A few weeks ago I stopped for coffee in a small Pennsylvania town and was greeted by this beautiful Victoria Arduino machine with old school pull down levers. Hammered tin finish really was spectacular. We just won’t talk about the coffee made with it.
Not long ago I was on a long drive and Kate Bush’s best-known song came on the radio and yadda yadda yadda I was hoarse from singing along as I played this clip on a loop for over an hour.
Apologies to anyone triggered or otherwise harmed from watching this.
This is absolutely nuts. Staying far far away, hopefully it will be gone soon.
UPDATE: they’ve been closed down by DC authorities, at least for now
I’m not much for Irish coffee and its derivatives (especially those buried in whipped cream), but I do love me a well-made espresso martini. Not too long ago I discovered an even better way to enjoy coffee in an adult beverage.
Behold, the frozen coffee drink:
This delight can be found at Snappy’s Small Bar, in DC’s Petworth neighborhood. Terrific owners and staff, friendly as all get out, timeless decor. It’s the go-to place if you’re a fan of Underberg, as they always have a ton of it available.
Love the new-ish La Marzocco machine at DC stalwart The Coffee Bar‘s Shaw location.
Very skilled barista today. Kaldi’s Social House, Arlington, VA.
Had a great time recently visiting my hometown in upstate New York for my high school reunion. The area used to be a desert for good coffee, but as the Hudson Valley has become the Hamptons north (that person looks so familiar, are they an actor…… rock star……. someone I went to high school with……. someone whose parents went to school with me….) that is slowly changing. There’s a lot of independent roasters aspiring to greatness, and more and more cafés trying to do things the right way.
The barista at a café in the hamlet of Tivoli (I-lov-it spelled backward) spotted my Onyx Coffee Lab tee and made me out for a coffee guy. He was pretty cocky in a funny kind of way, but damned if he didn’t make me a terrific beverage. Congratulations, my confident friend, you just earned your shop The Coveted Asterisk of Quality.
Tivoli General
54a Broadway
Tivoli, NY
If you’ve spent more than 2 minutes on this site, it won’t surprise you that I’m known to friends and colleagues as “the coffee guy.” More than a few times I’m asked by someone new to town which coffee places they really have to try, and I’m often unprepared for the question.
I’m going to give it a go here. No copping out with ties or honorable mentions. No explanations, other than I’ve limited myself geographically to my understanding of the DC metro area.* No fretting about coffee vs service vs food vs whatever other factors should be considered. Ask me tomorrow and I’ll give you a different answer, and there are a lot of great places not listed, but here are one guy’s rankings of the very best of the best in and near the nation’s capital.
Washington, DC
1. The Coffee Bar (Shaw)
2. Baked & Wired
3. Doubles
4. Café Unido (La Cosecha)
5. Lost Sock
6. Elle
7. Ebenezer’s
8. Simona
9. Little Hat
10. Dua
Maryland
1. Vigilante (Hyattsville)
2. Kaldi’s
3. Takoma Bev Co
4. Vigilante (College Park)
Virginia
1. Rare Bird
2. Rossana to You
3. Caffe Amouri
4. Swings
5. Kaldi’s
6. Simona
* – apologies to the rest of Virginia and Maryland and the eastern portion of West Virginia – I’m looking at you, Red Rooster, Hopscotch, Curate, and Lost Dog.
Submitted by my pal Rachel. Enjoy. – Matty
After a year of living in North Vancouver, British Columbia, I can attest to the very high quality of local coffee shops. That said, let me confess that this review is very limited to my neighborhood; Lonsdale – a pretty, mellow community with stunning views of the North Shore mountains, Vancouver Harbor, and the city skyline. I’ve also thrown in a bonus shop that’s a short drive up the road and just too delightful to omit. Let me also confess that I am a cappuccino drinker and, when I rate coffee, that is my brew. In Vancouver, most coffee shops also sell lovely pastries, made locally or in-house, and no review would be complete without discussing the treats.
In Lonsdale:
BEAN ON 5TH (official name: Bean Around the World – 5th & Chesterfield)
506 Chesterfield Avenue, North Vancouver, BC
https://batwcoffee.com
Coffee: Consistently excellent
Ambiance: Cozy garden outside, casual and inviting inside
Pastry: All very delicious, but the star of the show is the chocolate bread pudding, only available on weekends. It is sublime; crusty, gooey, and rich. Cookies, blueberry loaf, and muffins are also above average.
Location: An unexpected delight on a quiet, residential street just a couple of blocks from Lonsdale Avenue, the commercial heart of Lonsdale. With plentiful outdoor seating on a shady patio, this is a great place to take your dog out to coffee. Or, if you are like me this past year and temporarily dogless, this is where you go to bother other coffee drinkers with your need to pet their dog.
Continue readingThis is very special to me. My nephew is the frontman for Brave Face, a band in Columbus, OH, and last night they released a new album. I’m in the middle of my third or fourth consecutive straight run through the album, and I’m thinking this is the song I’ll listen to 21x times in a row.
Enjoy it, check out the rest of the album, and be sure to find & support hard-working artists looking to break out.