Last month I made my first trip back home to the States since moving to the UK. Technically, I was on a business trip: I was scheduled to attend the annual Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo, being held in Nashville, Tennessee. But over the course of two weeks, I also got to spend time with family and visit some of my favorite spots in Brooklyn, Manhattan, the North Fork of Long Island, and even Darien, Connecticut. Finally, the most rewarding hours of my trip came on my very last day, when I had the honor and privilege to assist with just one of 13 P.ink Day mastectomy tattooing events being held simultaneously across North America.
 | I bookended my time in the Eastern US with two trips to the North Fork, which is Long Island Wine Country but also farm country and sailing town, and is like a second home to me. One of my first stops was North Fork Roasting Co. (55795 Main Road, Southold) where owners Jennilee and Jess have made my dreams come true, bringing third wave coffee to NoFo. This team is killing it, doing their own roasting and creating a cozy welcoming vibe. If I weren’t in London, I’d be tempted to keep this place a secret but since I’m gone… go and support these girls, will you?! |
Make yourself comfortable at NoFo Roasting Co.
What are some of my other can’t-miss spots in NoFo? Sherwood House Vineyards (1291 Main Road, Jamesport), where you’ll find some of my favorite folks on the North Fork and several cozy spaces, both indoor and outdoor, for getting your drink on…
Snag a seat by the fire at Sherwood House Vineyard in Jamesport, NY!
Sherwood House is decorated to be beautiful yet warm and inviting.
| …and Wickham’s Fruit Farm (28700 Main Road, Cutchogue), for warm cider donuts to go with the latte you just picked up from Jenn & Jess at NoFoRoastingCo. See, you’re a local already! |  |
Back in Manhattan, I was still pretty much just checking off all my favorite espresso shops as the only things I miss from home (besides family & friends, of course) are all food and drink related! A morning in Midtown just isn’t complete without a stop at Culture Espresso (72 W. 38th St), where they “partner with one coffee roaster at a time” and really do take great care in selecting the best and most interesting among farmers and roasters to work with. And when I get a hankering for coffee #2 of the day, there’s nothing like a Café Grumpy (224 W. 20th St) latte to make me smile. I discovered Grumpy in my hometown of Brooklyn, where they got their start, but they have several locations and the one in Chelsea is such a peaceful little hidden gem.
Craving their food for months, I ate at Dig Inn Seasonal Market (11 locations throughout Manhattan) on more than one occasion during my time in NYC. Their website says it all: “We believe everyone deserves to eat well, even on a budget. So we’re democratizing the farm-to-table movement by offering ridiculously good food at a reasonable price.” Their local, seasonal, ingredients are insanely good and a small veggie plate (no meat) is only about 6 bucks (USD).
Kale salad, sweet potatoes and mac at one of many Dig Inn locations in NYC.
If you ever find yourself in Darien, CT (as I did, for work), make a beeline for Browne & Co. (865 Boston Post Road), a café-cum-boutique shop where you can pick up lunch and a gift for someone else (or yourself– wink, wink) all in one shopping trip. Salads, soups and sandwiches are made fresh every morning. The kitchen is happy to remove meat or cheese to make a salad vegetarian or vegan. Simple ingredients come together in the most interesting and satisfying flavor combinations. This place is also a bakery and catering company. But the best part is walking through the beautifully curated space at the front end of the shop, lunch in hand, and discovering a new bracelet for yourself or a baby gift for a friend (yes, I snagged both of those on this visit!).
One of my favorite salads from Browne & Co. in Darien, CT.
I started every morning in Nashville at Bongo Java (250 Fifth Avenue South; several locations) in the Omni Hotel, not because their organic, fair-trade coffee is good (though it is) but because they totally got me hooked on the creamy, delicious Tennessee Real Milk they were using in their lattes. The G&G Family Dairy (5766 Highland Road, Orlinda, TN) website explains that they don’t use a centrifuge to separate out the fat from their milk, resulting in a “smoother, fuller taste and texture than the traditional 2% milk.”
The line was always out the door at Bongo Java at the Omni Hotel in Nashville.
On my second night in Nashville, I was treated to a surprise workout when a reception at the Wildhorse Saloon (120 2nd Avenue North) led to line dancing the night away. I was later told (by more than one Uber driver) that line dancing really isn’t a Nashville thing (and this is the only place in town where you can partake) but the “Southern food, live-music acts, multiple bars & free nightly dance lessons in a 3-story space,” make this spot a perfect place for good clean fun.
 Beignets at The Farm House in Nashville. | At The Farm House (210 Almond Street), Pimento Cheese Beignets with Harissa, washed down with local craft beers, were the perfect way to kick off the last night in town. Dinner was at Rolf and Daughters (700 Taylor Street), where sharing-style is the key to tasting as much as possible from the long list of inventive, mouth-watering New American dishes. |
A night out at Rolf & Daughters in Nashville.
Back home, the timing could not have been any better when the end of my trip coincided with the 3rd annual P.ink Day. Personal Ink is “a grassroots movement to connect breast cancer survivors with tattoo ideas and artists who can help them move on after a mastectomy.” The first P.ink Day was in one location (Saved Tattoo in Brooklyn, NY), featuring 10 artists and 10 survivors. In 2014 we expanded to 12 locations. This year, P.ink Day took place in 13 locations across North America, with 47 artists and 48 survivors. I had the privilege and pleasure of acting as Press Lead at the New York event, which took place at Twelve 28 Tattoo (801 Woodward Avenue, Ridgewood) in Queens. These mastectomy tattoo events are completely supported by volunteers (including the artists) and donors. One of our return donors this year was The V-Spot (56 5th Avenue, Brooklyn), a vegan Latin restaurant with locations in Park Slope and the East Village. The V-spot once again generously provided an empanada lunch (complete with curried quinoa salad and chips & salsa) that satisfied even our hard-core meat eaters.
Image credit: Lydia Perez DeJesus
