Recess

!!!Great frozen yogurt and atmosphere.

Sadly, so very sadly… Recess is no more. It took me awhile to accept that – first, the place was simply not open… lights off… no sign but the menu was still on the board and you could still see some yummies on the counter. Passed by a week or so later and a sign simply stating CLOSED was on the front door, not mentioning why or for how long. Now, the final straw, and I have finally reached acceptance – a big real estate sign in the window, no more yummies on the counter, chairs arranged in perfect military fashion inside. Sad sad sad. This place was amazingly cozy. They had great frozen yogurt, and assorted other good stuff. Very sad to see it go. :*(

no a/​c horrid horribly hot, flies galore, can’t ever sit there but still the staff, the food, the location, the layout, the coffee… whoever trained u guys rocks, or maybe your all just sweet hearts, no haters (speaking of staff only) welcoming to everyone, disabled, busted, limping drop dead gorgeous, your all welcome. but please have a heart and give these people some AIR. I would love to stay one time instead of getting it to go. its a fun place.(better without music too loud) and watch out for flies those critters lay eggs and are NAsteee… just saying, maybe the no a/​c saves but a violation costs…

Initially stopped going here fall 2009 because I was told peaches are seasonal. So I waited like 9 months. Went back a week ago. They got rid of my beloved peach smoothie. How could you? It’s summer! It’s peach season!
I loathe you menu-writers…that peach smoothie was miles better than anything coming out of a Jamba Juice… and now… i’m so angry.
So angry.

Guys, please skip this review.
Girls, ATTENTION!
You have to give this place a visit because…
1. Awesome FAT FREE frozen yogurt. I stopped going to red mango already.
2. This is a place you might be able to spot Mr. Big behind the window. He does his laundry nearby. Guaranteed.

Froyo and references to childhood memories… Recess had all the makings of a winner.
They have a couple of flavors of frozen yogurt which apparently rotate. The day I went in, the options were original tart (a-​la Pinkberry), chocolate, and mango. I tasted the chocolate and didn’t care for it – it still had that tart bite but with chocolate flavor… kinda funky. The toppings were of the typical sort that you’d expect: fresh fruit, sugar cereals, choco chips, etc. They also have some «drizzles» that consisted of almond, cinnamon, and the like.
On recommendation from the guy behind the counter, I opted for mango with cinnamon drizzle. It was good, but not the best ever. I wish I’d stuck with fresh fruit. Oh well.
Recess is a good escape from the heat and I’d stop by again if I found myself walking by. Basically its just another one of the hundreds of tart froyo spots in NYC.

On a chilly Sunday in May, I was in the mood for some soup and a sandwich and a chill place to read for an hour or so. For some insane reason, I thought that Grey Dog would suit both my needs. I survived in line there for about 30 seconds — once the the noise from the crowd more than drowned out my iPhone tunes, I knew I needed an alternative.
I had walked by Recess in the past and decided to give it a shot given that the place was half full and fairly quiet with about 5 – 6 people inside. I ordered the chicken salad with a side cucumber salad, a cup of tomato soup, and a small green tea latte. Order goes in, and less than 30 seconds and $ 16 later, the nice girl behind the counter asks me to confirm it. Did she not hear (and subsequently enter) the initial order? Odd.
About 5 minutes later the kitchen puts up a sandwich with chips, which I ignore becuase I ordered mine with a salad. Another 5 minutes go by and finally she tells me my food is ready. «My food? Didn’t I order the cucumber salad?» «Oh, right. Oops.» So she replaces the chips with the salad and I sit down to eat.
The sandwich is pretty good actually — real chicken, grapes, fennel, a walnut vinegarette, on fresh bread. The soup is ok…not an exceptional or hearty tomato soup — a bit too acidic, and not very rich. And the latte. .. wait, where’s my latte? I ordered it 15 minutes ago!
I go back to the counter and inquire about the latte — «Duh!» she says and apologizes. Then she gives me a large latte instead of a small, and also gives me some yogurt to make up for it. I spend the next 45 – 60 minutes sipping my latte and reading with no hassles.
So my takeaway is that the food is pretty decent, and definitely contains wholesome ingredients. I would not compare the chicken sandwich I had to the options at the deli across the street — I paid my $ 12 for real chicken salad with made-​in-​house dressing and a cup of soup made from scratch. I know I can get a quarter pound of boar’s head on a roll for less money — and I’d still take Recess over the deli anytime. As for the yogurt, it was on par with Pinkberry and REd Mango. Nice liitle unexpected treat to end the meal.
As for the service, well the bad news is that the gal at the counter completely spaced out, but the good news is that she acknowledged the error and more than made up for it. Based on her handing of the situation, I’ll be giving Recess another shot.

