![]() ![]() Sleek New Offering from an Old Ivy: Manhattanville Market Notable Noshes 1: Try to Remember.What I Ate in September Notable Noshes 2: A Tangia Tangent & the "Perfect" Croissant Taco Tuesday.Wednesday, Thursday, Friday y Demas! Portuguese Tarts at Last Chinese Bakery on the L.E.S. *If you’re paying by card, there is a $4.00 minimum so if you really only want to spend $2.00 at a Matto, bring cash. Only a “Matto” guy like him would walk ten or 14 miles across the city on sub zero days. They probably don’t have Matto outposts in the seamier sides of the outer boroughs, which he prefers, but if he’s cutting a path through Manhattan it wouldn’t be crazy to pop into a Matto for a cheap espresso and a wedge of coffee cake! Come to think of it, the medieval man in the Matto logo, striding against an urban backdrop with a bindle slung over his back, that could be my husband. He often likes to refuel with espresso on his long urban hikes but disdains places that give him espresso in a paper cup. I took note of the ceramic espresso and macchiato cups behind the gleaming espresso machine, and thought of my husband, the Chef. The cake was tasty, if a little dry, and I liked my foamy latte in its paper cup. Undaunted, and because everything is $2.00,* I tossed the offensive lasagne in their trash bin and bought a wedge of banana walnut cake. The counter woman saw me struggling and offered a few more bags to use as a plate, but the whole thing was inedible: bland, glutinous. They warmed it up for me and handed it to me in a paper bag. I asked for an interesting looking slice of “feta lasagne” in which feta was interleaved with phyllo dough. It’s a sliver of store with no place to sit and not even a counter on which to perch your elbow. There is a Matto on Columbus Avenue just below 86th. I haven’t heard back yet, but I went on a quick quality control reconnaissance mission. The Website did say, “Contact Us,” so I fired off an email enquiring how is it that they sell everything from lattes and profiteroles to California veggie burgers and cheescake in a cup for $2.00. Were there gangs or the mob behind the proliferation of this seeming Job Lot of espresso joints we wondered? Is the name a sly jab at New Yorkers who are crazy for paying $3.00 for espresso when it’s only €1 in Italy? Certainly, one could say Matto’s is a crazy way to do business in New York City on avenues where big name businesses are shuttered every day because of the colossal rents. To my knowledge there is The Fool, but not The Crazy One. How had I never ever seen this place? I had to Google the meaning of “Matto,” which is Italian for “Crazy,” and the logo on their bags and cups, which I saw on their insta, looks like a Tarot card. No proud “About us” and “our Italian roots” and no “Our team” or “Our story.” There was simply a link to their i nstagram and a list of 11 Matto locations in NYC, from 8th St. I went on the website, which made me even more suspicious. How can they offer lattes for $2.00 when everywhere else offers them for $4.00 and up? A wedge of cake for $2.00 when that same wedge of cake is $5.00 at Irving Farm or Fika or Joe? I had to find out. “There’s this place,” she told me, “Where EVERYTHING is $2.00.” “Everything?” I asked, incredulous, and Lydie, said, “Everything!,” and “They’re all around.” We mused over their business model. So of course it was my city walker and snack spotting friend Lydie who told me about the phenomenon of Matto. Anyway, if you can tell me what led you to this post, I’d love to know! ![]() Now paying $3.27 for an espresso is still cheaper than $4.00 but nothing to crow about, and for the flaccid looking baked goods, $3.27 doesn’t seem like such a bargain. The only thing it had going for it was the price point. I would love to know what is driving traffic to this post, admittedly one about a snack I think is very middle of the road. Since then it gets more hits than ANY SINGLE BLOG POST I’ve written since I started NYCSnackAttack. This post was originally published on January 2019. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |