A Warm Pot of Podunk

This past weekend was cold.

And by cold, I mean bone-chilling, teeth-chattering, wrap-yourself-in-five-blankets-and-still-shiver cold.

Down South, we don’t really “do” cold. Granted, there’s always a day or two when the thermometer dips down into the thirties, and the roads ice up just enough for schools to get delayed until 10am. But up here in New York, there’s a whole different kind of cold. The temperature gets down into the single digits, and the wind blows so sharp it stings.

When the weather gets this painful, there’s only one thing that’s guaranteed to cure my winter blues: Hot chocolate.

Enter Podunk Tea Room, a charming little place on East 5th Street right off 2nd Avenue. I stumbled in one day on my way to John Derian, and have been in love ever since.

{Nestled on East 5th Street near 2nd Avenue, Podunk Tea Room is a true gem in the East Village. Try the hot cocoa, or one of the delicious homemade tea blends.}

Podunk is owned and operated by Elspeth Treadwell, a rosy-cheeked little lady who could easily pass for a nursery rhyme character. Clad in a white frilly bonnet and small round bifocals, Miss Elspeth bakes everything on the menu herself from her own recipes. From cucumber sandwiches to fluffy scones to homemade hot cocoa, she serves everything on old-fashioned teatrays and miss-matched dishes. It’s almost as charming as it is delicious.

My boyfriend was in town this weekend, so we ducked into Podunk on Sunday to enjoy a pot of hot chocolate and two scones.

As I was placing our order, Miss Elspeth added a few extra shortbread cookies to my plate. “Now those are on the house,” she told me with a wink and a smile. “Just because he’s a very good-looking boy.”

As I carried our tray back to the table, I gazed outside at the snow-covered sidewalk and smiled. Perhaps winter in Manhattan isn’t so bad.

Especially if you have a place like Podunk to seek refuge.

{We loved the warm scones with honey butter, devoured the plate of shortbread cookies, and topped it off with a teapot of rich hot chocolate.}

{The hot chocolate at Podunk literally tastes like melted chocolate bars. Thick, creamy and impossibly delicious.}

All photos by Russell H. Douglas unless otherwise noted.