The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.

Cannoli are known as Italian-American pastries, although the origin of cannoli dates back to Sicily, specifically Palermo, where it was prepared during Carnevale season, and according to lore, as a symbol of fertility. The cannoli is a fried, tube-shaped pastry shell (usually containing wine) filled with a creamy amalgamation of sweetened ricotta cheese, chocolate, candied fruit or zest, and sometimes nuts. Although not traditional, mascarpone cheese is also widely used, and in fact, makes for an even creamier filling when substituted for part of the ricotta, or by itself. However, cannoli can also be filled with pastry creams, mousses, whipped cream, ice cream etc. You could also add your choice of herbs, zests or spices to the dough, if desired. Marsala is the traditional wine used in cannoli dough, but any red or white wine will work fine, as it’s not only added for flavor or color, but to relax the gluten in the dough since it can be a stiff dough to work with.

Despite not technically a “baking” challenge, I was SO excited to see this month’s challenge recipe at the Daring Kitchen.  I have only had cannoli a few times, but have always loved their delicate crispy shell and creamy fillings.  We had a choice of fillings, so I made half with vanilla and half with chocolate, and dipped the ends of both in melted dark chocolate.  For the cannoli with chocolate filling, I then dipped the ends into candied orange peel also for a bit of a jaffa flavour.  YUM YUM!!

Anyway, if you would like a printable copy of the recipe, you can find it here.

My first batch, I tried the forming them around the premade cannelloni tubes.  Unfortunately, they blistered and cooked along with the cannoli and I was unable to separate the two without smashing the entire thing into smithereens.  Luckily, I had some stainless cream horn shapes in my cooking stash, and they worked a treat.  Had they not worked, I would have opted for the flat, layered version aka millefeuille/napoleon style.  All in all, a great hit with the family and definately will be made again.  Am hoping Santa will bring me an ice cream maker for Christmas, as I can really imagine these with a yummy home made ice cream filling!!  Delish!

Total de Episódios: 7/7
Qualidade: RMVB (Ruim)
Gênero: Nudez, Sexo
Fansub: —

Sinopse:
Numa mansão luxuosa, jovens mulheres são contratadas por uma pessoa denominda “Mestre Mascarado”, para fazerem mais do que uma simples faxina. Com um enredo diferente e com um final nada esperado por quem assiste, este um Hentai que tem uma boa qualidade de animação. A partir do 4° episódio já é ambientado em outro círculo, hospital, enfermeiras e afins.

Episódio 01: – 38MB
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Episódio 02: – 44MB
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Episódio 03: – 56MB
Links: RapidShare | FreakShare | DepositFiles

Episódio 04: – 55MB
Links: RapidShare | FreakShare | DepositFiles

Episódio 05: – 55MB
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Episódio 06: – 43MB
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Episódio 07: – 53MB
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Harvested Wheat Fields ©Weatherstone/Ron Almberg, Jr. (2009)

What I see
blindly pleas
what I smell
does compel
me to believe
that all
of consequence
is physical.

What I hear
does endear
what I touch
pulls much
my heart toward
all that
my senses tell
is material.

What I taste
gives feast
what I feel
makes real
to my soul
that all
I consume
only matters.

What blindness!
What deafness!
What blandness!
What madness!

I failed to perceive
the deepest part of me that
reaches beyond
body, soul, and mind
touches eternity and divinity.
It is my awakened spirit.

©Weatherstone/Ron Almberg, Jr. (2009)

When something taste like ‘noting’ what is this nothing? You taste this ‘nothing’ when you are not eating anything, or when there is no any distinct taste in your mouth. But is this taste ‘nothing’? I randomly came across this fact and I find it fascinating. This taste that apparently has no taste is actually our own saliva. So technically, it really isnt nothing, but it is it’s own taste. Our taste buds are just so accustomed to it, that it treats it as the ‘neutral’ taste. So next time think about when you are about to say stuff like ‘Man this doesn’t taste like anything.’ or ‘ I can’t taste anything at the moment.’ You are tasting something, your spit.

Alright another thought that I came across today. Winnie the Pooh. So basically it is a ‘pooh’ named Winnie. Alright so what is this pooh that has a name named after it? I understand taht Winnie the Pooh is a stuffed bear, but really? Pooh? Where did it come from? I was in complete shock over this up until someone explained it to me. His name is Winnie the Pooh, that is it’s whole name. Pooh is just part of his name. Alright, now that brings me to the next question, who in the world would name something with the word ‘the’ in it? Yes I understand, an example would be Alexander the Great, but that is only his nickname, a name he is known for, he had an actual legit name before that. But what about pooh? If Winnie the Pooh is actually the actual name of the yellow honey bear, how does that name make sense?

More stocking fillers (all the best possible taste)

Turkey Fail

Picture by: skwirlymon Submitted by: skwirlymon via Fail Uploader

Bukchon Hanok Village is one of traditional area in Korea. It is locate in seoul, near the Jongno. Bukchon is not a limited area. It is just group of many towns like Sogyeokdong, Sagan-dong, Gyedong etc. There are a lot of nice views and great restaurant. because of it, Bukchon has become a good travel stage in Korea

Actually, most of Hanok in Bukchon is not a traditional Korean house. Traditional Hanok is big and solemn. Bukchon’s Hanok is smaller than the others and it doesn’t give us a feeling like grand or quiet. Instead of them, it feels cute, vital etc.

-Bukchon’s Hanoks

Bukchon’s Hanok doesn’t use for house. but it’s expenditure is a cultured-place like cafe, restaurant, gallery. They are new typed Hanok with new typed Korean traditional system.

Bukchon is the place that gives us a fresh feelings even though they are located in center of urban environment. Bukchon’s beauty, is come from differences with others.

I saw a recent documentary film on Russian ballerinas. I don’t really get dance, and though I’ve seen my fair share, I usually can’t distinguish merely good from truly excellent execution in terms of either technique or expression. However, in the course of the film, one of the profiled ballerinas rehearsed what I am guessing must be her signature solo and pose, the sort of thing that appears on ballet posters. I found the image below:

Turns out it’s Uliana Lopatkina as a dying swan, danced to music of Camille Saint-Saëns. Pretty extraordinary. I also found the following video:

There are videos on YouTube of other ballerinas interpreting the same dance for comparison.

One of the curious things about ballerinas is the total devotion to the art necessary to achieve success, something few average folks can muster. But unlike most other artistic pursuits, dance careers are typically over by age 40 (or much earlier). Athletes have similarly short careers, limited by the fact of aging.

Perhaps inevitably, my mind wandered to this memory while at the pool swimming (a regular part of my ongoing triathlon training, which I don’t approach with total devotion), only in my mind the swan became a butterfly. Considering the obvious physical demands on a ballerina and their ability to persevere, I thought I could at least swim a few lengths of butterfly. Suffice it to say that I don’t have such extraordinary extension in my arms, but I do have the body control and coordination to swim the stroke properly. I also know it takes everything I’ve got just to do butterfly at my age, even though I’m in good shape for swimming. So for two lengths of the pool, I was totally committed to doing something both powerful and maybe a little graceful. I paid for it for a few days.

Touching, tasting, breathing.
Anything goes.
Senses fire as bodies break.
The air stands still.
Even in this darkness cell.

I recently began reading a thriller by Lisa Jackson called Silent Scream, and I think it really defined for me what I don’t want to do as a novelist. Since I am not yet a published writer, I realize that I have no real right to critique yet those who are, and that this review is more a question of personal taste.

Jackson’s main characters basically form a class struggle as the lower class (caused partially by racial prejudice) is pitted against the higher class (wealthy and spoiled women.) The idea of a class struggle is not what bothered me, however.

