Big Apple Sweets: Tra La La Juice Bar

Inside the Essex St. Market is one of my favorite places ever, hands down. Tra La La Juice Bar. This little juice stand and bakery is so much more... and, while googling around for links, I discovered that the owners, Ron and Ira, also run the adjacent Rainbo's Fish. I really wish I had known that before I moved from the neighborhood! I have not been there in a while, sadly, but I remember they also serve fish sandwiches, yum! (now it makes sense. I wondered why they had fish sandwiches, but that's because they own the fresh fish stand!) Either Ira or Ron (don't remember now) once told me that they have been there for over 20 years... don't quote me, but it was a long time... I think 26 years. Or 16. Well anyway, they have been around a long time!

A little bit about this special slice of heaven: not only do they make the BEST muffins on the planet (and yes I really mean that), they also sell desserts and other baked goods, fabulous specialty custom cakes, along with coffee, savory snacks, and fresh squeezed juices. So delish, and also, very inexpensive. And, very importantly, Ron and Ira are sooooo nice. Just really sweet and friendly, and they are always right there, mixing up a fresh batch of muffins right behind the counter. If you are lucky, you can get a muffin hot out of the oven. Just heavenly.

corny corn muffins, originally uploaded by jm3.

Now, let me just say that I am not really a "muffin person." Never really was into them, I much prefer cookies or cupcakes over muffins. Except for these. They taste more like quick bread than muffins--you know, banana bread, pumpkin bread, zucchini bread, etc. These muffins are so dense, delicious, flavorful and moist. And they come in so many different combinations, wow. I recommend trying several... so you can find your favorite! My favorite is the banana chocolate chip, laden with tons of chocolate chips and chunks of fresh banana. Holy cow, I mean, there is no skimping here, not on ingredients, freshness, quality... in fact, I don't think they are charging enough! I would happily pay double! These muffins are also huge, by the way.

Tra La La Juice Bar
Inside the Essex Market
120 Essex St., between Rivington and Delancey
New York City!

Tra La La is located right off the entrance closest to Rivington. Directions to the market here.

While I do browse online reviews when looking for a new place to eat, I also want to mention that I am not one to read Time Out NY or other local magazines in search of the "best" place to eat or newest hot spot. I tend to discover things either through recommendations from people I trust or just by stumbling upon things. I discovered Tra La La when my ex-boyfriend's Mom recommended the muffins to me, or maybe I tried one of hers... To us they are simply the "Muffin Guys." I like sharing these things because I think there are people like me who simply don't have the time or inclination to browse publications in search of yumminess. So I hope whenever you find yourself in nyc you will check out some of these places!

PS... I think they are closed on Sundays. Check the Essex Market website for hours. You can also find pics there of Tra La La and Ron and Ira, by clicking on numbers 34 and 7&8 in the merchant directory.

Big Apple Gardens: 6BC Botanical Garden

One of the most amazing things about the Alphabet City area of manhattan is the profusion of public gardens. When I say gardens, I don't mean parks. On almost every block, there is a plot of land, sometimes tiny, sometimes rather large, converted from an abandoned lot or plot of dirt into a lush green garden.

6BC botanical garden, originally uploaded by tiny banquet committee.

The most beautiful garden of these is the 6 BC Botanical Garden (a quick stroll from 9th St. Espresso), with gorgeous landscaping, a little waterfall, a tiny koi pond, a trellis, a patch of grass to spread a blanket on... and very importantly, it is dog friendly! (Not all gardens allow dogs)

My dog loves this garden, if we walked by when it was closed she would peer longingly through the gate. Once you enter this little oasis, you would never know you were in the middle of manhattan. It is the most magical place in the entire city.

You can get a taste of this lovely garden by browsing these pics in flickr. The 6BC Botanical Garden is on East 6th St. between Avenues B and C (as it's name implies). There are many wonderful gardens very nearby, and I will write more about them, too. But this is my favorite garden of all. There are all sorts of gardens, from shabby to slightly tacky to hippy... literally, there is one or more on every block. But this is one you just shouldn't miss!

