Lella Alimentari

My Version of Self Care Is Going to Lella Alimentari | Bon Appétit

"Located a one-mile stroll from the author's Brooklyn apartment, this hybrid third-wave coffee shop and tiny grocery evokes a vicolo in Italy: shelves stocked with imported tomatoes, beautifully packaged olive oil, and dried pasta, walls decorated like a nonna’s with children's dolls, and Tuscan baristas who greet customers with “ciao” (a nickname friends also use). Always bustling, it centers on a long white-washed communal table where regulars sip large iced coffees and dig into piadine—Italian flatbreads stuffed with prosciutto cotto, speck, stracchino cheese, arugula, and radicchio—whose bitter greens, warm melty cheese, and salty cured meats offer a satisfying textural balance and a dependable hangover cure. Quieter early mornings bring breakfast salads of egg, shishito pepper, and avocado, making it a cozy, convivial weekend ritual rather than a place for workouts." - ByEmily Schultz