Within the first few chapters of the novel there are a number of graphic sexual scenes involving so many different characters that one gets the idea that living in that small town is like licking a sexually-charged battery. The message is clear that neither men nor women seem to be able to control themselves and that sex/masturbation/swimming naked/wearing next to nothing is the usual order of the day. I find it very odd, but I’m sure that those who enjoy having the little “peek” into rather gratuitous (yet generally unfulfilling) sexual experiences of character would enjoy it.

I also find that there is not one character that I can actually fully relate to or sympathize with. Perhaps the closest is the young girl of the wealthy side, Cassidy, but even she is impetuous and makes very stupid, outrageous choices due to extreme reactions to the events around her.

Even worse, the changing point of view makes it difficult for me to actually focus on one particular character. I think that Brig (the low-class sexy cowboy) is supposed to be the focus, but he’s not really likeable. He carries a huge chip on his shoulder and spends most of his time mocking others and being bitter. Oh, yes, and supposedly smoldering with sexual temptation.

Finally, it is one of those “maniac slasher perv on the loose” thrillers. Again, this would not bother me if it took on a CSI direction, but instead it just gives us few and far in between glimpses into the confusing, perverted and downright weird point of view of the killer. I have seen the technique of using the killer’s point of view before, but most of the time it gives us a good idea as to the deliberation of the killer and points at some kind of psychological reason behind it. That is, it does these things when it is done well. I’m just not a fan of the characters that Jackson is painting in her novel, nor of the methods she is using for the painting.

Honestly, for those of you who are interested in the style of my novel, I will certainly not be going that route. I have unusual characters, but they are strong and interesting instead of one big turn-off. I’m more a fan of a traditional mystery where the amateur sleuth bumbles around discovering sudden clues and then ends up putting the pieces together after a number of plot twists and red herrings.

Which type of book do you prefer? I could be wrong about Lisa Jackson. She most likely has a pretty decent fan base. And again, I am in no position to judge as a writer. I’m judging purely as a reader based upon my own personal tastes.

Throwback

Check this parody out! Ice Cream Paint Job lol

HUaH!

I have been feeling guilty for neglecting the blog. A confession. I have a few new addictions. One is the game Doodle Jump and the other is wonderful Joy Orbison mix. The mix is an easier thing to be obsessed with as I can just listen to this on repeat and it does not really affect my life apart from the obvious joy I get streaming into my ears. Doodle Jump on the other hand has put my life on hold. Like a proper geek, I’ve quickly become very addicted to this game, playing it all the time, at any given chance.

I thought that I needed to cure this addiction but could not bring myself to delete the application from my phone. I have decided that tonight I will write about Porto and Lisbon.

At our first stop, Porto we regrettably had rain every day. Luckily the large number of confectioners meant that we could duck in and out of the rain for more pasteis de nata and quick cups of strong coffee or bica.  And even though chocolate umbrellas can’t really protect you from the rain, it can with a little imagination make you forget your soaking feet.

I found Porto an interesting destination. The city was so old and hilly. The architecture beautiful. We searched for youth, but kept finding old men in flat caps and walking sticks. In a club, we sat in the dancefloor next to a family. Three generations sitting together in a darkened club, illuminated only by the dancing lights from the giant disco ball. The DJ played something generic and other families peered in from the madly decorated bar. It was surreal and wonderful.

Our next stop was Lisbon, a city we knew would be very different. It even has its own Le Cool guidebook. We wouldn’t find clubs filled with small tots learning how to walk and greying men and women. We’d find bars that looked like crazy museums lit by  pak choy lampshades.

In Lisbon, we missed variety in our diet so we went in search of something different. It led us to near wild goose chases to find the Mozambican restaurant and later a Malaysian-inspired place called Cafe Malacca.

We pursued the cool in Barrio Alto and Principe Real but it was in Sintra where we found paradise (as described by Lord Byron) and a paper mache animal park. In Lisbon, the old and new sat together comfortably. Sprayed on tiles didn’t look out of place next to the originals that are so distinctively Portugese.

In Sintra we walked up the massive hill and were rewarded by the calm of the lake where a lone black swan was swimming in circles. The air was so fresh and the forest trees were alight with autumnal colours.

