Cafe Crumbs: Vol 3
Thoughts on my first brand trip, hosting at an art gallery, launching (what feels like) an after school club, and the highest peak of my seasonal depression.
I am quite literally the spokesperson, and while I’m at it, highest earning salesperson from winning my friends over to embrace New York’s winter months, which are the best months of the year for so many reasons. Diving head first in personal projects. The great indoors. Warm French cuisine. Foggy windows. All of the things…the things I truly enjoy and romanticize at face value. But April and May are soulless, which is coming from an Aries that threw a silly over the top funfetti themed birthday party for herself.
While so many of you are thawing, I feel like these 50 degree, windy and gray days that we simply cannot seem to progress past are colder than any 20 degree day in February. I can also promise you I won’t open these newsletters with weather related small talk moving forward, I know we all get enough of that just interacting with corporate coworkers, taxi drivers, and fairweather friends, but I feel so strongly about my hatred for the temperature in the air this time of year.
But I did get an injection of sunshine and a very interesting opportunity to go on my very first ~brand trip this past week with Tate’s Bake Shop which put me in a completely different, non weather related headspace of pure gratitude and (healthy levels of) imposter syndrome. And truthfully I didn’t really realize the extent of imposter syndrome beyond the terminology I had to memorize for corporate onboarding quizzes in years past, but my god guys….talk about being in a room with some of the most talented people the food world has to offer. It was the most down to earth, yet motivating group of creators in the hosting, cheffing, and restaurant space and I’ve never been more grateful to have been included.
I feel like I’ve heard genuine horror stories from creator trips and I can attest that the Tate’s team genuinely worked their magic to make every single second feel like there was fairy dust sprinkled in it. From the the custom totes on our car seats on the way out to The Hamptons to the surprise novels gifted to each of us (thoughtfully based on our upcoming summer plans) on our way home back to the city- every detail sandwiched between their classic cookies and our packed itinerary was perfect.
We got to stay at Topping Rose House, (which has been on my list of dream hotels since I found out what “The Hamptons” was), tour and make cookies and treats at the OG Tate’s bakery in Southhampton, and drink espresso martinis with Tate’s cookies on the rim as we enjoyed dishes at Jean-Georges restaurant at our stunning hotel.
The company was delicious- I loved staying up late and yapping all the things nyc food scene with Nina, who runs thequeenfoodie and Keegan McManus who runs kdmkitchen (both of which I had been huge fans of prior to the trip), and finally meeting Terrence Gutiérrez who is my favorite baker here on Substack IRL :,)
And now, in completely other news….
Crumbs Card Winner of the Week!
This weeks winner is our incredible nurse queen Haylee Thomas who has responded to 6 recommendation threads in the past 2 weeks! The $150 gift card will be to one of my favorite sushi + wine spots (also recommended this week), Rosella!
As mentioned in my first article, look out for a dining buddy pair in your inbox to enjoy this with :) - totally optional and always confidential unless you decide to be connected
Crumbs Community Chat- bi-weekly recommendations
My favorite threads, summarized from your incredible crowdsourced recommendations! All of these will also be living in a searchable tool to be accessed 24/7 very soon on my paid members hub on my website!
