Showing posts with label coffee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coffee. Show all posts
Monday, June 17, 2013
Sunday, May 3, 2009
New Coffee Shop Find
So I'd like to post some followup to my "what I think makes a good coffee shop" post, but I'm not going to do that now. I will, however, discuss a new place that has a lot of whatever it is (except the great coffee, oddly enough). The Outpost Lounge in Bed-Stuy is a pretty nice place to sit. Here are a collection of my reflections on the few hours I just spent there, numbered for your pleasure:
1. Liquid consumables. The coffee itself was adequate, but only that. It was slightly less expensive than the excellent coffee available in the more northerly parts of Brooklyn. That said, they had excellent tea, Awesome (!) cran-lemonade, and they served various boozes. Among the various downers my favorite was The Bed-Stuy Mimosa (without having tried it): a red stripe mixed with OJ or Pacifico and grapefruit juice.
2. Solid consumables. They had food, which I think is a big plus. This is not just your usual 'we had baked goods shipped in' stuff, but cheese plates with fresh mozzarella, chili of the meat and veggie kind, and pasta salads. Their salad was excellent, they had baguettes, all kinds of good stuff.
3. Location. It's in Bed Stuy. The clientele was 'mixed,' but only sort of. The ratio of 'hip' looking people to 'not hip' looking people shifted upon entering to such an extent that it was impossible not to notice even for someone as oblivious as myself. As a result I'm not sure how I feel about the place in some capacity. Maybe it's bringing a nice new opportunity to the neighborhood? Maybe it's forcing renters from their homes? I have no idea, but it's probably worth thinking about. All that said, a big plus about it's location is that there was room mid-day on a kinda dreary sunday, which is a big deal.
4. Music: they played some jazz that was nice, but then there was an awful lot of music that I loved, but which also made me think: holy shit I must be some kinda target demographic now. Of note: queen, madonna, george michael, GnR, Christ this list could go on forever.
5. Seating. There was a huge back porch that looked beautiful from the inside. Too wet to use a computer at, though. There was plenty of seating inside, though this lead to a dearth of walking room. Once you were in place it was not uncomfortable, but if you had to move for any reason things got awkward.
6. Decor: falling apart wood things that were obviously gotten on the cheap. It looked nice, inexpensive, and somehow not contrived. That was particularly refreshing given the ostentation its competitors. There was some 'local art' but it didn't dominate anything and was easily ignorable.
7. Hunkerability. There's free wi-fi, and at no point did I get anything like a dirty look for having had a computer plugged into a wall for hours while only having ordered a single beverage. People are doing their own thing, but they're friendly enough if you need them to move to plug in a computer, or if a cringeworthy song comes on and you happen to have forgotten to keep your verbal cringing to yourself.
All in all, it seemed to have most of the things I want out of a coffee shop going on except the great coffee. It reminded me of a place I used to go in Clearwater whose slogan was "because you don't have anything better to do" or "because there's nothing else to do," or something like that. The only difference is this is New York and there's a lot of better things to do. So why go there? What can I say, I like sitting in a place full of strangers listening to music and drinking stimulants.
PS. Lucky Shot, the place on Driggs in Greenpoint has very good coffee (Stumptown) made by people who know how to work an espressos machine. It is worth checking out.
1. Liquid consumables. The coffee itself was adequate, but only that. It was slightly less expensive than the excellent coffee available in the more northerly parts of Brooklyn. That said, they had excellent tea, Awesome (!) cran-lemonade, and they served various boozes. Among the various downers my favorite was The Bed-Stuy Mimosa (without having tried it): a red stripe mixed with OJ or Pacifico and grapefruit juice.
2. Solid consumables. They had food, which I think is a big plus. This is not just your usual 'we had baked goods shipped in' stuff, but cheese plates with fresh mozzarella, chili of the meat and veggie kind, and pasta salads. Their salad was excellent, they had baguettes, all kinds of good stuff.
3. Location. It's in Bed Stuy. The clientele was 'mixed,' but only sort of. The ratio of 'hip' looking people to 'not hip' looking people shifted upon entering to such an extent that it was impossible not to notice even for someone as oblivious as myself. As a result I'm not sure how I feel about the place in some capacity. Maybe it's bringing a nice new opportunity to the neighborhood? Maybe it's forcing renters from their homes? I have no idea, but it's probably worth thinking about. All that said, a big plus about it's location is that there was room mid-day on a kinda dreary sunday, which is a big deal.
