Photograph: Mulberry Street, NYC, 1900s via Wikipedia, U.S. Public Domain Picture
New York was dubbed “the city that never sleeps.” One wonders if coffee consumption could have a just a little bit to do with that?
“Coffee’s power changes over time. [Italian composer Gioacchino] Rossini has personally experienced some of these effects as, of course, have I. ‘Coffee,’ Rossini told me, ‘is an affair of fifteen or twenty days; just the right amount of time, fortunately, to write an opera.’ This is true. But the length of time during which one can enjoy the benefits of coffee can be extended.”
Honore de Balzac, “The Pleasures and Pains of Coffee”
“Chock full-o Nuts is the heavenly coffee, better coffee a millionaire’s money can’t buy.” Old advertising jingle.
With the occasional exception of Starbuck’s, I’d probably opt for tea before I’d touch anything but Peet’s.I’m old enough to remember though when Chock full-o Nuts was the number one coffee in New York City and a cup a’joe – the old-fashioned six ounce cup – was thirty-five cents, no charge for a refill. I remember my parents complaining about that because they remembered when a cup of coffee was a dime.
I could see my mother and father, if they were still around, being frustrated with today’s cafes and their complicated sizing and selection. I can just hear my mom saying in frustration, “Just give me a cup of coffee.” For my parents it was a good American cup in the morning and a Lebanese Coffee or Espresso for a three-o’clock pick-me-up or after a meal. For my father, there might be a little ouzo in it . . . or perhaps more than a little. Ultimately, he’d pay for too much unbuffered coffee and alcohol and would have to follow his drinks with leban (yogurt) mixed with crushed garlic, a Turkish peasant -cure for ulcers and reflux. There wasn’t any Prilosec back then, and now there are few coffee purists like my parents left. I’m certainly no longer a purist. and even Chock full-o Nuts offers fancy coffee-drink recipes. Here’s one from their site for an Iced Vanilla Latte:
- 1 cup Chock full o’Nuts New York Classics SoHo Morning Roast coffee brewed
- 1 cup chilled skim milk
- 1 tablespoon nondairy whipped topping
- Pinch of ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Combine vanilla and milk with coffee. Pour the mixture over ice, and top with whipped topping and a pinch of ground cinnamon. Serves 2.
Year: 2009. Is there any major city that sleeps?
