The Grey Dog: New York, New York

It was Parent Weekend here at Hofstra, this meaning free dinner: ate elsewhere; free concert: didn't go; free brunch: slept late and called it lunch. I did, however, participate in the Parent part of Parent Weekend. This being said, my parents and I decided to make our own agenda. We headed into the city, East Village to be exact. We found ourselves at the Grey Dog. With three locations you have no excuse but to have a cappuccino, an espresso, a beer, or an I-am-skinny-and-pretty-in-order-to-make-your-self-esteem-go-down water to complement your meal.

The wide framed double doors were left open during our Saturday night Grey Dog experience, raising the appeal quite a bit. The Grey Dog is a good kind of claustrophobic --the sitting-upon-strangers-fighting-for-a-table-most-intimate-meal-you’ve-had-with-family kind of claustrophobic. The walls are mostly exposed brick which I have previously expressed my love for. I’m convinced that the workers all paint in their free time and drink special concoctions that make you sweet, funny and rather attractive. If any of you guys are available, call me. Area code (I’m); Number (totally but not really) Extension (kidding).

The food is food that makes you that perfect amount of full. Where you stand up at a normal rate, not the “All you can eat” restaurant stand where you cautiously grip the table with one hand the other on your chair, moaning all the while as your legs hold the newly added weight. When you order, you give your name thus leading to a special moment of hearing your name yelled throughout the restaurant until you promptly alert the employee that those dishes are yours. And with how the food looks, trust me it will be promptly. I had an Arugula salad with Avocado and Chicken. It was meant to get Salmon but I’m a diva, so what are ya gonna do. My mom had the #1 (in order to figure out exactly what that is you will have to give yourself the pleasure of heading to Grey Dog). Lucky enough for my mom she was able to get that on gluten free bread. (Insert cheers from my mother) All the while, my dad ravishing over his portobello mushroom sandwich. Topped off by a cheese board to be shared among the three of us, we left very happy people.

If you like good food, an artsy atmosphere and an overall quality experience then make sure to head to University Place, West 16th Street or Mulberry Street in Manhattan to get your fix of Grey Dog. Warning: you may and will most likely become addicted, so much so you will want to become a regular thus leading to you ultimately moving to NYC. So thank you Grey Dog, for the over populated city that we all love so dearly.

The Shoppes at 301: Lancaster, PA

The Shoppes at 301 North Queen located on the corner of Queen Street and Walnut Street in Lancaster City is not like the cafes surrounding it. With a flare of Southern France and a hint of NYC hysteria, Café at 301 is not just a café, it’s an experience.                 

As soon as you enter you are surrounded by a mix of French class and Southern hospitality. The tablecloths are mix-matched ranging from chicken to flower print. This isn't the café for sitting with just drinks. If you feel the need for that though, you can claim a seat up at the coffee bar. The conversation travels throughout the café, led by the owner herself. Personable, the owner mingles among the customers speaking of café inspirations, the quaint nature of Lancaster and NYC. I spoke of all three with her but lingered longer on the latter. 

The food is “this-looks-like-you-can’t-afford-it-but-surprise-its-actually-quite-reasonable” kind of food. The portions are French style, meaning they are sized like they should be—not the American way. My dad had a PBJ with bacon. Yes, you heard me right. As you can presume there was not a crumb left on the plate. After eating my “almost-too-pretty-to-eat” meal, I was the perfect amount of full. That is until I went home and ate Nutella straight out of the jar but that’s simply the American way. Your lattes and cappuccinos are there for the picking but the salads, open faced sandwiches, cheese and olive assortments, pastries, desserts, etc., are what make the café into something truly special. If you have a spare moment and are in the mood for a delicious meal only paused for fascinating conversation then you should try out The Shoppes at 301 North Queen.

Gregory's Coffee: New York, New York

There is a difference between being IN New York and BEING in New York. I prefer the latter. Times Square is great, Rockefeller Plaza is grand, but what’s wonderful and fascinating are the local hotspots. I don’t know about you, but I’m past getting asked if I want to go to a comedy show in Times Square, going into the NBC store and commenting on the same collection of Office mugs and T-shirts, and having to change my entire route because of the potentially pedophilic man dressed up like Elmo dead ahead. I’m ready for the local spots. Spots like Gregory’s Coffee. With five locations throughout New York City, you are promised your fix of coffee no matter where you are.

