COFFEE and ???: Writng at The Cafe

Monday, March 6, 2023

Writng at The Cafe

Me at Caffe Reggio

During the height of the Pandemic

Greenwich Village, New York

I finished my book POSITANO The AMALFI COAST

Travel Guide - Cookbook here, in February 2021

Doing a little writing today, and thought I would write about it. My normal everyday process. Well first off, it is my day off, and I am enjoying it. Just to have the time off to relax and do whatever I want, or need to do, and not have to go into work and work. That is my regular 9 to 5, and not my writing. Yes, like most writers, I do have a 9 - 5, so to speak. That is the bulk of my income comes from my regular job, and not from my writing, although I do make a decent little chunk of change from my book sales, it is not enough to fully support me. Not yet anyway.

And so I am here today at my coffee spot, and where I write, or work on promoting my books through a few blogs and websites I have as well as a bit of social media, mostly on Instagram, posting stuff, some just related to me and things I like, as well as promoting my books, and yes I guess me.

My main coffee spot these days and for the past 7 years since Caffe Dante closed, is at the Marlton Hotel in Greenwich Village, a great little spot, it is nice and comfy, quiet, and relaxing, and I love it. All the people working here are very friendly and take great care of me, which I really appreciate, and again, I love coming here for my daily coffee, and to relax, and that is exactly what I am doing right this very minute, sipping my coffee, writing, relaxing, and savoring just that, sipping coffee, writing, and enjoying the day off. The day off from the 9 to 5, not writing, and promoting, and so here I am.

I started coming to The Marlton Hotel when it first opened, I think it was about 2012. My main place for my daily coffee ( Cappuccino ) was Caffe Dante on Macdougal Street in Greenwich Village. I had my morning and afternoon, and sometimes nighttime coffee, everyday at Caffe Dante for exactly 30 years. I first started going there in the Summer of 1985, after I got back from my first trip to Italy, and many new Italian, and Worldly discoveries, being in Europe for an entire month. It was an eye opening trip that taught me many things. I will never forget it and all the wonderful times in : Rome, Florence with my high-school friend JoAnne, meeting up with friends in Barcelona, a romantic fling in The South of France (Nice & Monaco), on to the most Serene Republic of Venice, Italy, then down to Positano and The Amalfi Coast before heading back up to Rome for a couple more days before flying home to New York. Yes, again, it was a most wonderful trip.

So I had my daily coffee at CafFe Dante for exactly 30 years from 1985 until my pal Mario Flotta sold the place and it closed down in 2015, a most sad day for me. Dante was my second home, and I was friends with the owner Mario, and all the girls (waitresses) who worked there.

As I said, I started going to The Marlton ever since they opened their doors. It is a cool boutique hotel owned by Shawn McPherson who has great style and runs wonderful establishments in both New York and Los Angeles, and is also a partner at The Maritime Hotel with my old pal Eric Goode, who was a top night club impresario in 1980s NYC, with such clubs as AREA and MK. After being very successful with nightclubs in the 80s and 90s, Eric got into the hotel business in the New Millennium, and is a partner as I said at The Maritime, and now, also at The Bowery Hotel in the East Village of New York. Anyway, I am at the Marlton, but Eric is not a partner here. Anyway?

Yes, I come here everyday and I love it. Some days I write, and some days I work on my websites, blogs, and other promotional avenues. I am always doing some kind of work with these things, and because of my diligence over the years, one of my Instagram accounts has taken off, and as a result my book sales have skyrocketed by 300% as of late, and I am super excited by that. And as I write, Mina just came on over the sound system. "I love it. No Rap Hip Hop Crap at The Marlton. Just great music, they play here, and that is something that I am very grateful for, and it helps one relax, as that is a main incentive of coming here. Relaxing.

I come, and Sangee, Jack, or Fun get me my coffee. I open up my Amazon KDP Dashboard and see how many books I have sold, that is usually the first thing on my agenda. I check Facebook and Instagram, and then I either do some writing, either on the current book I am working on, to write a little article or blog post, and also so promo work, and that is what I do. Most times, before I get to The Marlton, I don't really have a game plan ahead of time, and I just do as I have just described. Although there are times that I do have a game plan ahead of time, and that is usually when I have been going on a writing tear on my current book, or the book is almost done, and I am either doing some editing, or formatting of the book, for the proper format of the manuscript to be sent in to the publisher, and that is what I do. And of course, most of the times I do not go crazy, and I am not in a rush, but taking it easy, and taking it as it comes, day by day, as far as my writing and promo work goes, that is the way I do it.

BOOKS By DANIEL BELLINO

AMAZON.com

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LED ZEPPELIN "RAMBLE ON" and Why Is Nobody Making Any GOOD MUSIC These DAYS???

