#55 – THE SUMMER ROAD at THE RANDOLPH AT BROOME

Once again Time Out New York released their Top 100 Dishes of the year and once again, I’m going to eat my way through every one. And no price point or subway delay will stop me. In no particular order, here’s my take on their Top 100.

Last summer I took a road trip through much of the South and of course all my road trips revolve mostly around food and drink. I’m always looking for unique and authentic dishes all across the country. But I was surprised at the many artistic communities in urban areas like Nashville and Richmond that produce more than just regional specialties. Some of these innovative restaurants would not be out of place in New York (although they would have to jack up their prices).

One example of those was a little coffee shop near downtown Nashville called Crema. We stumbled into this place to taste their espresso, but were greeted with unique coffee concoctions containing things like cardamom, orange peel, and lavender. I’m not a huge coffee drinker, but these were by far the best coffee drinks I’d ever tasted. Starbucks frappucinos are just embarrassing next to these well-thought out and composed elixirs.

And I was amazed that a speciality coffee house like this didn’t exist in New York. Sure, we have Stumptown and Cafe Grumpy with their fancy pourovers and special coffee blends from somewhere in the middle of the world. But I had never encountered a coffee mixologist like those geniuses in Nashville.

Until now (picture an unembodied voice saying that dramatically)! I’m shocked I had never heard of or noticed The Randolph before the Sunday morning we decided to get the Summer Road, another quaffable list item. This place is on the outskirts of Nolita on a semi-desolate block on Broome Street. I guess it would be really easy to walk by it without noticing (it’s amazing how we do that so often in this city). Turns out they’re a coffee bar by day and a cocktail bar by night.

It might have been the strange experience of sitting in a bar during the daylight hours, but I no longer felt like I was in New York. We must have been somewhere in the Pacific Northwest where hipsters are more relaxed, the sun shines through, and coffee is a building block for something unexpected. The only thing truly New York here were the prices. My coffee drink was $7.

So the Summer Road is one of those interesting concoctions. It was a blend of their current bean selection (I got Counter Culture), malted milk powder, and oaxacan chocolate. Time Out suggested trying it over monster Kold Draft ice cubes so it came to me in a pint glass looking like a beautiful coffee malted.

I mentioned before that I’m not a big coffee drinker, but this was a little too easy to drink. I sucked it down like I was a kid with a milk shake. There was a sweet, creaminess from the malted powder and a touch of heat from the spicy chocolate. The entire coffee-tail (I just made that word up, you know) was perfectly balanced with the roasty, bitter notes from the coffee. It was a really well-rounded drink that was the perfect line between morning coffee and mid-day dessert.

If their cocktails are this inspired and tasty, I may have to return after the sun goes down. And now I know I don’t have to travel to Nashville to get my unique coffee experience. But I might anyway. That place was good.

Would The Randolph at Broome’s Summer Road make my Top 100 of the year? 8 out of 10 since I’ve never tasted a coffee drink with so much character and complexity in this city.  Can’t wait to try more of their pricey, but worthy offerings.