Gems in the snow

Today New York City is digging its way out of 27 inches of snow. Not just any snow, mind you, but snow of the whipping, blinding Inner Mongolian variety, which I was dumb enough to be out witnessing at its zenith two nights ago. Luckily, a friend in the north Brooklyn neighborhood of Greenpoint took me in and nursed me back to a solid 98.6 degree body temperature.

And that's how I was able to spend the worst snowstorm in six decades in one of New York's sparsest, least-plowed and most charming neighborhoods.

We awoke on Monday morning to find the city buried, the trains paralyzed and most businesses shut down. (My place of employment - known fondly by those who traverse its echoey halls as the Death Star - was no exception; international peace and security be damned!) This led the more curious residents of our fair borough to lace up their boots and head out into the bright sunlight of the Snowpocalypse. Coffee was our first mission, but the venerable Cafe Grumpy, among others, was shuttered closed. Instead we stumbled into an amazing gem of a cafe, Cookie Road, nestled on Franklin between Noble and Oak Streets. Normally, I'm not a sweets girl, but these artful cookies are something truly special, and the cafe's grasshopper bars have been listed among New York's top cookies (no easy feat). The chatty hipster cafe girl also made me a lovely, warming Americano - I was sold.

Cookies from Cookie Road!

Fighting residual gusts and stepping carefully among the deep snowbanks, we rounded out the afternoon at the wonderful Word bookstore, a Greenpoint staple, and then at le Gamin for soup, wine and moules a la mariniere - a warming, only-kinda-decadent dinner.

Checking in with friends across the city confirmed that, to the last person, we were snuggled against the elements, munching hot food and watching movies in our skivvies. Following a pretty crappy holiday, what a beautiful, unexpected New York moment!

Moules, comme je vous aime.