Wikipages Blog

I love this weather! Everything is warm and sunny, just in time for Earth Day last weekend.

To celebrate the holiday, Ben and I tried to spend as much time outside as possible. Saturday night, we went for a drink and a bite before a late night sing-along screening of Buffy the Musical. We decided on Caffe Reggio in the West Village. A nice tiny spot with outdoor seating that makes for good people watching. The cappuccinos and chocolate mousse were very tasty. Although the bathroom left a bit to be desired! The caffeine and sugar gave us the needed boost to fully participate in the midnight Buffy showing.

On Sunday, we went up to Central Park. We took the train to 86th and made our way through the park, seeing all my favorite sites along the way: Belvedere Castle, The Shakespeare Gardens, the Angel Fountain. Walked all the way through to 59th and 5th, where we can catch our train.

A truly great way to celebrate Earth Day!

Astoria is an awesome neighborhood to live in. I love just walking through the streets and finding new places to go. Just a couple weeks ago, Ben and I discovered this little gem: The Waltz-Astoria.

A wine bar/ coffeehouse, the Waltz-Astoria is chilled out place with an artsy vibe. It reminds me of the coffeeshops I used to frequent in the 90’s, when Starbucks was the new thing. My nostalgia for those places made this one feel familiar and friendly.

With outdoor seating, a wide beverage selection, and a cosy interior, this cafe is a great hangout. The interior has a piano, shelves of books, and paintings by a local artist. It’s perfect for Ben and I, since we’re more and more often in the mood for a quiet evening. Plus, he doesn’t drink and I really do, so the cafe has something for us both!

The cafe hosts many different events. We went there on “Board Game Night”, where they have many available games to play. We settled down to some drinks (a flavored coffee for Ben and a nice red wine for me) and a game of scrabble. Ben beat me, unfortunately. It was a wonderful way to spend a peaceful evening, just steps away from our home.

I ventured out into Brooklyn last weekend, a rare event since, as an Astorian, it’s quite a trek on the subway. We went to a place in Park Slope called the Cocoa Bar. The bar serves a wide selection of chocolates, coffees, and wine. They even included “Ice Wine” on the menu, which is utterly delicious. I hadn’t even seen ice wine anywhere since sampling it at a wine tasting in Germany. One taste. And I have longed for it since. Happily, the two (rather expensive) glasses of it were just as wonderful as I remembered.

Unfortunately, I could not taste the many chocolates they served since they “may contain traces of nuts”. So nut allergy-sufferers like myself beware. But I looked at them. Longingly. The white chocolate genache. The chocolate mousse cake. The dark chocolate truffles! I almost decided to tempt death and sample one, but my friends persuaded me that my life was not worth a taste of chocolate. Though with really good chocolate, I’m not too sure…

The Cocoa Bar has a decent deal of one glass of wine with two chocolate bonbons for $11. Not bad. The entrance area is a bit too bright and day-ish, but there’s a cosy room in the back and a lovely courtyard area. The bar was started by some young folk, so it’s worth the slight priciness to help those small business owners out. All in all, worth the journey into Brooklyn. Especially since a friend drove us home.