Georgetown | Coffee, It's a Helluva Drug

the best

I’ve already gone over in some detail that the best coffee in DC’s Georgetown, if not the entire DMV, can be found at Baked & Wired. Well, this weekend I found out that their cupcakes are also spectacular.

Big cupcakes, absolutely delicious, interesting flavors without going too nuts, and better than that place nearby that got all the buzz from reality tv ten years ago. Don’t get me wrong, Georgetown Cupcakes is good; but this is better, with amazing coffee to boot. And they are taking their social distancing protocols very seriously, which is a great comfort.

miscellaneous miscellany

Lumping together a few random coffee things I’ve come across recently, whilst waiting for the polar vortex to wipe out North America……

mini review: Baked & Wired

*ignore the fat man reflected in the window*

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.

mini 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.

mini 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.

mini 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.

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.

mini 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.

field report: Georgetown, Washington DC

*credit: Elite Image Photography by Chad McDermott*

I wanted to do a deep dive on third wave coffee shops in a DC neighborhood, so I picked Georgetown. I didn’t need provisions or a boarding pass for this one, as I can leave home and be at any of these places within 20 minutes. That is, depending on traffic, which is a big caveat.