4. Music: they played some jazz that was nice, but then there was an awful lot of music that I loved, but which also made me think: holy shit I must be some kinda target demographic now. Of note: queen, madonna, george michael, GnR, Christ this list could go on forever.
5. Seating. There was a huge back porch that looked beautiful from the inside. Too wet to use a computer at, though. There was plenty of seating inside, though this lead to a dearth of walking room. Once you were in place it was not uncomfortable, but if you had to move for any reason things got awkward.
6. Decor: falling apart wood things that were obviously gotten on the cheap. It looked nice, inexpensive, and somehow not contrived. That was particularly refreshing given the ostentation its competitors. There was some 'local art' but it didn't dominate anything and was easily ignorable.
7. Hunkerability. There's free wi-fi, and at no point did I get anything like a dirty look for having had a computer plugged into a wall for hours while only having ordered a single beverage. People are doing their own thing, but they're friendly enough if you need them to move to plug in a computer, or if a cringeworthy song comes on and you happen to have forgotten to keep your verbal cringing to yourself.
All in all, it seemed to have most of the things I want out of a coffee shop going on except the great coffee. It reminded me of a place I used to go in Clearwater whose slogan was "because you don't have anything better to do" or "because there's nothing else to do," or something like that. The only difference is this is New York and there's a lot of better things to do. So why go there? What can I say, I like sitting in a place full of strangers listening to music and drinking stimulants.
PS. Lucky Shot, the place on Driggs in Greenpoint has very good coffee (Stumptown) made by people who know how to work an espressos machine. It is worth checking out.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Foodish faux pas?
I'm interested to know everyone's feelings regarding instant coffee. Am I a total luddite for finding this concept irresistibly easy, not to mention cheap!? It seems to me that coffee does not actually taste good anyway (because 'acquired taste' is honestly just code for 'gross'), so we might as well make this easy on ourselves and save some money while we're at it. Call me a recessionista, but I'm off to duane reade to buy me some instant coffee & easy mac.
Please don't actually call me a recessionista though.
Please don't actually call me a recessionista though.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Coffee: part 1 of ? (I am not proud of being the sort of person who would write this post)
I started to waste my time in coffee shops when I was 14 or 15 years old. I’d cut class to drink what amounted to sugar water that had a faint aroma of the dirty bean with a man at three times my senior who shared my 'counter-culture' mentality. Later I ‘graduated’ from candy-drink coffee to the simple black-coupled with a misguided purism that heaped scorn on anyone who didn’t share my ascetic preference. This wasn't just a drink preference, it was a way of life. I would sit in the same dingy room doing nothing of consequence for hours until I could ridicule those who had some dream which they decided to share at open mic night. I’ve since gotten over both of those puerile dispositions. Now I have a more mature attitude toward drinking stimulants in a room full of self- or unemployed strangers who can’t afford an office and a more refined palate that enjoys the coffee for its taste/smell/texture rather than the fact that that drinking it makes me feel like I’m better than other people and slightly high at the same time. You can imagine how someone with a past so inextricably bound to coffee drinking could have developed unnecessarily strong convictions about what makes a good or a bad Joe drinking joint. If you want to deal with this over developed judgmentality then keep reading.
[edit. Even after writing this I thought I could keep myself to one post. That was foolish. As I wrote the post started growing unwieldy and so I have imposed a harsh constraint on my coffee posts: One topic per post. In this post I only talk about what location has the best drinks. I’ll get into what makes good coffee and a good coffee drinking environment later.]
A bit on my bais: Too much dairy does not agree with me. For this reason I won’t be rating late’s, au laits, or anything else that's dairylicious. I’ll stick to the basics: 'regular', espresso and, macchiato (which, lets face it, has all the virtues of any of its larger, milkier counterparts but in more adorably-sized packaging). I’ve been around the coffee block, made trips to strange places in Manhattan that I had no business visiting just to try coffee that "they say" is rather good. All this had lead me to the conclusion that those living in north Brooklyn are the envy of my coffee drinking soul. They get the best in both categories.
