As an English major and an avid reader, Strand Bookstore in Union Square is by far my favorite place to be when I’m not working or in school. With books priced as low as $1, I always end up walking out with a bag filled with great literature that amounts to less than $20. I went out to Strand this past Monday to pick up some readings and caught a glimpse of an unfamiliar café named The Bean. I’m a 100% loyal customer to Starbucks and their caffeinated drinks, so buying coffee elsewhere is always a rare thing for me. However, my experience at The Bean has completely changed my narrow-minded view on coffee.

Decorated with pieces of art spread across its brick walls featuring couch-style seating along the windows, The Bean exudes a vintage flare with an air of artsy-smart. I was greeted by friendly waitresses who recommend some of the café’s highlight drinks and desserts. I decided upon the Mona Lisa, an original frappe drink mixed with espresso, frappe mix, and milk. The Mona Lisa comes in different flavors–caramel, white chocolate, and mocha– and I decided to go with the mocha for my first. The frappe was a phenomenal blend of sweet and creamy, with the deep coffee taste of espresso–perfect for a hot day in the city. Frappes are drinks that people tend to consume only once in a while because of their high calorie count; however, the Mona Lisa is a low-fat drink that tastes just as sweet as a regular frappe, freeing me from the guilt of calorie binging.

I was also given a chai latte after having been told that The Bean took great pride in their chai. I’m not a big fan of chai, especially because of the notoriously spicy taste. However, I found myself pleasantly surprised by The Bean’s take on the drink. Using the best blend of chai tea from David Rio, The Bean’s chai latte isn’t overpowering, but rather filled with a sweet milky-creamy flavor that I crave during the cold winters. If you’ve been holding back on chai for the same reasons I did, I guarantee The Bean’s chai will turn your chai-empty life upside down. With four different types available (original, vanilla, non-fat, and decaf), I’m eager return to The Bean so that I can indulge in my new favorite drink.

The Bean also offers a wide selection of baked goods, sandwiches, and salads, all of which are vegan friendly as well. I had the chance to try one of their sunshine cupcakes, and I absolutely loved the fluffy, light, and moist cake and its frosting. Everything in The Bean is definitely healthy and perfect for vegans who want to enjoy a range of delicious food and desserts. Usually packed to the brim with customers, The Bean is a great place to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee with a good read or catch up with a friend. With its friendly service and quality foods and drinks, The Bean is perfect for café junkies like me, and I will definitely be taking another trip to Union Square for their chai latte.

Visit The Bean with a friend to get a free latte or cappuccino using this coupon from the Campus Clipper!

Becky Kim, Queens College, Read my blog and follow me on Twitter
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As a lover of the arts and travel, I’ve always dreamed of studying abroad or traveling across Europe. Sure, NYC is beautiful; the aesthetic beauty found in everything – literally everything – is exactly what I’ve been yearning for while living in the city that never sleeps. But I still want to experience and absorb the beauties found in European architecture and, of course, the traditional European cuisine. Because I haven’t had the opportunity to go abroad to Europe, I’ve been satisfying my cravings for anything European through the restaurants and cafés within my city. Having said that, I recently had the pleasure of enjoying crepes, a type of French dessert, at the Crepe Café in 14^th street.

This petite café features charming interior designs spread across the walls, and baskets full of fresh fruits and vegetables line the counter to show that they serve their customers only the freshest ingredients. With four different categories of crepes and an infinite number of drinks, Crepe Café offers some variety while still focusing on its main item–crepes. Bo, one of my co-interns, and I each started off with a drink. She decided on the Sunny Day smoothie, an iced blended drink with fresh orange, mango, and banana, and I ordered the almond bubble milk tea with pearl tapioca. Both of our drinks were made fresh and on the spot. The smoothie was well-blended with a mix of sweet, sour, and tropical tastes, cool enough to fight off the summer heat, while the almond bubble tea was creamy and milky, with just the right amount of well-soaked pearl tapioca.

As for the crepes, Bo and I started with the chicken and mozzarella, one of the savory varieties. I was surprised by Crepe Café’s extremely hearty servings, with crepes much larger than those of many other New York creperies. The chicken and mozzarella crepe consisted of fresh spinach as well, adding an extra freshness to the already savory and cheesy dish. The combination of chewy chicken breast with the rich mozzarella cheese under a bed of thin crepe sheets had an addicting taste that kept both of us wanting more. We therefore followed this up with the Nutella fresh strawberry and banana crepe. The Nutella crepe was packed with fresh fruits and a heaping amount of Nutella spread across the crepe sheets. With the sour strawberries mixed in with sweet Nutella and bananas, this dessert crepe was the perfect finishing touch to our meal.

