Here are just a few instances detected on my random walks. Most of them took place at the height of the pandemic and immediately become hotspots in town.
Photos are not included for Levain Bakery, a “precious” New York brand, and its famously extravagant cookies draw a long waiting line in Georgetown. And Mercy Me, a ‘Sorta South American’ café, right across Tatte in West End, whose outdoor seats are always occupied.
Tatte Bakery and Cafe in West End. Tatte shops are founded by Tzurit Or, who began selling her baked goods at farmers markets in Boston before Tatte shops spread across the city.
For Five Coffee Roasters in downtown. Two friends, Stefanos Vouvoudakis and Tom Tsiplakos, from Queens, started For Five in New York. They had sold roasted beans before opening their first café in Manhattan’s Time Square.
Immigrant Food (opened last November) just a quarter block from the White House, featuring international blend of food: diverse, nourishing, and welcoming. It is run truly by foreigners, the award-winning Chef Enrique (born in Caracas, Venezuela) and co-founder Peter (born in Rome, Italy), who attempt to unite Americans at the table. A good idea, indeed. Eating and drinking – the very basic level of human needs – have never ceased appealing to us, in both good and bad times. Additionally, new microbial studies have revealed a critical role of the stomach and intestines in affecting not only our health but also the mind and behavior; the gut is now crowned as our “little brain.”