Most of the city's gardens are closed during the winter, but during the summer they are open on weekends and have various hours throughout the week. If you are visiting the city, do yourself a favor, I promise you will be glad you did: Head east for an afternoon and walk around the area from 14th St. and Ave C, Ave B, Ave A south to Houston and C, B, A--criss cross the streets, explore up and down the avenues and streets. You are sure to discover an abundance of secret gardens. If it's wintertime, grab a hot cup at 9th St. Espresso, and wander around anyway, just to peer at the snow covered wonderousness (i don't think that's a word!) of these gardens.

There is an amazing history to all of these gardens, and I am by no means an expert. There is a wonderful article about some of the history of these gardens here, but the article is about 10 years old, so I do believe that the gardens are no longer in danger of being evicted. Yay!

9th Street Espresso

9th Street Espresso, originally uploaded by onesevenone.

Big Apple Coffee: 9th St. Espresso

So let's start with coffee. 9th St. Espresso. For three years I lived just a few blocks away from the very first 9th Street Espresso coffee shop, in alphabet city. Before I discovered for myself that this place actually does have amazing coffee, I started to get annoyed by the fact that everyone I met would tell me that 9th St. had the best coffee ever. "You live on 5th and C?'" they would say, "Do you go to 9th St. Espresso? They have the best {espresso/latte/etc} ever!" Yeah, okay, sure. I mean, everybody thinks "their" coffee place is the best ever. In fact, the more hype I heard about it, the more I wanted to avoid it.

Well, one evening I found myself working not far from the second 9th St. Espresso outpost, inside the Chelsea Market. One of my crew members ordered a latte there after our meal break. Of course, it was "the best ever." I was going to buy a coffee before heading back to work anyway, so why not try it, right? I went ahead and tried a sip. Holy cow. I ordered my own latte and went back to set and proceeded to tell everyone that I was drinking the best latte ever made.

The next couple of nights we were at the same location, we kept going back for lattes and cappuccinos. Sounds snobby, right? Well, I have to say, that does sound a little snobbish. But really, I'm not saying this to be a snob. It's just that for so long I missed out on some really great coffee just down the street, because I thought other people were being snobs! Needless to say, I started frequenting my local 9th St. Espresso on a regular basis. I'm thinking that super fresh and quality ingredients (coffee and milk, basically) and a world class espresso machine are what make this place so unique. I have had many coffees and lattes and cappuccinos all over town, and the best I've had have been from 9th St. They are about $4-$5 each, but isn't that what Starbucks beverages cost nowadays?

Now that I live way up in the Bronx, I miss 9th St. Espresso. Maybe they will read this and come open up shop across the street? A girl can dream, can't she?

For anyone in new york, visiting new york, or passing through, check it out. I know it looks intimidating (at least I think maybe that's why I was originally so hesitant to try it--you know, too cool east village coffee shop), but service is actually really friendly too! (And that's not something you take for granted 'round these parts...) My favorite is the latte, made with whole milk. Mmmm! Here's the info (by the way, they recently opened a third shop across Tompkins Sq Park, woo hoo):

http://www.ninthstreetespresso.com/
Alphabet City/East Village
700 East 9th St. (btwn ave C and D)

Tompkins Square/East Village
341 East 10th St. (btwn ave A and B)

West Village/Meatpacking
inside the Chelsea Market
75 Ninth Ave. ( btwn 15th and 16th St.)

Just Gettting Started...

I am new to this whole blogging thing, and I have been trying to figure out what to write about. I thought it might be fun to start a little series about some of my favorite places in new york city and the boroughs. I should give you fair warning that many of the places I write about will probably have to do with food... as in, places I like to eat. There will be other little new york gems sprinkled in, to be certain. But a great many of these posts will be about food. You've been warned.