Chicken and Mozzarella Crepe

Nutella Fresh Strawberry & Banana Crepe

Crepe Café has such an extensive list of crepes and drinks that I’m already looking forward to going back to try some different combinations. With a firm emphasis on  fresh ingredients, Crepe Café definitely offers the best for its customers. I’m confident that almost everyone will find something to suit their tastes at Crepe Café, particularly in light of the variety of the menu and sizable portions. Crepe Café is a great place to go for lunch or tea with your friends, especially after a long day of classes – its crepes and refreshing drinks should help you unwind from your stress.

Enjoy a free bubble tea or smoothie with a purchase of any crepe at Crepe Cafe using this coupon from the Campus Clipper!

Becky Kim, Queens College, Read my blog and follow me on Twitter
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Summer is the time for picnics; picnic season means it’s time for barbeques. While growing up in Korea, the term “barbeque” only meant the zesty sauce that McDonald’s gave out with my four-piece chicken nuggets. It was only after moving to the states that I came to understand the origin of this word. After indulging in my first barbeque during a summer night in California, lounging around in my uncle’s backyard, I realized that America was the land of good food. Barbeque involves cooking meat slowly over a smoked fire and then covering it in a sweet and tangy sauce. Despite my love for classic barbeque, I’d been disappointed in my food search in NYC– until I visited BBQue’s Smoke Shack on 6th avenue.

Upon walking into the restaurant, I instantly fell in love with the barn-meets-cowboy interior, southern antique pictures hanging upon walls of wooden logs. The menu is filled with traditional southern foods, ranging from pulled pork to collard greens. Joe Cutolo, the owner of BBQue’s Smoke Shack, briefly explained the menu, recommending the pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw. In Cutolo’s own words, BBQue’s Smoke Shack is “great BBQ served fast, and an alternative to fast food”. With its focus on only pit smoked barbeque meat untainted by preservatives, its no wonder the restaurant is enjoying its current popularity. Hordes of people people came in seeking meat and went out laden with trays of pulled pork sandwiches.

Pulled Pork Sandwich with Coleslaw and Waffle Fries

Stuffed Burger with American Cheese

My meal came out quickly and I was able to dig into the famous pulled pork sandwich. I quickly understood just why Joe had recommended this to me after the first bite. This was BBQue’s Smoke Shack’s finest, with the pit smoked taste fully integrated into every part of the pork mixed with their special barbeque sauce; I knew that this was the type of barbeque I’d been searching for. Tender meat, fresh and tangy homemade coleslaw, crunchy waffle fries: this was the perfect combination of a well-done southern meal. My friend had opted for their stuffed burger and waffle fries, which she said was cooked to perfection as well. We sat in silence as we buried our faces in our trays of food, only lifting our heads up to tell each other of how great the meal was.

With its options of dine-in, take-out, or delivery, BBQue’s Smoke Shack might be a busy, hungry college student’s dream come true. BBQue’s Smoke Shack will also be incorporating draft beer and wine into its menu soon, opening up its drink selection to a wider variety of customers. Personally, I think a cool, refreshing cup of beer is just the thing to go with the restaurant’s zesty sandwiches. I also loved the laidback ambiance and friendly service, and I can’t wait to return to try their Smoke Shack ribs and more of their southern styled sides. Offering flavored wings and platters of pulled meats as well, their classic barbeque menu is enough to remind students of the barbeques they had with their families back at home. My experience at BBQue’s Smoke Shack was fantastic and has convinced me that quality doesn’t have to be sacrificed for speed of preparation. So take a trip down to BBQue’s Smoke Shack– it’s a meal worth the subway ride.

Becky Kim, Queens College, Read my blog and follow me on Twitter

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Union Square is famous for many things: countless union protests, the summer farmer’s market, the myriad shops and restaurants. I’ve only recently become acquainted with the neighborhood and have been discovering many hidden restaurants in the process. With many of my friends attending NYU just around the corner from Union Square, I’ve seen many pictures on Facebook of one particular restaurant that seemed to be a favorite. Cafetasia, the restaurant in question, offers Thai cuisine at an affordable price so that college students like myself can enjoy a quality meal without draining their wallets. Standing on 38 East 8^th Street, Cafetasia is a spacious restaurant, dimly lit with a chic, modern interior. Surrounded by wooden tiles with mirrors placed in between them, the entire restaurant exudes a hip, romantic vibe.

Upon being seated my friend and I decided on the early bird special which goes from 4PM to 7PM. Luckily for us, it was ten before seven so we were able to get an appetizer, an entrée, and a drink for just $11. We both started out with the spring rolls, which came out to our table fairly quickly. The spring rolls were cooked with an extra crunch, and in a break from the usual, the sauce came drizzled on top rather than as a dipping sauce on the side. I especially liked the presentation of our appetizers, particularly because dipping anything in a sauce plate tends to leave a mess and does not leave room for double dipping.