When your longing for Swedish décor expands beyond Ikea, then the shapely wooden interior of Recess is for you. Sleak floor to ceiling wooden panelling, seats that are on the rather slim side, and a beautiful design asthetic, match with the perfectly made coffee and tasty (if somewhat mild flavored) Aztec hot Chocolate.
(now if there were meatballs and lingonberry sauce I must just offer the elusive fifth star!)

First, I love the name and the décor. Cozy and inviting. The menu is fun, too, and I really want to try the PB&J, which consists of macadamia nut butter, raspberry jam and other delicious ingredients.
I like studying here, too, because there’s a lot of space, including a big table where you can spread out with your food, laptop and ridiculous law school books.

It’s nice in here. However, the only thing I wanted to eat inside were sweet and/​or cold things, like the yogurt, smoothies, and assortment of baked goods. Everything else on the menu (sandwiches, salads, and soup) sounded unappetizing just a little *too* weird and trendy. Beet sandwich? Ehh, I’ll pass. I actually ended up getting the tomato soup which was good, but not great. The smoothie (secret breakfast) that I ordered… now that was great.
I’d come back, but probably for a quick stop in for a cold, yummy treat.

Frozen yogurt’s not something I really crave for hanging out in the city with friends, but alas you gotta go with the trends eh?
A girl at the counter eyeballs my Unilocal name tag — Elite Member! =] (We just came from the Unilocal event at Carnival above Bowlmar Lanes). The bathroom was clean, but the sink was one of the more interesting thingies I’ve ever seen. Turn the faucet from the lower left and a tube of water pours from the top of the vanity and funnels down a stainless steel trench — mirror on each side and splashes down to the sink. Oriingal idea but could have been better executed.
Came out and ordered a small coffee yogurt, chocolate sprinkles. Girl went heavy on the sprinkles. Friends tried my yogurt and thought it was awesome. I didn’t find it that awesome but I did find myself finishing my yogurt faster than everyone else. =P

The smoothies are amazing, great healthy stuff made from real fresh fruit (I felt so betrayed when I found out Jamba uses frozen fruit and Cosi some weird premixed powder formula for berry smoothie??? how does that work) Favorites are the Milk n Honey one as well as the one with blueberries, blackberries acai and green tea powder.
Also the baked goods (flourless chocolate torte, carrot cake and lemon almond loaf are TO DIE FOR) are from Grandaisy in soho, croissants from Ceci Cela. Anyone who knows their bakeries will know these two. Any good restaurant in soho gets their stuff from grandaisy (salt, hundred acres). plus the sandwiches are made with grandiasy bread, so I’m a sucker for that.
I’ve only ever had one panini from Grey Dogs since I was really unimpressed, but the sandwiches here definitely blow any cafes out of the water. My favorite’s the grilled cheese– mozzarella, fontina, romano, sundried tomatoes and pesto. WOW.
Totally worth the money and the calories. And I take it with a smoothie to make myself feel better about the latter anyway.
The only thing I’ve got kind of issue with is Chris Noth who lives in the area apparently and comes in 3x a week and hits on girls. Well, could be good or bad depending how you’d receive that. .On a good note also saw!!! Edward Norton!!! (who lives RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET, I spied) run into Lauren Graham at the store and they started chatting. If it weren’t for the New Yorker in me I would’ve fainted.

I really, really like the yogurt here. And the toppings. And the (comparative) price. It’s also someplace my non-​yogurt obsessing husband can get behind. Espressos are also relatively cheap and really hit the spot. I’m liking the slight branching out of single-​minded yogurt shops, especially given my husband’s reluctance to watch me agonize over toppings at other places with nary a treat in sight for him.
I know they took over the old Spice space, which was crowded as Spice, but it seems like even less space now that it’s a café. It’s not inviting as a hang out space. Also, they could use some bug controls.

