Updated: Bibble & Sip

Midtown New York coffee is pretty much the worst. You have your choice of Starbucks, Pret, Dunkin', Cosi, and on and on.

I did, however, stumble across Bibble & Sip for a test run. Beautiful (in an otherwise ugly part of town) space that flows. What does this mean? Folks know exactly where to stand in line, grab coffee, pour milk, sit down without it ever seeming crowded.

Photo courtesy of Arthur C.

They have Counter Culture coffee, based out of Durham, NC, and $3 for a drip ain't so bad for specialty coffee.

Now, what BLEW ME AWAY were the pastries. They should wholesale 'cause the goods are bomb!

I have loved Earl Grey tea since I was a little girl. My mom made tea for me every morning English-style with milk and sugar. Sufficed to say, I will try almost anything with Earl Grey in the name. The spiced pear scone with Earl Grey glaze is nothing short of exceptional. You taste the spice amid the soft, biscuit-like interior as it perfectly crumbles in big chunks. BS also has a jalapeno-cheddar scone, which I enjoyed, but overall gets mixed reviews (due to the sweet glaze and sometimes lacks decent amounts of the jalapeno-cheddar combo). That said, the Earl Grey is almost undetectable in the pastries, but that obviously doesn't hurt. The savory kouign amann was bleeding butter. Too much, in fact. Soft in some spots, hard in others and needs work.

Photo courtesy of Yelp

Once ordered the chocolate chip cookie and gawked at the $4.23 price tag saying to myself, 'This better be the best damn cookie ever' and.....it was. Fat, soft, full of chocolate chunks and not overly sweet.

I haven't had the chance to try the Earl Grey panna cotta or banana bread with EG glaze, but plan to very soon. For all you egg eaters out there, there are some seriously unique breakfast sandwiches with the likes of basil infused English Muffins.

Update: After a long bike ride, I popped in BS and tried the jasmine pear tart and Earl Grey cream puff. Again, just a faint detection of bergamont, but the choux itself texturally was nice with it's crispy top. Just get the tart. It's tasty and fresh as hell.

www.bibbleandsip.com

Arthur Avenue...original or Little Italy redux?

Two days spent along Arthur Avenue...
Vibe: definite appeal, less tourists than Little Italy

Palombo Pastry - where the real Italians go to sip espresso



Assorted pastries
Cosenza's - freshly shucked on the street


$1 clams (opt for littleneck clams; cherrystones too big and chewy) $2.50 oysters


Full Moon - chalk full of Fordham co-eds; exceptionally good calzone, but forgettable pizza

Rigelotto's - Neapolitan style restaurant with cheesy murals painted everywhere, but surprisingly good food that tasted better the day after

Bruschetta

Eggplant Parmigiana

Chicken Scarpariello (chicken with Italian sausages)

Pasta Carbonnara


Fresh breads

Cheese mongers

The butcher

Pastry shoppe

A Fork in the Road: Huckleberry (Los Angeles, CA)

One of the best breakfasts I've ever come across is at Huckleberry in Santa Monica. The vibe feels pretty typical of a Southern California establishment: large, raw space with natural sunlight, people just finished working out and healthy, fresh food. While standing in line waiting to order, the breads, pastries and desserts looked the quality of a Parisian patisserie.

Erin told me I HAD to order the poached eggs with market vegetables, but because I'm used to ordering much heavier, I chose sunny side up eggs on rustic bread with Niman Ranch bacon, gruyere and crispy arugula. Once the yolk bleeds down the face, the colors become a striking blend against the green, white and brown. This tasted almost as good as Thomas Keller's BLT Fried Egg Sandwich looked in the movie, Spanglish.

As tasty as the sandwich was, I wish I had ordered the poached eggs and vegetables. A tip of the hat to Josh & Zoe Loeb! The combination of corn, snap peas, orange cherry tomatoes topped with pesto and breadcrumbs is exceptional! This wasn't a protein and vegetable that I thought would work well, but happy I was proved wrong. Sometimes simple just works.

I can count on one hand how many times I've had dessert at 8am, but this chocolate pudding was heavenly. The texture was velvety with a touch of cocoa and dollop of unsweetened whipped cream.

It's safe to say Huckleberry is there to stay...and I will be returning every chance I get.

Huckleberry 1014 Wilshire Boulevard Santa Monica, CA (310) 451-2311