On our way to Belem we found the Museu Da Carris, a charming little museum dedicated to the trams!  In Belem we had the most delicious tarts in Antiga Confectaria de Belem. Here perfectly baked custard tarts are served with icing sugar and cinnamon. Each bite is perfectly flaky with a soft filling. I regret not taking photos of any tarts. There were so many petite cakes and tarts. I have never eaten so much pastry in my life. And I’ve also never enjoyed pastry this much.

We went to the wonderful Berardo Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and happily whiled away a few hours looking at the exhibitions on at the moment.

On one of the evenings we met a dapper man. He was so excited about the fact we lived in London that he repeatedly proclaimed “London is the best country in the world!”. This we found endearing and very amusing.

The main highlight of the trip was when we decided to seek out The Cape Verdean Association (Associação de Cabo-Verde, 8th floor at Avenida Duque de Palmela 2, tel. 21 353 1932). In the business district of Lisbon, in an 80s office block, we entered this grey building and into the lift with two men in suits, clearly on their office lunch breaks.

Together we rode up to the eight floor. As we approached the 6th floor, we started hearing music. The men got more and more animated.

The lift opened onto the 8th floor into a big dining hall, filled with people, laughing, eating and chatting. There was a band playing Afro-Portugese music and couples danced in the front. I have never felt so much happiness around me. My last memory of Lisbon was this busy hall filled with music, chatter and dance. And I can’t imagine a nicer way to end a holiday.

]]> http://friends1569.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/tasting-the-food-in-cancun-your-taste-buds-are-in-for-a-treat/ Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:18:46 +0000 friends1569 http://friends1569.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/tasting-the-food-in-cancun-your-taste-buds-are-in-for-a-treat/

Exploring the wide variety of Cancun cuisine will be a highlight of your visit to the local restaurants and various other food enhancing outlets in this wonderful destination. You will discover the greatest selection of dishes available to you here in a variety of places.

La Habichuela will be a must stop for authentic Caribbean cuisine, this restaurant has been in operation for 29 years and knows how to please your palette. A favorite menu item is Cocbichuela, this is an in house specialty, cooked with large chunks of lobster and shrimp simmered in a curry sauce and presented in a coconut shell, garnished with a layer of fresh fruit. You will find a menu stacked with an amazing choice of seafood dishes cooked with local tropical ingredients.

If you love the taste of the south then head to La Casa las Margaritas will get your taste buds sizzling with their tantalizing fare on hand for you to try. Mexican culture oriented and attention to detail in all foods prepared. The layout and design of the place and costumed staff take you to new dining heights with reminders of just where on the planet you are. Low music in the background and take yourself to a cantina where you can enjoy shrimp tacos or tequila chicken.

To try authentic Mayan food explore Pascal’s menu, the owner of the restaurant; Augusto Pastacinni has studied for years on the traditional ancient and exotic tastes of the Mayans, you will not be disappointed here with the taste of ancients! You will never experience anything anywhere else with the very popular Papadzules which are corn tortillas stuffed with hard boiled eggs topped with a pumpkin sauce and sprinkled with fried tomatoes.

Try some of the best Yucatecan food in the small place named Labna, located to the side of La Habichuela. Here they combine the food of the Mayans with a Mexican touch, try the deep fried turnovers bursting with shark and smothered with tomato sauce. To experiment, you can try the cactus salad pork rinds with cream cheese and for the more adventurous a classic menu item is chicken in mole sauce.

Recipes here are far different from anything else in the world and they will tempt your taste buds on a daily basis, with tantalizing ingredients on offer you just have to try all the foods on offer to truly discover the wonders of this place. Herbs and spices used here are grown locally and many items used are native to only this area. Poblano peppers, bananas, and cactus are widely utilised as is the abundant seafood used in everyday dishes, with such a variety on the menu it will be difficult to try everything but you must try it to savor the taste of this region.

