C8H10N4O2 Senior Member Joined: 9 Jul 2004 Posts: 147 Location: Aust Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sun Dec 26, 2004, 5:37pm Subject: New York! New York!
Hi to all the CGs in NYC!
I will be in New York from Jan 27th - 2nd Feb and am really keen to go to some of New York's best (and worst) cafes, check out the skills of the baristas etc. etc.
Any hints as to where I should start? Good or bad!
Any help with this would be much appreciated.
I will be staying in Midtown c. E44th St.
Am also keen to follow in the footsteps of Brokencup and write about my baristadventures in NYC here on CG, so look out New York!!
espressodoc Senior Member Joined: 12 Dec 2004 Posts: 10 Location: Seattle Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Isomac Tea Grinder: Mazzer Mini
Posted Sun Dec 26, 2004, 5:47pm Subject: Re: New York! New York!
Welcome to our fair city. Previous discussions have all reached a similar conclusion: For a city of its size, New York coffee is pretty lousy. There are some notable exceptions, however...
Casa on 40th and 9th is great. 9th Street Coffee on 9th Street and Avenue C is equally good, and they use an origional e61. Joe's on Waverly may be the best of the bunch. Gorilla Coffee in Park Slope, Brooklyn also uses a Faema e61. The one cup I had there was good, but a little sour.
There was an article in the New York Times a couple of years ago which listed some of the great cafe's in the City. The author came up with a few places in the east 70s. I went to them out of interst, and they were uniformly terrible (and expensive).
coffeesgr8 Senior Member Joined: 27 Apr 2004 Posts: 14 Location: nyc Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: la san marco Grinder: mazzer Drip: french press
Posted Sun Dec 26, 2004, 9:51pm Subject: Re: New York! New York!
It is tough to find good espresso in NYC, but it is getting better. It is still a little hit or miss depending on the barista making the drink and the coffee used. Also some places may not have great coffee, but have a nice ambiance, which may or may not be something you are interested in.
A lot of places are really popular more because of the ambiance than anything else (of course not including CGs), so if you get recommendations from elsewhere, the coffee may not match up. In fact I think there are more places that do a good job with regular coffee than espresso, so it really depends on what you want.
I have recently installed an espresso machine in a friend's restaurant in the lower east side (Essex Restaurant -- 120 Essex at Rivington), and am trying to practice my espresso skills. You are more than welcome to drop by if you get a chance while you are here. I have been trying coffee from different places in the US to determine what I think is the best. Most recently I had some beans from Intelligensia, Cafe Vivace, and a number of different local (ish) roasters in the East.
I am usually there on the weekend evenings and for Sat and Sun brunch. Drop me a line if you want.
C8H10N4O2 Senior Member Joined: 9 Jul 2004 Posts: 147 Location: Aust Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Mon Dec 27, 2004, 12:35am Subject: Re: New York! New York!
Stephen! I will definitely try and drop in - anyone using a La San Marco has my instant respect!! I consider the La San Marco to be quite a challenging, fast machine to use - especially the steam! So I will definitely be watching to see your tricks!
Eric, thanks for the tips on where to start - especially the addresses so I can find them!!
Posted Mon Dec 27, 2004, 5:34pm Subject: Re: New York! New York!
I actually work up in Ithaca, NY but Mike White and the boys in Williamsburg can make you the best espresso dinks on the East coast...if not the UNIVERSE!....anyway. You'll love it. From the edge of espresso insantity, -Chris Deferio gimme! coffee Barista Trainer
YES. This is my favorite place! The Kenya AA blend for French Press made my socks jump off! And their Leftists and French Roasts blend for espresso are always fresh and bangin.
I highly recommend you go there. Google their website and call the brooklyn location the week you're there to make sure they're open when you're ready to go. Since you're staying in midtown on the east side, take the B or D or F or V or 6 to 14th street. Transfer to the L and go towards Brooklyn. Take the second stop in brooklyn (not bedford, but LORIMAR) and walk out of the train. Your best bet is to mapquest the location and print it out. Brooklyn and Queens are in a grid fashion (the streets), but far from friendly to naviage. You'll basically walk across Metropolotan Ave and to Lorimar, then bang a right and walk 4 blocks and you'll see Gimme Coffee on the right hand side. Enjoy brooklyn too while you're there.
i'll vouch for that ... i don't know about in the universe, but that's where i tasted my first and only real drinks this week (after over a year of searching) ... no bitterness, smooth, velvety, mild but complex undertones. *not* the coffee i've been drinking all my life, and no, people who say starbucks is garbage are *not* elitists (true espresso drinks, that is ... i'd have to admit i'm still a fan of the frappuccinos ... but i wouldn't dare call that "coffee")
i'd bring this back down to earth though, and say the shots aren't 100% like that ... i hate to besmirch gimme's good name by questioning consistency, but the reason i mention it is so that you don't give up after one drink that doesn't meet expectations ... mention it to the crew there, they're all terribly friendly and accomodating ... try a few drinks ... come back on a different day.
don't accept imitations of baristas elsewhere ... for example, people have recommended various italian cafes and restaurants in the past ... but the key observation i've made is that it's generally some waiter/waitress who happens to also know how to run the espresso machine. either that or you get the cashier who also happens to also run the machine (a la starbucks). this is one place where the baristas get trained primarily as baristas, and that training is obvious in their drill-like motions.
can't neglect to mention also ... free wireless internet :-) that and so casual/relaxed an atmosphere that i wonder every time i go there ... how do they stay solvent? it's almost like you walked into some kind of "espresso club".
CaffeFresco Senior Member Joined: 22 Nov 2004 Posts: 95 Location: USA Expertise: Professional
Posted Mon Jan 17, 2005, 3:31am Subject: Re: New York! New York!
coffeesgr8 Said:
I have recently installed an espresso machine in a friend's restaurant in the lower east side (Essex Restaurant -- 120 Essex at Rivington), and am trying to practice my espresso skills. You are more than welcome to drop by if you get a chance while you are here. I have been trying coffee from different places in the US to determine what I think is the best. Most recently I had some beans from Intelligensia, Cafe Vivace, and a number of different local (ish) roasters in the East.
Ant Senior Member Joined: 7 May 2003 Posts: 1,039 Location: Brisbane Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Mon Jan 17, 2005, 4:06am Subject: Re: New York! New York!
..and for the love of god DO NOT take your shopping with you on the subway. My housemate got stalked for 3 stations before he managed to lose some people following him- and he mentions that as he was going down into the subway someone near him remarked, "I can't believe he's heading down with all that stuff" and wondered if they were talking about him.
Chris D has remarked in a previous post that one of his workmates has made a triple rosetta in soy milk #$^$*&(*&(*()(*_) I hate you. :P
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