Bowl of coffee at Le Pain Quotidien, sale on holiday blends at Starbucks

The communal table at Le Pain Quotidien on Madison Avenue in Manhattan.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Last Sunday, I took a break at Le Pain Quotidien in Manhattan, and learned the bakery with a full menu is based in Belgium, not France, as I had thought.

I sat at the communal table in the branch at 1131 Madison Ave. (84th Street), and ordered a large cafe au lait ($4.95).

The waiter brought me a bottle of water, a glass and the coffee in a bowl.

Le Pain Quotidien wants you to cup your hands around the bowl and warm them as you lift it to your lips. Nice.

This morning, the small Starbucks Coffee in Hackensack was as busy as stores I've visited in Manhattan.

Sale at Starbucks

At my Starbucks in Hackensack on Saturday, I had five bags of coffee beans I bought during an online sale ground Turkish for my drip coffee maker.

As I waited on line, I saw end-of-the-year sale signs offering one bag of Starbucks holiday coffee free with the purchase of one bag.

That's a good deal, so I went back today and bought two 1-pound bags of Christmas Blend Espresso Roast ($14.95), and had the beans ground Turkish.

The Hackensack Starbucks at 360 Essex St., near a large medical center, is open 7 days from 5:30 a.m. or 6 a.m. to late into the night (1-201-457-3323).

A Starbucks Ground Christmas Blend is among the holiday coffee offered in a year-end two-for-one sale.