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Ahead of a week in Seattle for a conference, I got to spend a few days in New York. I was staying in the Financial District, close to my company's office, where I was working for most of my trip (happily, I'll be back again in May). I did, however, have a free day-and-a-half in the city at the weekend. I was very lucky with the weather too: although it was cold, it was beautifully sunny on Saturday and Sunday, the rain coming out in time for my return to the office. As well as visiting a few speciality coffee shops, old and new , here's what else I got up to. WANDERINGS After reading about the impacts of the novel coronavirus outbreak on restaurants in New York's Chinatown, I wasn't sure whether the  Lunar New Year parade  would go ahead, but Mott Street and the surrounding streets were not short of festivities, with firecrackers , lion dances  and other performances. Sadly, the coronavirus does seem to be having an impact on restaurants and shops in the neighbourh...

I spent five days in New York at the beginning of my recent US trip. I was there for work and only had Saturday afternoon and Sunday free in the city, but managed to squeeze in visits to four new-to-me speciality coffee shops. One of these — Yafa Cafe — is all the way down in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, but the wonderfully welcoming Yemeni coffee shop and eatery was well worth the visit even on a short trip. Citizens of SoHo (SoHo) I stumbled upon Aussie coffee shop and brunch spot Citizens of SoHo while I was wandering up Lafayette Street. They have several other 'Citizens of' locations, and the SoHo branch had only been open a few days when I visited. I had already eaten brunch but I was very much in the market for coffee. The coffee is from  Partners , a smooth Central and South American espresso blend in the hopper. I ordered a piccolo, which was very well prepared and appropriately petite. The Seasons espresso had a very nice caramel taste with a little milk. It will come as ...