I had passed by this corner café a few times and was attracted to the wood décor inside. The place doesn’t necessarily bring me back to the days where I had daily recess, but I like that it’s different than other cafes. They specialize in sandwiches, smoothies, and yogurt. I went for the Land of Milk and Honey smoothie, which included berries, banana, yogurt, and honey. The honey was pretty absent in the taste of the smoothie, which was disappointing. Furthermore, their small size, a 16 oz., cost $ 5.38 with tax. Pretty steep… I might try a sandwich next time, for I wasn’t wowed by my smoothie.

I’m a sucker for a place that looks different than other establishments of its kind. Definitely different than a Starbuck’s or Au Bön Pain, Recess is a fascinating sight to behold. Inside it is covered wall to floor with a stylized wood grain pattern. A huge, angled table sweeps across the middle of the place with smaller seats around the edges. The ceiling has brown, wood structures running across with color changing lights glowing above in colors ranging from pink to green. The overall effect is that you’re in some sort of weird, funky art tree and it’s super fun and pleasant.
While I look forward to getting coffee here at some point, this visit was brought about by the need for Froyo. I had the mango with bananas, and it was fantastic! The mango was nowhere near as super sweet as others I’ve had but rather it was more mild than what I’ve had before. The bananas added some nice flavor, creating a tasty tropical combination.
On my next trip, I plan on trying one of their pastries and coffee, which looked super yummy. :)

With the cooler temperatures, the open doors no longer offend my energy conservation concerns, but the flies are still an issue (and yes that’s plural).
You’d expect the Chai Zing to be more chai than espresso, but it tastes like equal parts both. Reminds me of the yuan yang (coffee and milk tea mix) drinks at Chinese bakeries.

I wasn’t too fond the décor, it looked as if they took the faux wooded top of my high school desk and put it all over the walls, tables, floor… everywhere. It kinda made be dizzy. My architecture friend told me it’s a copy from another designer, and I personally didn’t like it. the bathroom was unique, but poor execution – a large crack in the center of the mirror exposed a pipe where the water ran down to the sink. Suffice to say the crack was too big and the water ran inconsistent, sometimes outside the sink. Drinks were okay, nothing special.

Does frozen yogurt and a café latte go together?
That’s the slight paradox I faced when I stepped into this modern-​decorated café. Faux (and real?) wood façade decorates most of the space with stools, short wall-​benches, and a communal table to park your tooshies as you eat fro-​yo or have a cup of tea or coffee.
You can even accompany your cup of joe with a piece of organic chocolate truffle if you’re so inclined.
When I stopped in, it was their 3^rd full day of being open — and they seem to be going through a bit of the «first day jitters». While the staff was really nice and helpful, my tea with milk and one sugar seemed to have one cup of sugar.
Which leads me to ask: why doesn’t this place have a self-​serve beverage post-​prep station?
Eh. I’ll be interested to see how this place matures — and mildly interested in how the frozen yogurt is.

The first thing that caught my eye about Recess was the floor. TOTAL OPTICAL ILLUSION! From outside it looks like the floor is completely crooked and bent! I thought «how the hell can they get away with that? There will be accidents and wheelchair access issues left, right and center!» So I had to go in.
Good job Recess! You’re eye tricking floor sold me into giving you my moneys! Of course the floor is flat (damn illusion). Since I was already in I decided to check out what else they had going on besides foolery. If ever there was an OCD display of pastries, this was it! They had a bunch of little chocolates (I MEAN LITTLE, like DROP size) spaced to a laser perfect distance from each other. The price for one of those little things? $ 3!!! Are you kidding me??? No thanks. I don’t eat chocolate all that much as it is, I’m certainly not spending $ 3 for something that won’t even cover my tongue. I once flew all the way to London to buy a Toblerone bar since it was cheaper there than in JFK. Okay, it wasn’t the ONLY reason I flew there, but ya know.
What I DID end up getting was a vanilla latte. At $ 2.75 for a small I guess that’s about average for a latte. It was okay, nothing to really jump over (or return for…). Apparently this place has awesome frozen yogurt. This I can’t say since I didn’t have any.
Overall, I like the layout and design of the place, but beyond that it’s just another coffee place!

Formerly the Thai restaurant Spice, this place seemed to popup out of nowhere. Spice moved up to 13^th street…
Recess is all about frozen yogurt in lots of flavors. mmmmmm, yum.
Also they have some pretty funky furniture which feels like an optical illusion when you walk in the place.