Restaurant rec for 15 people to mingle without a private room: Radegast Hall · Tuffet · Blinky’s · Spritzenhaus · Carousel
Favorite wind-down tea or tea shop in the city: Physical GraffiTEA · Paquita · Dr. Stolberg Rest & Digest ·
Key lime pie recs in Manhattan: Clinton St. Bakery · American Whiskey (hidden gem, ask for Chef Roger’s key lime pie) · Pete’s Pies · Steve’s Authentic (Red Hook, worth the trip)
Good Broadway shows right now: Titanique · Every Brilliant Thing · Ragtime · Oh, Mary! · Jellicle Ball · SIX · Death Becomes Her · Just in Time · Happy Ending · 2 Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York
Best spots to go out and dance (girls and gays): Stumble Inn · Nowadays · Joyface · Midnights in BK · Soho Grand Club Room · Night Moves · Jeans · Gabriella · Paul’s Baby Grand
Restaurants with good gluten-free options: One White Street · Palma · Opto · Pastis · Rubirosa · Cosme · Borgo · Find Me Gluten-Free app
Blow dry spots under $100: Stanley Salon · Hair Bar · Maison Beaute UES
Sober-friendly date ideas: Cafe Lyria · Happy Medium · Chelsea gallery hop (Thursdays are opening nights) · Royal Palms Shuffleboard · Swingers mini golf · Whitney Museum (first Fridays late) · Comedy shows · Area 53 (adult nights Thursdays) · Where Is Aley Longo Substack
My personal picks- Current (random) hyperfixations + recs:
Because I skipped a week I have even more random little obsessions that have popped up since we talked last:
I hosted my first Club Crumbs Round Table to gather Substack writers in my community to talk about the world of writing on here- consistency, getting tired of your niche, AI, etc and it felt like a try after school club. Everyone came over after work, we drank some wine, ate some cheese, yapped, and then everyone parted for their weeknight evening routine plans. More of this soon…
Opto has the best chocolate mousse in the entire city of New York. And a top tier lamb burger
I tried Chambers and thought it was phenomenal- slow service, but every bite of fresh produce incorporated in pastas, butters, and even (the chicken) was stellar- a good weeknight rec
I ordered Goop Kitchen 6 times and disagree fully with all discourse about it being mediocre. The frontrunners for me continue to be the spicy vodka pasta, pepperoni pizza, and sesame chicken salad
An iced vanilla latte from Ground Support in SoHo has become my favorite treat coffee. Almond milk, half sweet, extra shot
The Abbode Apothecary x CO Bigelow collab is my favorite branding moment of the week and so incredibly well put on and designed by their founder, Abby
I had a Lure Fishbar Thursday with one of my best friends and felt a deep sense of nostalgia for a night of many lychee martinis, crispy rice, and ~restaurant sushi rolls and am going to make this my post-work spot again
I hosted a dinner at Lily Pond Club in the West Village and absolutely love and adore the owners and the close-knit West Village community feel, but dinner party aside, thought the Korean x French cuisine was fantastic because I love everything tastefully doused in gochujang. The cake I got from Lilimarrenbakes for the dinner, which was swan themed, was also a work of art.
I went to a dinner with Depop who interestingly enough invited a lot of of other food/hosting creators. I could write an entire article about the phenomenon of food creators taking over the lifestyle space
Club Crumbs: member highlight
This week, our very special guest is Tanya, who is our 30u30 queen, CEO and creative director of her own digital studio, wore…quite literally my favorite outfit any guest has ever worn to any one of my dinner parties, and loves color and whimsy just as much (if not more) than I!
Q: Give us a little intro!
Hi Crumbs! My name is Tanya and I’m a former aerospace engineer-turned-art director. Like you (Madeline) I am a maximalist and live for the full color spectrum in practically every aspect of my life. From my clothes to home decor, my artwork, and even my food, it’s always got a pop of color. I love to cook and I live to eat, girl.
I recently moved into my own place in Downtown Brooklyn and have had the best time designing it to become my creative and spiritual oasis. I also love hosting and have been inspired by Crumbs dinners to host my own intimate supper clubs with friends. Who knows, maybe I’ll have some of you over some day. ;)
Q: Tell us about the incredible brand that is Tanya?
I run my production agency, Guptanya Studios, out of Brooklyn. We specialize in producing ad campaigns for tech, beauty, and fashion brands like Adobe, Nordstrom, UNIQLO, Prada Beauty, and more. The coolest project I worked on this past year was on developing immersive experiences at Walt Disney Imagineering. Born out of my pivot from tech to art, my style is surrealist, feminine, vibrant, and provocative.
Q: What is your favorite nyc restaurant?