                As I stepped off of Avenues of the Americas and into Gregory’s Coffee, I was instantly transported. The tourists become engulfed by the ritzy buildings that cause that God-knows-we-don’t-got-none-o’-them-there-kind-of-things-in-our-small-towns distraction. What they don’t realize is just how much of New York they are missing as they stare simply at the skyline.

Gregory's Coffee Logo

                There was a small line in front of me, nothing compared to most NYC lines, as I decided what I wanted to try. Cappuccinos, espresso, croissants, muffins, tea and what I personally enjoyed, a dirty chai. I think 90% of the reason I ordered it was because I enjoy saying the words dirty chai in public and feeling accepted. I’m still working on getting my voice to a level of sultry that this drink order demands, but that will come with time, I suppose.

                Mocha colored walls match the color of the drinks (unless of course you are using unheard of amounts of creamer, which if so I advise you to try tea, you’ll save yourself about 5,000 calories). The decoration is quite modern with clean lines, wooden tables and tall chairs. My feet dangle from the chair as I stare out at the taxis, people, and trash that seem to fly past the floor to ceiling windows. The serenity of Gregory’s café offers a polar opposite to the busyness that lies just beyond that window. The workers chatting coffee, “Gregulars” scattered around utilizing the free Wifi, and me attempting to get my brother to engage in conversation instead of texting his girlfriend, causes for one of my favorite café feels.

                So I suggest all you New Yorkers, “gregulate” your schedule to include time for a sip at Gregory’s Coffee. I promise you’ll have a “greg” time. Ok, the puns are done. So get your cup and your Gregulars’ card at Gregory’s Coffee where "they see coffee differently." 

Cafe One Eight: Lancaster, PA

Cute. It’s used too often, like “that child is so cute.” Well, no because he is crying and throwing food at people but sure if you wanna say cute that’s fine. Or “that dog is so cute,” well it’s about to bite you, but if you think bleeding is cute then by all means call it cute. To describe the café in Lancaster city, Café One Eight, the word cute, with its true meaning, is very fitting. City chic meets cute. With exposed brick walls, hanging basket seats, and a chalkboard painted wall where the specials are written, it’s cute.

I’m a sucker for exposed brick walls. I swear I spent about twenty minutes gushing about the brick walls and the paintings hanging from them. My friend was most likely planning her exit during my impromptu lecture on why I love brick walls. Chalkboard paint added an earthy feel. It was their very own handwriting lining the walls. The handwriting was of course perfect, since the café as a whole is just that, perfect.

                All the employees, on the day that I visited, were Plain Mennonite causing me to feel a bit sinful for wearing pants but I’ll repent later. Yes, it has the coffee drinks that everyone so desires, but it also has a full menu of food selections. I personally chose a Santa Fe Chicken Salad. To. Die. For. After consuming that salad the thought did cross my mind of attempting to work there. That salad was so good I would easily and happily start wearing a long jean skirt and head covering. I am from Lancaster afterall, and have more than my fair share of Mennonite blood running through my veins.  

My beautiful friend Erin 

                My best friend, Erin, and I sat towards the front of the café where floor to ceiling windows allow for the perfect people watching. A construction worker, a mom with a Duggar Family amount of children, the scenery outside is quite eclectic but inside the mix of people seem to be business waiting to get take out, mom’s meeting up for a get-me-out-of-the-house kind of lunch, and people like my friend and I who had a we-see-each-other-everyday-but-we-act-like-its-been-years kind of lunch.

                If you have a chance and want to be embraced by the true definition of cuteness and their amazing mission statement, then head on down to Orange Street for a bite to eat at Café One Eight. 

Ocean City Coffee Company; Ocean City, New Jersey

                Vacationing doesn’t mean a break from coffee, unless of course you WANT to see the ugly side of your family. You all know what side I’m talking about. That side where crow’s feet appear more prevenatly, to the point that you don’t recognize your mother as she mutters some speech about the good old days. Mini-golf trips turn into who can beat the other person with the club the hardest, picking the perfect place on the beach to set up becomes an hour long event and so on. That is beside the point. If you are lucky enough to find yourself in the quaint town, Ocean City, New Jersey then you may find yourself searching for a café to quench your coffee thirst. Ocean City Coffee Company in New Jersey; the opportune place for vacationers to grab their java. 

                With no door, you simply meander in right off from the boardwalk, still clinging to the sea licked air as you order your coffee. This café doesn’t distract you with sandwiches, salads etc. they have their coffee, cappuccino’s, lattes, chai, tea, muffins and a few other small snacks but for this café it’s all about getting the customer their Fix. While many of the stores as well as condos at the beach focus their interior design on that seashells-plastered-on-the-walls-this-is-the-beach-so-enjoy-the-fish-wallpaper feel,  The Coffee Company doesn’t. Their interior is a bit rustic. Your path as you enter is lined on either side with full bags of coffee beans which they roast in shop to your left. Mahogany shelving lines the right wall, displaying mugs, coffee beans the whole lot, not too much to distract but enough to catch the eye.

