Introduction

Nic and I are spending 2 months holidaying/working/studying in New York City. We both love this place, and especially the variety and quality of eating and drinking opportunities. We also both love food and coffee, and this is our attempt to capture our gastronomic experiences during this time.

From the high-end Michelin starred restaurants in midtown, to the cheap and amazing ethnic food in Queens, NYC has an incredibly diverse food culture, reflecting the waves of immigration during the 19th and 20th centuries. It is also reasonably cheap to eat out here, with competition keeping the prices honest, and a good USD/AUD exchange rate assisting our Aussie dollar buying power.  

We are based in the lower east side in Manhattan, which is a predominantly residential neighborhood full of bars, restaurants and cafes, and fairly central to all the NYC landmarks and tourist attractions. 

This is our apartment, located on the 6th floor of a new apartment building. It's actually quite roomy by NYC standards.

Our local cafe is Rosella, located about 100m away on Clinton St.

It's a brand new Aussie-run cafe (hence the name I suppose) and does great coffees in the mould of the best Melbourne cafes. And it even has a vertical garden!

Aussies are starting to influence the coffee scene in NYC, with a number of new Aussie-run cafes opening up and offering high quality coffee and a laid back atmosphere.

One of the biggest changes we have noticed in the 5 years since we first visited is the advancement of the coffee culture in the city. Back then, there were only a handful of places in the whole city to get a good coffee, but now it's so much easier to find one.

Although you still need to steer clear of the big chains like Starbucks and The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, unless you want a massive, weak and foamy latte...