Coffee in NYC and Philly

[patrickinpdx]

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

[TomP10]

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

[BuzzedLightyear]

I did not care for gimme coffee

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

[HB]

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.

[Gordonono]

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.

[wantcrema]

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

[ThatCoffeeGuy]

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

[CGP4]

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

[ramseysingleton]

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

[BentheBarista]

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

[MattBellissimo]

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

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

[Italyhound]

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.

[patrickinpdx]

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.......