the city several times as we were so close by.

i think i took this photo as we grabbed quick morning coffees at the little bar inside.

sending love and light to Italy!

stay safe!

caffe gilli, florence, 2014

it's only a silver moon

but it's everything to the neighborhood during the current stay home order.

so grateful for owner Juidth Norell of Silver Moon Bakery,  still open daily with her dedicated team, sharing her beloved seasonal offerings of artisanal breads, French pastries and cakes.

silver moon bakery, broadway
www.silvermoonbakery.com

Happy Passover, Happy Easter to all.
stay safe, New York! we hope to be sitting in the sun together again soon outside Silver Moon!
xx

after altro paradiso...

a few endnotes:

it was the first time i attended the Cafe Altro Paradiso fundraising bake sale to benefit Planned Parenthood, and after waiting in line for just over an hour, foolishly bought only 5 tickets, each ticket good for one sweet or savory item from the tented area outside, we were told by the event volunteers, with alcoholic beverages served inside going for 2 tickets per drink... 

my advice for anyone attending next year -- 10 tickets minimum are a must, maybe 20, then eat and drink your way through the day....    the program offers you a map of all the participants and their respective serving stations but once you enter, it is kind of hard not to want to try something from everyone, for the cause, of course!

plus, as you are surrounded by fellow foodies (i met the sweetest NYU Food Studies scholar in line) and beloved chefs (from the likes of Flora Bar, Frenchette, King, La New Yorkina, Le Cou Cou, Mah Ze Dahr, Olmsted and more), why not linger longer?  

feeling a bit like Charlie with his winning golden tickets to the Chocolate Factory,  i savored my goodies at home later, sampling from famous (some five star) restaurants of manhattan in four mouth watering, memorable bites.

thank you to Natasha and Ignacio and all the participating chefs, teams and volunteers, for pastries with purpose!

an elegant banana loaf from racines ny

light as air concha bread from cosme/atla 

a chocolate espresso whoopie pie from le bernardin

rhubarb and cinnamon and so much more from gramercy tavern
(this was a two ticket item but so worth it)


www.cafealtroparadiso.com 

carrot cake

http://fabianescafeandpastry.com
Williamsburg, Brooklyn

cake cake cake

la durée

i like cake

Lady M