Ramble On, Song of the Week!!! Without-A-Doubt one of Rocks All-Time Rockingest Rock Songs Ever, "Ramble On." This song Rocks like you can't believe! back in the Day when there was an abundance of Great Music being made by Hundreds of Great Artists, The 60's and 70's !!! Can someone tell us why there is "Barely Any Good Music" being made at all these Days!!! Just a bunch of a lot of Crap! Probably because the younger generation has such awful taste? Or is it just an Abundance of Lackluster Performers, or a Combination of both? I doubt seriously if there will be more than a handful of Musical Artist from the last 15 years or so who will Stand The Test of Time and be Loved 40, 50, 60, and 70 years down the road as artist like, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, led Zepplin, Elvis, Dianna Ross, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Stevie Wonder and on and on are doing and will do. The music of this Day and Age is quite literally Crap.

Someone please Kill Hip Hop the way you Killed Disco (which is Superior Music to Hip Hop Rap) so long ago. How much more of this Shit do we have to endure! Are there any Good Musical Artists out there at all? Please step forward and do your thing!!!

Daniel Bellino Zwicke

CORNER BISTRO Voted # 1 and New Yorks "BEST CHEESEBURGER"

Happy to see Corner Bistro's Burger can still make it to # 1 Best of New York list these days. I've been eating Cheeseburgers there since 1984. Yes 26 Years of Bistro Burgers. Back then, the Burger at the Corner Bistro was for Year-After-Year thee perennial favorite, # 1, Top, Best Burger in New York, rated by the Top and most Powerful food Authorities of the day, New York Magazine, The NY Times, Cue Magazine, The Post, The Village Voice, GQ, Bob Lape on 7's Eyewitness News, The Daily News, so on and so forth. Nine out of ten people, newspapers, and news agency's, The Bistro Burger was always "Tops," # 1. It no longer is. And it was tops for some 30 years. Quite a run. Sadly the quality of the Burger has gone down a bit, and there are numerous chemistry better, tastier Burgers in town. Shake Shack get my Vote for the Top, New York's best Burger, with Bills Bar and Burger and Peter Luger not far behind. But the Shake Shack Burger has all the proper elements that come together and make for perfect chemistry of, dear I say, "The Perfect Burger." Well if not the perfect Burger, New York's Best, or at least amongst the Best, everyone has their opinion. Some not as qualified as others. As I've been eating the East Coast's Best Burgers since childhood, and being a former Chef Culinary Professional, I have greater qualifications than most.
The Shake Shack Burgers elements that make it so good, are: Top Quality Beef, Just the right size and thickness, not too thin nor too thick, which unfortunately many think makes a burger is better, the thicker it is. Not so. A 6 oz., 3/4" Burger is Best and it has to be cooked on a Flat-Top Grill cooking in its own fat to qualify amongst the best. Cooking on a grated grill, just won't do. You'll often get terribly overcooked hard spots, losing all important beef fat for the burger to cook in. You'll need a good hamburger bun, toasted preferred, not too fancy, and a major No-No is the use of an English Muffin. Though i Love them for breakfast, English Muffins are a terrible choice, pairing to a Burger. the Burger has to be properly cooked
And one of thee most important rules to a great Burger, it can't cost more than $6.50, and about $4.50 is even better. The Shake Shake burger meets all these requirements, even exceeding them.
Back to the Bistro Burger. For nostalgias sake and Price to value ratio, combined with the great old New York Bar ambiance, The Bistro Burger always makes it on my Top 10 List. As the Post states, to be able to get a great burger for just $6.50 with Beers at $2.75 in one of New York's few remaining Bohemian Bars, and in Greenwich Village? A combination that just can't be beat.
by Daniel Bellino Zwicke

"The SCENE" in The Lobby of The ACE HOTEL, New York

Yes, Makin the Scene at the Ace Hotel. Got my Coffee, "Stumptown" of Course, my Laptop, iPod Tkouch with Camera, my Cel, money in my pockets, I'm all set.
The "Scene" in the Lobby of The Ace Hotel, New York, 29th Street between Broadway and 5th Avenue. Great Lobby, the equivalent of the Alogonquin Hotel Lobby when it was front and center, New York's Literary Hotel in the days of Dolly Parker and days of yor.
Yes the "SCENE" in the Lobby of the Ace Hotel. It Rocks. Supposedly this is thee Rock-N-Roll Hotel, Home Base, Seattle.
This place is filled everyday, from Dawn to Dusk, with Writers, wound be writers, Screen Writers, Playrights, Web and Mobile Delepoers, tourists, and dear I say "Rock Stars." Don't know. All I can say is I've delt with quite a few Rock Stars in my days as Maitre'd Manager at the Once "Hottest Celebrity Spot in Town," Da Silvano's.... Yes it was, until Graydon Carter (who Frequented Da Silvano 5 or 6 Times a week) opened the
"Waverly Inn" and stole a Most of Silvan's immense Celebrity Crowd. Everyone went there: Movie Stars, Rock Stars, the Fashion Set (Designers & Models), the Movers and Shakers in Publishing, the Magazine Business, and on and on!
David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Keith Richards, Gwyneth Palthrow, Calvin Klein, Uma Thurma,and Richard Gere, to name just a few. Everyone went there.
Anyway ....

by . Daniel Bellino Zwicke ....