                With no seating, you grab your coffee and go. A coffee drive through, so to speak.  This avoids frustrated moments of searching for a table, old men in the corner waiting for girls in bikinis, and small children screaming for the 9,323 time that they want a milkshake. Well send the kids to Kelis’s yard to get that milkshake because you don’t want to miss your daily stop at Ocean City's Coffee Company. 

The Springerle House: Strasburg, PA

          The Springerle House. A Springerle is a German biscuit…or so Wikipedia tells me. This barely-large-enough-to-fit-five-people café sits in the main square of Strasburg, PA. A few tables sit outside, while the main seating composed of mixed matched chairs and tables lay inside. Upon entering the café, the red walls automatically fill you with an overly warm feeling. I once heard that red walls make you subconsciously eat more. I don’t know if that’s really true, but God bless ‘em if it is.

I walked in to find a couple of older couples scattered about, a few bubbly employees waiting on my order, and cookies hanging on the wall. Yes, cookies on the wall. The dessert case, as well as the wall, was full of these German cookies, Springerles. These cookies are known for the intricate designs found on each cookie’s face. From cityscapes to designs of utter nothingness, aka modern art, these cookies held every picture ever painted.

I personally am a strong believer of the policy, “No Cookie left behind.” Hanging cookies on the wall slightly ruptures this policy’s rule, but I suppose I will let it slide. As I approached the counter to order, I spotted shelving right next to the register that held every loose leaf tea you could imagine. I then became “that costumer,” taking a longer time to order than it takes to drink the tea.  The cups were clear glass we “Springerle-like designs on the outside”, giving me the feeling that I had entered Narnia, where I could have all the Hot Chocolate and Turkish Delight my heart desires. I desire a lot.

The hum of the espresso machine was just enough to keep the conversations of everyone in the café private. I personally found contentment in my Cinnamon tea and cookies, from the display case, not the wall, but I watched others around me have smoothies, sandwiches—typical café food. I don’t know if I was transported to Germany where the cookies prefer to be on the wall rather than my mouth, or Narnia where we drink from clear mugs, but I do know that I felt outside of little, old Strasburg. The tourist-filled sidewalks and the insides of the Springerle House are two different places, two different ambiances, two different worlds. So go get your cookies from the Springerle House, before they hang them on the walls. 

Rachel’s Café and Creperie: Lancaster, PA

           If I had the money to go to France, I would, but I don’t. I have negative money, the story of every college student. Although my numbers are in the red I still seem to manage to splurge on chai, cafes and clothes. Sad but true. Feeling a little French, despite the fact that I look hideous in a beret, I met my dad for lunch at the infamous Rachel’s Café and Creperie.

From the curb, the café looks simple, lined with awnings of black and white stripes, but as you step through the glass door, for no money at all you can head to France for a little while. Greeting you, right beyond the door, stands a headless mannequin dressed in some sort of easy, breezy, beautiful--Rachel’s attire. Photographs line the walls, each with remnants of the Eiffel tower, or something to that effect. I, being someone who desperately wants to be well traveled, finds it amusing to look at the photographs, even dramatically pointing at some of them, leaning over to my father loudly muttering of how I was on that street. Oui, oui. Only French words I know. I’ve never been to France.  

After you obtain a seat in either one of the two rooms, you’re in for a “traiter.” That’s treat in French, thank you Google translate. From Cheeseburger Crepes, Greek Crepes, Thai Crepes, to what I believe to be created by God himself, Nutella Crepes, they’ve got it all. God bless the man who thought to create Nutella. This is literally a marriage proposal to that man, or an invitation to simply cook for me, either one will suffice. Eating is my specialty. (Insert winky face.)

My dad and I cleared our plates of a Greek and a Breakfast crepe within minutes of their arrival. Next we felt the need to indulge in one of the Nutella crepes I so greatly praised in the paragraph above. It was simply splendid. So splendid, it ended up not only in my mouth but on my dress as well. It becomes a dog eat dog world when you place one singular Nutella crepe in front of my father and me.  After my dad finished his last swig of Boylan Cane Cola, because Rachel’s is just too hipster to have Coke beverages, we were off. Goodbye France, hello Lancaster City.