The result has been a period of intense experimentation with French press pots, Chemex drip systems, Bonmac porcelain cones, and the current ne plus ultra, the V60 glass cone from the Japanese company Hario.

With all the fancy tech and top quality beans being imported into San Francisco, it’s pretty much guaranteed you’re going to get an amazing cup of coffee (or a shot of espresso).

(A small but just-as-good gem is Trouble Coffee.)

Someone’s been doing research through the message boards. What’s up 3sixteen?

Zucco, the face and owner of Le French Diner on Orchard St. in the Lower East Side, passed away from an apparent heart attack on February 13th, 2010. You will be missed. (Thanks for the link, Chris Sojka.)

Image via Bowery Boogie.

At Shake Shack, a Double ShackBurger, fries and a peanut butter shake pack 1,980 milligrams — a lot of sodium, yes, but goodness, a lot of food.

That’s a lot of sodium—but not so bad considering it’s a burger, fries, and shake. The real kicker is Katz’s Deli:

Katz’s justifiably famous corned beef sandwich, with mustard but only two of the six pickles the counter guy gave me (along with his number), came to a truly remarkable 4,490 milligrams of sodium. That’s about two whole days’ worth in one sandwich, nearly the equivalent of 10 McDonald’s hamburgers.

I feel guilty for slamming down so many of those sandwiches while I was in college.

A clever map of the NYC MTA Subway system with the superfluous information omitted. Click to view the full-res map.

Via @JoseRMejia.

The restaurant has a number of procedures designed to bring small pleasures. Those going to the theater get a card under their salt shaker to ensure speedier service. If it’s raining, they’ll give guests a free umbrella to take home. If guests are having difficulty deciding between two desserts, the server will often deliver their choice-and the other at no charge. “You are working for a company that is looking long-term at those kinds of decisions,” Meyer tells recruits. “Not ‘Oh my God, we gave away eight desserts.’” This system is even more striking when things go wrong. When a child dropped a Sprite in the bar, the entire family got new drinks. Meyer calls this “writing a great last chapter.”

This was, hands down, the best steak I’ve ever had in my life.

I landed in JFK Friday evening and made my way directly to Minetta Tavern to try their $26 Black Label burger. On top of that, I also tried the oxtail and foie gras terrine, and the roasted bone marrow. Everything was beyond flavorful; it was like shoveling fat that dissolved in your mouth before you even had a chance to chew any of it.

Perfectly cooked, the dry-aged LaFrieda prime meat patty essentially did the chewing for you. It was so robust that I don’t think I was able to fully appreciate the flavor that was packed into the burger. Maybe it’s not worth the $26 price tag, but it’s something to try at least once (though I still prefer the Spruce burger as a more realistic option for every-other-week consumption). I’m going for the côte de boeuf at Minetta next week.

I arrived in New York early Saturday morning to catch the opening party for Self Edge New York. I spent most of the weekend eating, drinking, and bowling with Mr. and Mrs. Self Edge and the 3Sixteen crew. Thank you to 3Sixteen and Self Edge for an amazing time. I’m looking forward to taking a longer visit at the end of August (where I’ll hopefully be eating a lot more food than I was physically capable of consuming this time around). A photo-ladened post after the jump.