Nearly every restaurant in Cancun will have lobster on the menu and if you love to eat this crustacean then you will be in your glory here. You can watch as they prepare it just for you and it will be done very often in the traditional manner at the Lobster Shack. Be wary though as you may be paid a visit as you dine from the local crocodiles as they tend to frequent the areas around this restaurant, they are kept at a safe distance so you will be able to dine in peace. This food stop will definitely make it a pleasurable stop on your vacation and in the pursuit of fine dining.

So, while you are there make sure you visit as many food types as you possibly can and this will make your holiday a very memorable experience.

Simplicity is not poverty, and it is not simple. In fact simplicity requires considerable thought as you sort through various things to determine which resources can be limited in order to actually rely on God.

But another significant aspect of simplicity is the intentional celebration of life; enjoying the good (and often overlooked) things of life.

I have been reading through a reader called “Praying with Francis of Assisi” by Joseph Stoutzenberger, and there is a chapter about simplicity. Stoutzenberger writes an exercise I chose to take hold of while I sat in a Charlotte coffee shop with my buddy Justin Wallace as he prepared to speak for his group of college students that evening.

———

He writes:

Pour a glass of your favorite beverage, or slice up a piece of your favorite fruit, cheese, cake, pie, or bread. Set the glass or plate in front of you. Reflect on the wonder of drink and food, their color, texture, and composition from earth to their present state.

Next, savor the smell of the beverage or food. Finally, take one sip or bite, roll the drink around your tongue or chew the food slowly. Closing your eyes may help to get the full effect.

Finish drinking the beverage or eating the food very slowly, pausing between each sip or bite.

End this action by praising God for His simple wonder.

———

Done!

Fragrant

Fragrant is the flower
you give
for my spirit to know.

Gentle is the caress
you have brought
to my heart.

Lovely the vision
as you walk
across the floor to me.

Melodic is the song
you have played
in my body tonight.

Sweet is the taste
you have left
on my tongue.

Again, sorry if you came looking for an update on my life….this video clearly isnt about me, i just happen to think its excellent. Well done Florence, another infectious tune and an exquisite video.

 And, as you have no doubt just discovered embedding is “disabled by request”….ahh well, if your interested, follow the link…..if your not, well have a browse instead…..im sure you should be doing something productive so feel free to waste some more time picking over my intimate thoughts…much love to you all.

 Quote Of The Day:   (very apt considering the above)

 “Nothing will come of nothing”     (King Lear)

You Need It To Live, But Too Much Will Kill You

Seldom in history has a product worn the horns of the Devil and the wings of an angel at the same time. Loved and respected because it provides the energy we need to work, to play, even to breathe, sugar is so important to our diet our bodies take several things we eat and convert them into sugars.

However, eat too much sugar and your body will blimp up and your organs will slowly but surely break down. Never has “moderate consumption” been so important.

But what’s “moderate”? How can we tell what’s too much?

Let’s look at an example.

In our example you will eat 16 teaspoons of refined sugar all in one short sitting. Don’t worry, it will be in liquid form. Sound outrageous? That’s how much sugar is in a 20 ounce bottle of cola. In every bottle.

In general, if you look at the ingredient list of products before you buy them and see some that end in the letters “…ose” you have various different kinds of sugars. Sugars come with other name endings, but “…ose” tends to be the most common ending in packaged foods we eat. Most of them are complex sugars our bodies break down into simple ones so they can be used to burn as energy.

Sugars, along with starch, are the basic carbohydrates. Inside your gut they all become sugars, ultimately simple sugars. What your body can’t use it will expel through your colon or convert to fat for storage.

Because our bodies can only convert a limited amount of sugar into fat at one time, if you are going to eat too much sugar, eat it in a binge. Most of it you will enjoy in your mouth and you will get rid of it in the toilet the next day. Eat a little too much sugar on a regular basis and your body will store it in special cells in your body known as fat cells.

The average American consumes 61 pounds of refined sugar each year. About 25 pounds of that would be in the form of candy. That’s just sucrose, though, and the number doesn’t include amounts of any other sugars we consume.

