Maybe the coffee is great, maybe the coffee tastes terrible. For once, I couldn’t care. Next time I’m in Connecticut, I’m going out of my way to visit BeanZ.
h/t npr
Category: coffee shops & reviews
mini review: Café Georgetown
see my Georgetown field report
A late addition to my recent deep dive into the Georgetown coffee universe. To be honest, I hadn’t included this spot because I didn’t know it existed until reading about it in an article today.
Continue readingmini review: Baked & Wired
see my Georgetown field report
Our venture through Georgetown ends at what, at first glance, seems to be a nondescript building next to the C&O Canal, its bricks painted the color of Kaopectate. But look a little closer, at the big casement window framed in hot pink, at the built-in marble bench, and then step inside for the neighborhood’s finest cup of coffee.
Continue readingmini review: Blue Bottle Coffee, Georgetown
see my Georgetown field report
Blue Bottle, a roaster and cafe operator founded in Oakland, California, is a leading player in coffee’s third wave. It has grown significantly since raising capital from private equity investors, and global food megaconglomerate Nestlé now owns a majority stake in the company.
What was once a spunky little indie now is a growing global presence, with stores in California, New York, DC, Miami, Boston, Japan, and soon South Korea. But unlike certain other global coffee chains (cough cough), you’ll still get an amazing coffee from Blue Bottle.
Continue readingmini review: Grace Street Coffee
see my Georgetown field report
As you work your way down Wisconsin Avenue toward the Potomac, just after crossing the C&O Canal there will be a narrow little one-way street on your right. On that street you will find a small food hall hidden in an 80s era commercial townhouse. It’s not easy, but you should try to find your way there, because one of the stands in the hall is occupied by Grace Street Coffee.
Continue readingmini review: Bluestone Lane
update 8/9/2021: Georgetown location now closed; five other outlets open in DC
see my Georgetown field report
Just below the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street, Georgetown’s commercial ground zero, you’ll find a handsome spot serving delicious coffee. This old brick building, originally a firehouse, is the home of the Georgetown outlet of Bluestone Lane, a New York coffee roaster and cafe operator which seeks to replicate the coffee culture of Melbourne, Australia. Bluestone Lane can be found in New York, Philadelphia, California, and DC.
Continue reading*CLOSED* – mini review: Corridor Coffee
see my Georgetown field report
updated 9/22/19: Corridor Coffee has closed permanently as of today’s close of business
Corridor Coffee sits behind an unassuming exterior, located up the hill from Georgetown’s retail center of gravity. The name is quite fitting, given it is sited in one of the neighborhood’s narrow old townhouses.
Continue readingmini review: Dean DeLuca, Georgetown (DC) [NOW CLOSED]
Closed in August 2019
see my Georgetown field report
Oh, did this one break my heart. I so wanted to love it, everything looked so promising.
Continue readingCoffee Talk: Car Wash Coffee
update 5/30/2021: now permanently closed
Kensington, Maryland, is a small town just outside the Washington, DC Beltway. It’s best known for antique shops, a lovely older section of graceful old Victorian homes, having the misfortune of being one of the first areas hit by the DC Sniper attacks, and getting a lot of car traffic.
If you’re driving through, as many people do every day, on a particularly busy stretch of Connecticut Avenue you’ll find this:
Barista Q&A: Randi Milton, Northside Social
Editor’s Note: Today I visited Randi Milton, General Manager of Northside Social in Arlington, VA, before the morning rush kicked in to get the view from the other side of the machine. Anyone who has looked at this blog knows that Northside is my go-to for great drinks, great food and great service (here’s my earlier review). I’m very grateful to Randi for her time, hope you all enjoy this as much as I did.