Thai Spring Rolls

For my entrée, I ordered the shrimp pad Thai (bottom left), one of my favorite Thai dishes, and my friend ordered the grilled pork tenderloin with sautéed vegetables (bottom right). The pad Thai was a bit too salty for my friend’s taste, though I enjoyed it, finding the mixture of vegetables, flat rice noodles, and shrimp delectable. The grilled pork tenderloin came with a sauce that hinted of apple cider, and the two combined together well to complete the dish. Cooked well-done, the pork was rougher than the type of meat that I usually eat, but because it was sliced into thin strips, I had no difficulty chewing. As part of the early bird special, my friend ordered the Thai iced coffee and I the Thai iced tea. The sweet, woody taste of my Thai iced tea accompanied the pad Thai wonderfully, adding more exotic flavors to the already flavorful dish and giving me a full taste of Thailand.

I always enjoy a good Thai meal and I’m always on the lookout for the best pad thai. Cafetasia was beautifully decorated, and I was satisfied with the overall ambiance of the restaurant. Lively and modern, Cafetasia is definitely an “it” spot for college students looking to get away from their mundane dorm lives. With its special vibe and affordable menu, Cafetasia’s popularity amongst local eaters and even food-travelers like me should come as no shock. If you’re in the neighborhood or want to take a trip to Union Square, don’t hesitate to try out Cafetasia – you’ll walk away satisfied with their reasonably priced, high-quality, exotic meal.

Take a look at Cafetasia’s menu at: http://www.cafetasia.com/

Use this coupon from the Campus Clipper for a discount on a Thai meal that you’ll fall in love with!

Becky Kim, Queens College, Read my blog and follow me on Twitter

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There’s something about eating a well-cooked burger that leaves so many people with a great deal of satisfaction and contentment. I’m one of those people. As you have seen from my previous posts, I’m crazy about burgers. Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting Top Brgr, conveniently located on 103 West 14 Street about ten feet from the train station. As I walked in I was greeted by Ron Raykin, the owner of Top Brgr, who helpfully explained the menu to me.

Top Brgr takes great pride in serving 100% Kobe beef in all its burgers, raising the bar to how a model burger should be prepared. Aside from beef burgers, Top Brgr also provides a vegetarian option with its veggie burgers. In creating its burgers, Top Brgr allows customers to make their own, giving them a bun-and-patty base with unlimited toppings to choose from. Starting with the burger basics, all sauces, dressings, and vinaigrettes toppings are unrestricted with no extra charge. Then there are the super toppings, which include different types of cheese, mushrooms, and cooked onions, these costing only a dollar extra. Finally, Top Brgr offers extraordinarily unique “super duper toppings” that cannot be found in other burger houses for only $2.50 extra, and I was extremely impressed with the variety of toppings available. For my mini Kobe burger (4 oz.), I wanted to make my burger something that I’ve never tried before, so I decided to put avocado and red & black caviar inside my lettuce-onion-cheddar burger. Having caviar on a burger may sound strange, especially because fish products and meat are not commonly found in the same dish; however, putting caviar in my burger might just be one of the best decisions I’ve made over the past 19 years of my life. The caviar’s distinct taste blended perfectly with the smoky grilled flavor of the patty, making me savor every bite of the mini burger.

Mini Kobe Burger with Caviar & Avocado

Aside from the burger, I also ordered Cajun fries from their extensive list of fries, and I found my hand continuing to reach for them even after I had finished the entire basket by myself. Richly dusted with Cajun pepper and salt, the abundance of zesty flavor in the fries was enough to make me crave them as I write this review. To top everything off, the vanilla milkshake that I had ordered brought me back to my childhood of eating at an all-American diner with my family, with its perfect blend of sweet and creamy. All of the ice-cream and milkshakes in Top Brgr are homemade, giving them the intense richness and taste that would make anybody return to try all of their flavors.

Cajun Fries

Top Brgr’s menu doesn’t stop at just burgers, fries, and milkshakes. They also offer flavored chicken wings, onion rings, salads, corn on the cob, fried Oreos, and fried pickles, or as they call them, “frickles”. My visit to Top Brgr was superb and I strongly recommend it to people of all ages and tastes. With so much diversity in its menu, Top Brgr definitely offers the entire package of good food, variety, and environment. Where else would you be able to have caviar on your burger for the price a college student can afford?

Visit www.topbrgr.com to check out their beyond-amazing, variety packed menu!

Becky Kim, Queens College, Read my blog and follow me on Twitter

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Interested in more deals for students? Sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter to get the latest in student discounts and promotions and follow our Tumblr and Pinterest. For savings on-the-go, download our printable coupon e-book