I'm traveling to Philly and NYC at the end of the month. Any recommendations for:
1. Coffee Shops
2. Fresh beans/roasters to bring home.


Thankx

Here are three winners:

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Cafe Angelique
68 Bleecker St
New York, NY 10012

and also at

49 Grove St
New York, NY 10014

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Blue Spoon Coffee
http://www.bluespooncoffee.com
76 Chambers St, New York, 10007

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Gimme Coffee
http://www.gimmecoffee.com
495 Lorimer St
Brooklyn, NY 11211



Have a great time! - Tom

I did not care for gimme coffee

But, I really enjoyed Joe's. I think they have the best espresso in NYC

Although I've not been there, Ken Nye's Ninth Street Espresso gets good reviews. Resident New Yorker Abe Carmeli wrote a glowing detailed trip report on Cafe Grumpy. Coffeegeek's US East forum has other recommendations.

Grumpy is everything Abe says, and more. Ninth Street is a shrine (and their new 13th Street shop is very slick indeed). Blue Spoon is really nice too. I've had mixed results at Joe, but it's always been at least pretty good. All of these places sell great beans, too.

If you have the time, make a hyper-caffeinated day of it and try them all, then post your impressions! If you only have time for one, I recommend Grumpy.

I will second Joe The Art of Coffee. Their espresso is delicious (Barrington Roasters).

Indeed the previously mentioned shops get great reviews from almost all sources, as far as NY is concerned.

Philadelphia is a little more difficult. Chestnut Hill got a couple good reviews, and while others get recommended, they are normally shot down by more than one person after they go and give them a try. Looks as though Philly is pretty much a desert. There is good mention of la Columbe numerous times, but then there are usually a few negative posts that follow. There always seems to be good mention of their blends, however, which would suggest that perhaps it is just their baristas performing poorly. (Anyone, feel free to chime in and correct me if you have a different opinion about Chestnut Hill, la Columbe, or if there are other shops around; these are simply my findings after searching through CG and HB a little.)

-Bry

All good suggestions, and be sure to check out EspressoMap.com, which I always find a helpful starting point when traveling.

I think that La colombe suffers from poor equipment (old dirty san marcos) in addition to unskilled baristas. Also, the blends they produced have been dumbed down a bit (both in roasting and bean selection) for the Philly crowd. I have never seen anything but "mouse tails" coming out of their portafilters. Sigh, I miss Seattle.

-andrew

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