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Blue Goose Cafe
101 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10003
Phone: (212) 253-7848
Ever since I was a little boy, I wanted a coffee shop to call my own. You know, some place I was a regular at. Someplace I could go in and the people would be friendly, the food would be good, and they'd always be glad I came.
My first attempt at this was back in high school. I used to go to the local coffee shop in the outdoor mall with friends every day after work. But after two months of solid balls to the wall coffee drinking, nothing. Nada. Zip. They made best friends with my good friend Michele, and I was just the guy who hung out with her.
In college, I spent every waking hour at Collegetown Bagels. They were located in Collegetown, and sold bagels, in case that wasn't clear. I bought food and drink there at least twice a day. And yet... After four years, they didn't know who I was. I'd often smile at the cute alternative girl behind the counter, and then we'd make out a lot, but that was all in my mind. Even the smiling part. So sad. So true.
When I moved to New York, I resolved that I would find my place. I also resolved that my place would be within a one block radius of my work, because I'm incredibly lazy.
I believe I've finally found that place. It's the Blue Goose Cafe, one block away from me on Second Avenue. It inhabits the same spot as previous owners Cassie Molly & Peter's Cafe of Fun and Love (and before that, Michael & Zoe's: Same owners, less crazy name). But unlike those places, where the workers were mean, and hated me, and often spit in my coffee, the owners of Blue Goose Cafe seem to like me, provide me with fantastic food, and hardly ever spit in my coffee.
Every morning, I go into the Blue Goose and get an iced coffee with skim milk and two sugars. After the second time I was there, I didn't have to order any more. They asked me if I wanted my regular coffee. And I do! The coffee is a Blue Goose Blend, special to the restaurant, and it's rather good. Not too bitter, and always brewed nicely. They have a neat little trick of melting the sugar in a bit of hot coffee, to create a sugar syrup for the iced coffee. That's good old American know-how for you, and illuminates the extra steps the employees will go to for their customers.
I also have a muffin every morning, and here's where Blue Goose really shines. They buy baked goods from two of NYC's top bakeries: Tom Cat Bakery for the breads and muffins; Ceci-Cela for the pastries. The also buy from the overrated Payard Patisserie, but I haven't seen anything from there in a while.
The muffins are excellent. I usually get the apple cinnamon, which doesn't come in that annoying cup cake wrapper, and is filled with spicy cinnamon and deliciously moist apple chunks. Other choices include: blueberry; cranberry; bran; and the absolutely crumbly, buttery, delicious Coffee Cake muffin. I get that one sometimes as a special present to myself.
As for the pastries, they tie into the Comfort Food trend, which at this point has been around long enough to be called the Comfort Food mainstay. Ceci-Cela provides brownies, which are quite possibly the best I've ever tasted. They're closer to blocks of fudge, and leave sticky sweet chocolate on your hands. But they're scrumptious, and you can feel yourself dying a little every time you eat them. You can also pick up Chocolate Frosted Cupcakes, Rice Krispie Squares, and Pink Coconut Snowballs, but so far I've only been able to indulge in the brownie.
Okay, let's say you don't want just coffee and sweet, sweet brownies. Let's say you want something more substantial. Done! Blue Goose has a selection of breakfast, lunch, and dinner items, ranging from sandwiches, to salads, to cheese plates and charcuterie.
I've had the mozzarella and roasted red pepper sandwich on a few occasions, and its excellent. The mozzarella is fresh, the peppers tasty, and the whole thing not too oily, which is a surprising change from the gigantic piles of crap you can get at your local Au Bon Pain.
The bowl of olives is plentiful, and relatively cheap at $3. Two people can polish it off easily, and it would go nicely with the selection of wine available, if I had partaken of the wine. I didn't, but I'm just saying, if I had, it would have been pretty frickin' awesome.
The only qualm I might have with the Blue Goose is the slow service. It takes nigh on forever to even get a cup of coffee, and if you ask for a mocha or latte (both pretty good), you might as well call your assistant and have her cancel the rest of your appointments for the day. However, as I mentioned before, the service is wonderful. Grace and Jack Lamb, who also own the visually stunning, but not particularly vegetarian friendly, Jewel Bako down the block, are almost always around, and two of the friendliest people you'll ever meet.
Finally, I have a place to call my own. Makes me want to sing some sort of musical theater song about it. Why I... I... [Music kicks in] give this four gooses out of five! [Record scratch sound. Audience awkwardly claps.]
- Alexander Zalben
