Erika Geraerts knows good coffee. As a copywriter and directer at Willow & Blake the copywriting agency she spends her day drinking it. As a founder and director of frank body, the natural skin care brand she spends her time thinking about ways to scrub with it, and as part owner of LBSS the café in Abbotsford, she spends the rest of her time finding new ways to serve it. She also likes to spend time in the Big Apple. When you put that all together, she felt like the perfect person to tell us where to eat and drink in New York City. We’ll let her take it from here.
The thing about getting buzzed in New York is you’re presented with one of two options:
Good breakfast.
Good coffee.
The two don’t really go hand in hand.
So when your waiter asks if you’d like a coffee, and you answer yes, you’ll get black coffee before you have time to get all Melbourne on them and ask about where their almond milk is from and if they do a magic.
Black coffee is their staple. It’s filter (read brown watery water) and in my opinion it’s awesome.
But it’s not a long black.
New Yorker’s have also just discovered the flat white. This will amuse you for three of 15-minutes as you wait to order your coffee while the barista explains to the customer in front of you that essentially there’s not a meter of foam in their cup.
Erika’s Abbotsford Cafe LBSS.
So, where do you go to get a good coffee in New York? That’s still a question I’m trying to answer, and I still have plenty to explore, but from my last visit I’d happily recommend:
#1 Happy Bones. Kiwis who know what they’re doing, of course. www.happybonesnyc.com
And then in no particular order:
#2 Stumptown Brew Bar. Pretty. www.stumptowncoffee.com
Ground Patrol Support NYC
#3 Ground Patrol Support. Full. www.groundsupportcafe.com
#4 Sweatshop. Coffice. (That’s coffee + office for those of you playing at home.) sweatshop.nyc
#5 This blank space makes me think I should open a coffee window next.
Sweatshop NYC
But you know what goes well with coffee? Food. As far as breakfast goes in New York, things are changing (slowly). There’s less to pick from than Melbourne, but it just means you’ll be pickier:
#1 Russ & Daughters. Not breakfast. Is bagel. The best kind of bagel: stay classic with cream cheese and salmon. There’s also a caviar cream cheese that’s a goer. www.russanddaughters.com
#2 Five Leaves Heath Ledger’s place. The closest thing to a good feed. fiveleavesny.com
#3 Jack’s Wife Freda Get the ramen inspired breakfast + a bottomless cup of Joe. jackswifefreda.com
Jack’s Wife Freda NYC
#4 Egg Shop They do eggs in lots of ways. Make sure the fritters are on your list. www.eggshopnyc.com
#5 The Butcher’s Daughter So much trend. thebutchersdaughter.com
#6 St Balmain This is a great little hideout. Get the breakfast bowl with haloumi and avocado. stbalmain.com
Erika and the frank body team.
Bonus material because you didn’t ask me to write about it:
There’s juice stores everywhere. I like Juice Generation and Grass Roots in Brooklyn. www.grassrootsjuicerybk.com
Best pizza at Joes. http://www.joespizzanyc.com/
Cafe Gitane. Old school. Avocado is here and waiting you for. www.cafegitanenyc.com
Bluestone NYC
Bluestone Lane. You’ll think you’re still in Australia. So why did you leave? www.bluestonelaneny.com
Detour. If you’re heading to NY via LA, go to Alfred Coffee. Get the waffle cone with a latte in it. Thank me later. instagram.com/alfredcoffee/
To follow more of Erika’s adventure check out her Instagram or follow her many businesses:
www.willowandblake.com
www.lbss.com
www.frankbody.com