The best macchiato you’ll find in this city is at Oslo in Brooklyn. Save the trip of Cafe Sabarsky for when you want to impress visitors with how often you get to pretend that you're rich when you live in NYC. Although Oslo is not always consistent (This is largely not their fault. The city for some reason won’t give them the permit to roast their own beans and so sometimes they get a batch that isn’t up to their standard), but even on their worst day they’re better than most of the swill in this city. Anyway, their off days are few and far enough between that there isn't any more negative fluctuation than there is in anything in life right? Regardless of how fanciful their beans are, the ratio of froth to milk to coffee in this drink gives it an amazing texture that’ll knock your socks off and replace them with warm fuzzy slippers that make you feel like you’re in some fire-lit living room wearing a Cosby sweater and perhaps sitting on a rug made from some large exotic animal that you've probably never seen alive. The taste also compliments the cofee perfectly so the bitterness of the coffee is softened by still present. My best and worst days both are made better whenever I stop by for a viit. I will also rave about the staff and service of both locations at some other point.
For the right-minded purists out there, though, the best espresso to be had is at Grumpy in either Manhattan or Greenpoint. I prefer the GP Grumpy for a million reasons, but they belong in another post. Basically, this place knows how to pull a triple ristretto shot right. TR put simply is basically 3 shorts worth of ground beans with about 2 shots worth of liquid forced through them in some fancy way that involves having expensive machines and fancy levels and all that good stuff. The result: a far more intense and complex flavor (i.e. you can talk about notes, hints, and wafts as if you were drinking wine or scotch with snobs but very clearly know what you're talking about). It's a little thicker than normal espresso too, so as you drink it you get a hint of that "I'm drinking the diet coke syrup straight from the fountain untainted by the bubbly water" guilty-pleasure feeling. Futhermore, the harsh bitter is all but swallowed up by the sweet and spicy flavors that normally seem like they're burnt out of the over-priced espresso you get after dinner at any fancypants restaurant in the city. Holy crap I am wishing I were there right now just thinking about it.
Finally, for those who want a beverage that'll warm them for longer than the 2 minutes it takes them to drink the regular coffee. I say regular because the things used to make it well don't drip. If you haven't heard of the clover it's this fancy 15k coffee making robot that is pretty awesome, though to my mind it's overpriced. Still, it is better than the normal stuff so if we're strictly talking best here this is the way to go. When you drink the stuff the flavors, though they are fainter than they are in any good espresso drink, change as the drink cools. It's pretty neat! Anyway, Starbucks bought the company that makes them so you'll have to go to Starbucks to try them (and the beans at starbucks are usually bunt to all hell so the machine is totally wasted there!) EXCEPT!!! in North Brooklyn (well, a few other places have them too ;) ). You have your choice of the previously mentioned Grumpy and the more Bedford- El Beit. I like El Beit a lot, so I'm glad I got to mention them. Still, I have to say that the staff at Grumpy seem to be better trained and you get better coffee for your money there.
Honorable mention: I know I said I wasn't going to discuss milky drinks but the green tea late at Supercore on lower bedford is damn tasty. I can’t drink the whole thing because of my milky problems, but it’s got matcha in it, has a thick frothy texture, and is super rich and delicious. I haven't tried many of these so perhaps this is standard or even sub-par but my mouth persuades me to order this more often than my stomach would like.
Dishonorable mention:
As far as I can tell the mystique around Gimmie! Coffee is smoke and mirrors of the same caliber that just ruined wall street. I went to the Brooklyn location and had an iced coffee, a macchiato, and a regular brew once and I could find nothing special about any of them. Some might say I should give them another shot. I would if they were particularly convenient for me, but as it is I’m going out of my way to get good coffee when I go to north Brooklyn so why waste a trip? Now, this is not to say that they aren’t adequate. They’re not terrible or anything, but there’s an absurd amount of hype that goes with this name and I don’t understand why that’s the case.
[edit. Even after writing this I thought I could keep myself to one post. That was foolish. As I wrote the post started growing unwieldy and so I have imposed a harsh constraint on my coffee posts: One topic per post. In this post I only talk about what location has the best drinks. I’ll get into what makes good coffee and a good coffee drinking environment later.]
