Check out Brooklyn Label in Greenpoint. http://www.brooklynlabel.com/

great coffee and excellent food. they were nominated for a 2007 Eat Out Award.

BentheBarista wrote:Stay away from historical Philly--not good for coffee. Downtown has some dagnasty coffee shops too. I've only been to the city once--I'm from California--but I do remember visiting one killer gelato/espresso shop near the big Holiday Inn. Happy hunting,

-Ben

That gelato place is Capogiro and they make world class gelato - better than most places I had in Italy - and believe me I know gelato. It's a must stop for any visitor. They use La Colombe which is the main espresso in the city but I don't care for it, even at home. The folks at Capogiro are not baristas so I wouldn't get my hopes up at all. Chestnut Hill coffee shop is out of the way from center city.

I have decided after my recent trip to Chicago to go with standing orders of shipped Black Cat from Intelligentsia. Life is too short and that blend was really bangin.

Thought I'd post a quick trip report:

I had a great time. Luckily I brought a press pot with some Stumptown Rwanda Musasa to get me going in the morning.

Espresso was a bit of a challenge. I never found a decent place in Philly, then again I wasn't downtown in the mornings and imbibed in other drinks in the evening

I bought a half pound of Old City Coffee. Roasted on site at the Reading Terminal Market. Unfortunately, it's horrible, oily beans which I suspect they oil themselves for effect. Coming out of my Pavoni they taste and smell burnt. I've never eaten out of an ashtray but I suspect this is what it would taste like.

I'm sure Philly has some good choices but I was pretty limited on time and the places I did see unfortunately were in tourist traps and I wasn't about to risk it.

NYC was another story. We stayed in the Theater District 52/Broadway, so unless you like Starbucks..... Speaking of which I don't think I've ever seen so many Starbucks, and I'm sure they outnumbered McDonald's. You get the idea.

In short, I wasn't able to get to any of the places listed for sake of time and being overwhelmed with trying to find my way around.

Ironically the best cup of coffee I had I bought from Rupert Jee at the Hello Deli for 90 cents. I mean I drank some really bad, 6 dollar cappuccinos..........

And regarding the Gelato place, damn, I saw that place and passed it over.......