A Day in Manhattan...crosstown journey

From Bottom to Top: Cowgirl Hall of Fame window display - Welcome to Appalasia!; Organic slice sign; Hudson Flowers window display; Hudson News' floral offerings; Playground lion; Hudson Deli's floral offerings - I am SOOOOO dying for Spring; Jackson Square - fountain and admonishment NOT to feed birds and squirrels (which really means rats); West Village garbage; Fire hose attachments; Great light fixture #1; Great sign; Great light fixture #2; Who is Aunt Butchie - I've lived in BK my entire time here and have no clue; Scary feather display; The Senton Hotel - NYC's gay No Tell Motel; Scary wig display; Building detail; Tesla Building plaque; Odd glove display; Bouquest a week club?; Boriqua City; Barber sign; Empire State Building; Tacky souvenir shop; 153 Madison; Remsen Building; Madison Baptist Church; First Moravian Church; Curry Hill and Curry in a Hurry; Reconstructed sign; Frog cupcakes; Irish Sausage & Bacon; Asian hotel sign; The Hairy Monk; Last of the great pawn shops in NYC; Industrial design; Third Avenue L Station; Tanner the commuter.

Cafe Beltran - THE new place to get Coffee in East Williamsburg

Every morning I get up and do the same thing - I walk Tanner and get some coffee. Despite the many options in my neighborhood, I've just not been pleased. Boneshakers is too far away, Cho's Variety is attitude central with terrible coffee, so I've had to resort to, ugh, Dunkin Donuts. Now all that has changed.

During the summer I noticed work going on in a storefront on Woodpoint at Withers Street, which I think used to be a t-shirt shop. About the time Fall rolled around, the placed opened as a coffee shop. I stopped in and had a great cup, and was NOT accosted for bringing Tanner in. The problem was...the place was never open, or only open at weird times and not regularly.

Now all that has changed! Cafe Beltran has reopened its doors seven days a week and is serving up some great coffee, mexican hot chocolate and other baked goods, like the amazing guava puff I had this morning. I found out from Uber Coffee Lady Sharita that the beans they use come from the owner's family's plantation in the Dominican Republic, and will soon be for sale to take home. The name comes from the owner's grandfather, merengue singer Alberto Beltran, and the owner grew up in and still lives in the neighborhood.

Give this tiny place a chance. The staff is all super nice, the coffee great, the baked goods amazing, and keep a Brooklyn-born business up and running. Cafe Beltran is at 138A Woodpoint, at Withers Street. They have free wi-fi, and there's something quiet and very sweet about this place...let's keep it open!