Sugar may cause your skin to wrinkle. Called glycation, blood sugar in the skin binds to collagen so the skin loses its elasticity. Cut out excess sugar consumption and your skin may retain its elasticity. No good or easy or cheap method exists today to help skin regain its elasticity.

There’s nothing new about the kind of sugar we eat. When Alexander the Great invaded India over 2000 years ago he was shocked at how the people managed to create “honey” without bees.

Sugar cane is a plant of hot climate countries. That’s why people who live in the tropics have had it sweet for so long. Andreas Marggraf discovered, in 1747, that the sugar in sugar beets was the same as that in sugar cane. Sugar beets can be grown in much colder climates than sugar cane.

The first sugar beet factory opened in 1802. Over half of the 8.4 metric tonnes of sugar used in the USA this year–no, seriously, make that 8.4 million metric tonnes–will come from sugar beets. Sugar beets are a form of beet with white sweet roots. Only the root is used to make refined sugar.

Getting back to soft drinks, the kinds with artificial sweeteners may contribute to obesity rather than prevent it. A study at Purdue University using rats had one group consuming soft drinks with artificial sweeteners and another with sugar-sweetened drinks.

The group that drank the artificial sweeteners consumed more calories from other foods than the sugar group. The study did not consider the controversial belief that long term consumption of the artificial sweetener aspartame might cause major diseases. Rats don’t live long enough.

Like many popular discoveries artificial sweeteners aspartame and saccharin were found by accident. Lab researchers working on projects having nothing to do with sweetening mixed some test compounds and decided to taste them.

Ask yourself what kind of researcher eats his own experiment.

The artificial sweetener Splenda came about in an even stranger way. The scientists were looking for a new insecticide. [I'll just wait here while you process that thought. Prepare yourself for the next part so we don't have to pause again.]

A lab assistant had been asked to “test” the compound, but he thought he had been told to “taste” the compound. Remember, they had been looking for an insecticide. [Good thing you prepared yourself for that.]

Table sugar certainly isn’t the sweetest taste around. A compound called lugduname is actually 200,000 times sweeter. [Do you wonder where the lab assistant is today that tasted that stuff?]

Sugars are compounds of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The simplest (simple sugars) are most commonly known as glucose, fructose and galactose. Table sugar (a complex sugar) consists of one glucose molecule and one fructose molecule fused together. Other complex sugars dance with different partners.

We don’t want to avoid sugars totally because they are carbohydrates, by far the most common organic molecules in all living things. [Unless you consider minerals to be "living," which is a whole different discussion.]

An eight-atom sugar called glycolaldehyde has the ability to react with a three-carbon sugar to form ribose, a major component of RNA (ribonucleic acid), which does the real work in living things while DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) takes all the credit.

Who cares? Glycolaldehyde has been found in an interstellar gas cloud near the centre of the Milky Way. [Stay with me here.] Glycolaldehyde may therefore be a precursor of life on our planet. If it’s in space, it might have been here.

That same gas cloud, by the way, contains ethylene glycol, which most of us think of as antifreeze. Which is sweet, but lethal, as many animals have learned when they licked up antifreeze leaks.

These are complex sugars. In deep space. We must at least hypothesize that they were synthesized in space. We haven’t yet guessed how that could happen.

Sugar can be used as more than a fuel for your body. Burn table sugar (sucrose) with some corn syrup and a bit of saltpeter and you have a popular amateur rocket fuel.

It’s also sometimes prescribed by doctors. Yup, you pay a dispensing fee to buy a product called “Obecalp,” a sugar pill made to FDA specifications. It may be prescribed for mild problems with a variety of symptoms but no clear therapy. [Spell the product name backwards.]

Not only is the “placebo effect” surprisingly real according to recent studies, the sugar itself may actually help clear up symptoms. Glucosamine works as an immunosuppressant (drug that lowers the body’s normal immune　response) in mice.

Immune system suppression is a mixed blessing because while it can go crazy sometimes, such as with allergies, it also protects us from viruses and bad bacteria. The sugar alcohol xylitol can be used to prevent ear infections in children.

You better have a dose of Obecalp and think about this.

Bill Allin is the author of Turning It Around: Causes and Cures for Today’s Epidemic Social Problems, a guidebook for teachers, parents and grandparents who want to grow children who are healthy in all developmental streams, not just intellectually and physically. It’s a great gift.
Learn more at http://billallin.com

[Primary resource: Discover, October 2009]

This is a continuation from my trip to the East Coast. Check here and here for more.

Past all the bars, avoiding the busy New York traffic; all of a sudden there it was.
A friend had led me and my dad to this spot saying that it was a great meeting place. Seeing so many bars on the route didn’t set well with me, but as soon as I saw this place I knew he was right.

Caffe Reggio boasts being around since the ’20’s. Not a bad thing to boast considering most “old” coffee places you’ll find were started in the mid ’70’s. Their awning sign, however, boasted that they serve the “Original Cappuccino.” We’ll have to see about that.

Walking inside, a rustic sight met my eyes. The small building had room for about 20 comfortable people, but was cramming about double that into the sardine-like seating. The awesome thing was that nearly every seat was taken! I noted this before grabbing a seat myself. Unlike the hip, Mac-loving crowd I had seen at Think Coffee, Caffe Reggio was filled with older men and women. The type of people that were there to enjoy a night stroll and a good book. Many had friends with them and were chatting so that the room was filled with a dull roar.
Looking at the menu, a beautiful list of espresso drinks smiled back at me:

That’s right folks, this place is legit. No “kahuna kapow mochas” or “double chocolate artery clogger breves” to be found here. Only straight up, Italian style espresso.
And yet, as promising as the menu looked, I still had to do a review. So, I ordered a hazelnut cappuccino from the barista and sat back to fully admire my surroundings.

The building truly was old- probably hadn’t changed much since the ’20’s. The wallpaper was scratched and faded in most areas. Paintings lined the walls all with Italian feels to them. The chairs were wooden, and the lights had a reddish tint to them. If I ever lived in New York, this would be the place I would come to kick back and do some intellectual thinking or have a stimulating conversation. It had an atmosphere of old brilliance.

My coffee came, and the first thing I noticed was the thick layer of milk foam on the top. And I mean THICK. This baby was fluffy like a cloud, and took up about the top 1/3 of the drink. That’s what I call a cappuccino. After doing some dry slurping, I finally reached the coffee. I expected some kind of raw taste with a hint of hazelnut, but that’s not at all what I actually got. My drink was sweet. Like, really sweet. Like, Dutch Bros. sweet. I was rather surprised, and it took me a second to actually process what I was drinking. After a few more drinks, the initial shock wore off and I was able to judge the coffee. It was smooth and crisp with a note of fruitiness about it. Almost definitely Arabica beans. Asking the barista slipped my mind as I got lost in the conversation with those I was with. Here’s what I do recall from the experience however:

The coffee reminded me of a cherry tree: a rough middle with plenty of sweetness to go around. The coffee wasn’t slap-in-the-face hard stuff, but it had a definite kick to it. I was getting jittery sitting down after about half of my drink. The foam provided a nice solid base to go back to, and I was glad I had gone with the cappuccino because of this. Regardless of the quality of their coffee, whoever had made this drink definitely knew how to handle milk. The espresso really wasn’t anything to write home about, but the style of the drink did make it all worth it.

For any New Yorker’s out there, or for those who are planning on traveling there in the future:
Visit Caffe Reggio. This place is dripping with history. You won’t regret meeting the baristas and taking a look around. If you’ve got friends and something to chat about, this is definitely the place to go.

So, great coffee? Nah. Great cappuccino? Yes. Great conversation? Definitely.

The Coffee Guy

Which of your five senses (touch, taste, sight, hearing, or smell) do you value the most?

Oh, oh. Did I tell you about my website?

http://sandrakling.eu