A bit on my bais: Too much dairy does not agree with me. For this reason I won’t be rating late’s, au laits, or anything else that's dairylicious. I’ll stick to the basics: 'regular', espresso and, macchiato (which, lets face it, has all the virtues of any of its larger, milkier counterparts but in more adorably-sized packaging). I’ve been around the coffee block, made trips to strange places in Manhattan that I had no business visiting just to try coffee that "they say" is rather good. All this had lead me to the conclusion that those living in north Brooklyn are the envy of my coffee drinking soul. They get the best in both categories.
The best macchiato you’ll find in this city is at Oslo in Brooklyn. Save the trip of Cafe Sabarsky for when you want to impress visitors with how often you get to pretend that you're rich when you live in NYC. Although Oslo is not always consistent (This is largely not their fault. The city for some reason won’t give them the permit to roast their own beans and so sometimes they get a batch that isn’t up to their standard), but even on their worst day they’re better than most of the swill in this city. Anyway, their off days are few and far enough between that there isn't any more negative fluctuation than there is in anything in life right? Regardless of how fanciful their beans are, the ratio of froth to milk to coffee in this drink gives it an amazing texture that’ll knock your socks off and replace them with warm fuzzy slippers that make you feel like you’re in some fire-lit living room wearing a Cosby sweater and perhaps sitting on a rug made from some large exotic animal that you've probably never seen alive. The taste also compliments the cofee perfectly so the bitterness of the coffee is softened by still present. My best and worst days both are made better whenever I stop by for a viit. I will also rave about the staff and service of both locations at some other point.
For the right-minded purists out there, though, the best espresso to be had is at Grumpy in either Manhattan or Greenpoint. I prefer the GP Grumpy for a million reasons, but they belong in another post. Basically, this place knows how to pull a triple ristretto shot right. TR put simply is basically 3 shorts worth of ground beans with about 2 shots worth of liquid forced through them in some fancy way that involves having expensive machines and fancy levels and all that good stuff. The result: a far more intense and complex flavor (i.e. you can talk about notes, hints, and wafts as if you were drinking wine or scotch with snobs but very clearly know what you're talking about). It's a little thicker than normal espresso too, so as you drink it you get a hint of that "I'm drinking the diet coke syrup straight from the fountain untainted by the bubbly water" guilty-pleasure feeling. Futhermore, the harsh bitter is all but swallowed up by the sweet and spicy flavors that normally seem like they're burnt out of the over-priced espresso you get after dinner at any fancypants restaurant in the city. Holy crap I am wishing I were there right now just thinking about it.
Finally, for those who want a beverage that'll warm them for longer than the 2 minutes it takes them to drink the regular coffee. I say regular because the things used to make it well don't drip. If you haven't heard of the clover it's this fancy 15k coffee making robot that is pretty awesome, though to my mind it's overpriced. Still, it is better than the normal stuff so if we're strictly talking best here this is the way to go. When you drink the stuff the flavors, though they are fainter than they are in any good espresso drink, change as the drink cools. It's pretty neat! Anyway, Starbucks bought the company that makes them so you'll have to go to Starbucks to try them (and the beans at starbucks are usually bunt to all hell so the machine is totally wasted there!) EXCEPT!!! in North Brooklyn (well, a few other places have them too ;) ). You have your choice of the previously mentioned Grumpy and the more Bedford- El Beit. I like El Beit a lot, so I'm glad I got to mention them. Still, I have to say that the staff at Grumpy seem to be better trained and you get better coffee for your money there.
Honorable mention: I know I said I wasn't going to discuss milky drinks but the green tea late at Supercore on lower bedford is damn tasty. I can’t drink the whole thing because of my milky problems, but it’s got matcha in it, has a thick frothy texture, and is super rich and delicious. I haven't tried many of these so perhaps this is standard or even sub-par but my mouth persuades me to order this more often than my stomach would like.
Dishonorable mention:
As far as I can tell the mystique around Gimmie! Coffee is smoke and mirrors of the same caliber that just ruined wall street. I went to the Brooklyn location and had an iced coffee, a macchiato, and a regular brew once and I could find nothing special about any of them. Some might say I should give them another shot. I would if they were particularly convenient for me, but as it is I’m going out of my way to get good coffee when I go to north Brooklyn so why waste a trip? Now, this is not to say that they aren’t adequate. They’re not terrible or anything, but there’s an absurd amount of hype that goes with this name and I don’t understand why that’s the case.
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