water, water everywhere… *and* good coffee!

Last fall I used this platform to whine about the absence of decent coffee at the Delaware beaches, a minirant which ended ” One of these days I’m going to find the holy grail, a decent espresso at the Delaware beaches, and then I’m never going to leave.”

Well, it looks like I may need to call a real estate agent.

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review: Dolcezza

yes, they used the ‘a’ word

see myaffogato wars of DCpost

Our final stop on our tour of DC gelato/specialty coffee shops is the Bethesda, MD outlet of Dolcezza. An area chain that is up to nine locations, including inside the Hirschorn Museum at the Smithsonian, they are noted for producing their own very high quality gelato (they use terms like crafted and artisanal quite a bit), and fitting out their shops beautifully. The Bethesda shop is a spot I know quite well, as for the past two years it’s been the nearest place to home to get a decent espresso.

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review: La Gelatteria

see myaffogato wars of DCpost

Before I start on any details, the name. The name! Gelateria, the Italian name for an ice cream shop, is spelled with one L, derivating from the word gelato. I get what they’re doing here, as the picture above clearly shows – and good on them for trying to make the coffee as important as the gelato, but the pedant in me has an awfully hard time getting past it (kind of like my issues with the kids on my lawn).

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affogato wars of DC

clockwise from top: Pitango; Dolcezza; Gelatteria

The Washington DC area has a couple local chains (Dolcezza and Pitango) and a stand-alone cafe (Gelatteria) which have two main offerings: specialty coffee, and high-end gelato. Sounds like fodder for a taste test, so I recently visited all three for a comparison.

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field report: Dublin

When you think of the Irish and what they drink, I’d wager coffee won’t be the first thing that will come to mind, it probably won’t be in the top five. But the millions who visit the Irish capital every year will find a great emerging specialty coffee scene. Keep your eyes out for a free foldout map to specialty cafes (we found one in The Fumbally), which is very helpful as you wander the city. Here’s a look at the places I enjoyed on a recent visit.

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stopping by my favorite

I was passing through New York early this morning on my way north, so of course I stopped by La Casa.

While Anna was making my macchiato I noticed some donuts on the counter that looked pretty good, but I wasn’t sure of the filling so I asked if they were chocolate or jelly. She said some were Nutella, some were creme. I said no thanks, I prefer jelly. Anna shot me a look, let me know in no uncertain terms that they were Italian, not American, and told me I should try them. All done politely but in a manner that made things quite clear I had no choice.

That creme was delicious, and my son (who was asleep in the car at the time) enjoyed the Nutella.

Anna knows what she’s talking about.