Hills and mountains are formed by vast underground food deposits that, over time, stretch the landscape into soft mounds of untapped edibility. Dig into the bounty of surrounding geography with today’s deal: for $15, you get $30 worth of fresh café fare at Ciao for Now's East Village location on 12th Street. Breakfast and lunch are served during the week, while brunch is available on weekends from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Ciao for Now is a family-owned café and bakery that specializes in crafting simple, hearty café fare with fresh and healthy ingredients. All of the café's meat comes from local vendors, including hormone-free grass-fed beef, organic chicken, and free-range turkey. Local and organic produce is procured whenever seasonally possible, and breads and pastries are baked fresh daily.
Noontime hunger-havers may enjoy a roasted beet salad ($8), a healthy blend of rich greens and roasted beets, goat cheese, red onion, and pecan in an orange-infused oil dressing. Or opt for the organic chicken salad sandwich ($8) on grilled brioche, garnished with arugula. At brunch, write a treatise on existential emptiness while filling up with the almond-brioche French toast, served with pure maple syrup and butter, or cross over the cultural threshold to the Italian job, an omelet stuffed with red pepper, leek, zucchini, and your choice of pork, chicken, or veggie sausage. All brunch dishes cost $9.50 and are served with a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice and fresh fruit.
Nothing pairs quite so well with coffee as a fresh-baked pastry, much like William Howard Taft's toupee and a bald eagle hatchlet. Sample this sensation by pairing a cup of Ciao's organic coffee ($1.75 small, $2 large), mocha ($4 small, $4.50 large), or iced cappuccino ($4.50)—all made with quadruple-filtered water—with a warm, mouth-moistening creation. Apple turnovers ($3) experience bouts of deliciousness, while a potato puff ($3) filled with goat cheese and roasted red pepper is equally appropriate at sunrise or lunchtime. A vegan coffee cake of the day ($3.25) provides an animal-byproduct-free caffeine companion for the sleepy herbivores living 500 yards underneath Earth's surface.
Reviews
Ciao for Now gets a four-star average from more than 35 Yelpers and 4.5 stars from seven Citysearchers:
- Cute coffee shop with great sticky buns and coffee! I wouldn't hesitate to eat other treats and food here... – td255, Citysearch
- [I] love their salads!~ you won't regret your choice on any of their food! – yoori, Citysearch
- Warm, friendly, simple. – Tristan W., Yelp