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What I ate this weekend in NYC, work from home stats, smoothie collabs are cooked, and coffee alternatives.
GM everyone hope you all had a lovely weekend.
In Today’s Newsletter
Weekend NYC Dining Report
Where do you work?
How much coffee is too much coffee?
Functional beverage collabs are getting out of hand
Design Inspiration from my Cosmos Boards
What I Ate This Weekend
There are few things I love more in this world as much as eating at a restaurant, and as a person who loves great food and to be waited on, I eat at a lot of places here in New York.
And since some of you were interested last weekend, here’s what I ate this past weekend—
Friday 9:00pm: Drinks at Le Dive
You all know the beloved (sometimes reviled) Le Dive, which stands as a pillar of the Dimes Square community. I met friends here for some extra dirty vodka martinis. The scene was busy and thirsty as per usual, as people fight for the often coveted outdoor seats. I don’t mind just sitting at the bar… you get drinks faster that way.
Friday 10:00pm: Dinner at Bar Bete
A short 15 minute subway ride on the F took me to Carroll Gardens, the home of Ven. Space: New York’s best new menswear store, families, and one of my favorite French restaurants in the city: Bar Bete.
Bar Bete is a lovely little place that rewards all who make the trek. I order the duck fat potatoes, which come out incredibly crispy with a rich butter-based dip, the dijon infused little salad, the duck breast, tuna tartare toast (brightened by a lemon squeeze) and the yellow cake to finish, topped with a generous schmear of chocolate icing. If you haven’t tried it yet, it blows most French restaurants in Manhattan out of the water.
Saturday 10:00am: Bagels at Bagelsmith
After posting an extraordinary 10 mile run on a beautiful Saturday morning, I purposefully avoided the 30 person deep line at Leon Bagel’s and opted for the much simpler (and less crowded) Bagelsmith at the Bedford L. They are not incredible but do the job in a pinch. I am stoked for Apollo Bagels to open in Williamsburg soon.
Saturday 8:00pm: Dinner at Cafe Mogador
After shopping around and exploring the 1950s movie set remnants on Orchard St., I made my way to Cafe Mogador in Williamsburg for a plentiful helping of Humus and falafel. I get the chicken kebabs as a main course and had to finish with Baclava and espresso of course.
Sunday 10:00am: Smoothie at Juicery Kitchen
I’ve yet to find a Souen-dupe in Williamsburg (comment if you have a recommendation) but Juicery Kitchen has been doing the trick for me as of late. I like their no non-sense red and blue smoothie with raw protein, banana, strawberries, and blueberries.
Sunday 2:00pm: Sandwich at Court St. Grocers
The best sandwich in Williamsburg proper is Court Street Grocers. The small sandwich shop has 20+ options and even breakfast. My favorite lately has been the Ollie, featuring Turkey breast, broccoli rabe, mayo, and honey.
Sunday 3:00pm: Pastries at Sereneco
While shopping around Greenpoint, I stopped in Sereneco, a beautifully designed brunch spot to grab a cold brew and some pastries. This one had ricotta and prosciutto and was truly one of the best pastries I’ve had in my life.
Sunday 8:00pm: Tacos at Taqueria Ramirez
To end my weekend of culinary indulgence, I stopped by the best taco place in New York: Taqueria Ramirez. The small shop serves a variety of authentic tacos (no chicken sorry dorks) and I love the topping bar that allows you to load up on salsas, onions, cilantro, and limes. There’s usually a line on a weekend daytime, but at night you can glide through. The surrounding area is also beautiful and quiet.
Where Do You Work?
A worrying statistic has been floating around my X feed recently: people are not leaving the damn house.
The New York Times reports that the amount of time people spend at home, despite being on an upward climb for years, exploded post-pandemic and has stayed at extraordinarily elevated levels.
Since 2003, people are spending nearly 2 hours more at home each day.
Obviously work from home people (myself included) skew this statistic, and the jury is still out on if work from home is here to stay as it stands, with Amazon and many other large corporations forcing workers back to the office.
But spending all this time at home is arguably bad for our society and individuals, leading to under socialization and an epidemic of people who literally work from bed in their pajamas.
Some analysts have tried to link working from home with signs of increased physical and mental stress.
but at the end of the day, despite a lack of scientific evidence, I am just not sure if spending the entirety of your life inside (especially as a young person) is good for your mental health or career for that matter.
But as someone who works remotely, it can be a struggle to find a place to work. and others in the freelance world also find this struggle to be real.
The reality is most coffee shops suck to work at, the gym is too f*cking loud, and some membership clubs don’t want you pulling up with a laptop all day.
As I am trying to find the perfect place to work, one that provides socialization and structure, but also the freedom to come and go as I please in convenient locations: I want to know where you work.
I’ll be writing a story on this later in the week, so I’d appreciate your response and I’ll feature you.
Fill out the survey here or email jake@jb.studio and tell me where you work and why.
How Much Coffee is Too Much Coffee?
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