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:
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.
Today a coffee craving struck me while I was at an outlet of a well-known, high end grocery chain. For the sake of nothing in particular, let’s refer to the store as Mole Dudes.
Mole Dudes owns Allegro Coffee, which started as a roaster in Boulder, Colorado in 1977. Many Mole Dudes, including the one I found myself in today, have an Allegro shop within a shop in their stores.
At my favorite cafe for breakfast. Switching things up by trying the monster cappuccino.
Last week the founders of Sprudge, a coffee website* that would be a much better use of your time than reading my drivel, released a book called The New Rules of Coffee.
* they call it “Sprudge Media Network,” but to be honest it sure looks like a website to me
On a bucolic commercial block in the DC suburbs which just screams small-town American goodness, you’ll find Takoma Beverage Company, otherwise known as Takoma Bev Co. This shop has quickly become a mainstay of Takoma Park, MD, a progressive, funky town hard by the DC line.
See my Denver field report
A bit of a hike from downtown, on a busy street in south Denver that feels part industrial, part suburban commercial sprawl, part hipster bait gentrification zone, you’ll find the roastery and cafe of Corvus Coffee Roasters, known as one of the finest roasting houses in the area and my choice for Denver’s finest coffee house.
See my Denver field report
Not to be confused with Crema, the coffee and gelato shop in Jersey City, NJ, also found in my directory.
Located in the RiNo district, across the street from ink! Coffee’s flagship outlet. They may not be for everyone, but I found the building and interior beautiful. The black painted exterior is softened by yellow painted artwork and a shock of light blue with red accents around one of the entrances, and two huge windows that brighten one of the mishmash of rooms in this large space covering two separate storefronts which have been opened up. There’s also an eclectic mix of interesting artwork and decoration.
See my Denver field report
Pablo’s has been around forever and was on the vanguard of Denver’s coffee scene. It’s pretty clear from their website that these people are serious about their coffee, but the feeling in the cafe is a very accessible neighborhood joint.
See my Denver field report
A long-time staple of the coffee scene in Boulder, the beautiful college town 30 miles away from Denver, Ozo operates 4 outlets which include this cafe on the main retail and restaurant street downtown.