The Coffee Crawl Sipping my way through New York City…one coffee shop at a time.

Not exactly a coffee shop, Chocolate Bar is my next stop on the Lower Manhattan Coffee Crawl. Located on 8th Avenue between 12th and Jane Streets, it’s only a short hop skip and a jump from my apartment. With the bitter  and cold New York City air that’s blown in this week, this coffee crawler didn’t want to crawl too far.

With a thick and heavy wooden door and window frames, your first impression of this shop is that it’s a very cute and antique-y place. When you walk in you are drenched in an amazing and delicious smell of chocolate. The light colored hardwood flooring complements the dark chocolate-colored tables, chair and shelving units. There are only 3 tables here but they are the perfect size for sitting down and doing work (or in my case, blogging). The cherry walnut benches for sitting are surprisingly comfortable. The back of the benches are decorated with the phrase “A Place To Sit.” I just thought this was cute and funny and it gave even more personality to the Chocolate Bar. I probably wouldn’t come here to hang out or to socialize as the seating area feels constrained and small. I personally like to have a more open and comfortable seating area when I’m in the mood for chatting with friends.

On the opposite side of the seating area, probably no more than 20 feet away, is a glorious wall of chocolate. Flavored chocolate bars and squares, truffles, bricks, candies, mugs and even t-shirts adorn this wall. The t-shirts read “chocolate boy” and “chocolate girl,” again, more cute personality for the shop. When you finally make it through all of the chocolate goodness to the front counter to place an order, you are greeted with (besides very nice employees) displays of baked goods. They have chocolate-covered oreos, brownies, chocolate-covered rice krispy treats, scones, and my personal favorite the peanut butter chocolate chip cookie. Although I didn’t get this today I have definitely indulged in the past. Incredibly decadent, moist, fresh and full of chocolate peanut buttery goodness, this cookie is beyond amazing. It will definitely require a full glass of milk as an accompaniment. However, if you’re feeling daring and you really don’t mind the calories and sugar, you really have to dive in to the hot chocolate. This drink is absolutely THE MOST rich cup of melted chocolate I have ever tasted in my entire life. So. Good.

I was actually able to resist the sweets and goodies of Chocolate Bar so that I could focus on their coffee alone. They feature only one drip coffee and one type of espresso bean. Since this isn’t a coffee bar, that part of the business is kept simple yet good. My coffee today was a medium drip. Simple, light, not bitter or burnt at all, this cup of coffee just may be one of my favorites on the crawl so far. To further streamline the business and keep utility costs down, they only serve their drinks in to-go cups. There aren’t any cute coffee mugs with which to sip. However, similar to the rest of the vibe of the shop, the coffee cups feature a simple yet clever phrase, “drink more chocolate!” I definitely want to.

I honestly cannot say enough good things about Chocolate Bar. I thank them for having free and easy-t0-access WiFi. I also want to thank them for having a well-designed site which also features e-Commerce so that the customer may order anything that they see in the store right from the website. Well done Chocolate Bar!

The next stop on my coffee crawl brings me to a newcomer in Chelsea: The Grey Dog. Located on 16th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues, this café brings a much needed solution to the Starbucks-ridden streets of the neighborhood (although I do love Starbucks at times!). As the third café opening for this local favorite, Grey Dog Chelsea has high hopes of continuing the success.

Occupying a rather large storefront, Grey Dog Chelsea has a large space to work with and it’s not done well. There are about 2 main sitting rooms, each filled with tables and chairs that line the walls. While the tables are spacious and good for working and eating on, there is too much vacant room to spare. Grey Dog could easily fit another 10-12 tables, accommodating about 20 more customers with seats. This is unfortunately a rather large miss for the coffee shop, losing out on possible profits and customer visits from lack of seating.

Despite the space concern, Grey Dog has a great overall ambiance. Exposed brick walls, dark hardwood flooring, antique furniture and old lanterns scattered throughout the store lend themselves to the old-fashioned atmosphere. The music, although a touch too loud, is an indie rock sound. The low lighting of the shop gives a more relaxing and comfortable feel. Although the tables are large enough for students to come in for studying or working, the music and lighting are not beneficial for this type of activity. In addition, I could not detect any Wi-Fi connections with which to access the internet to compose this post (hence my writing it from home after my visit).

The food selection at Grey Dog is impressive. Featuring yummy sandwiches and burgers served on a large selection of breads, 4-5 different soups, various salads, and a large number of breakfast options, customers are left with many great options. The desserts looked even better. I saw pumpkin pie bars, pecan pie squares, chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies…and what I had: the chocolate peanut butter cookie. Incredibly chewy, gooey peanut butter chips, and a very light chocolate-flavored cookie are what describe this cookie best. Also, it was just plain good!

I also enjoyed a skimmed decaf latte (since I was there in the evening). The barista did an excellent job steaming the milk and serving it to me with a heart decoration made from the foam and espresso residue in the milk. However, the espresso tasted a little burnt. This could easily have been avoided by not over-pulling the espresso shot. I’m sure that this was atypical for Grey Dog, as I have had espresso drinks here before and have thoroughly enjoyed them.

I will certainly visit Grey Dog Chelsea again for one of those great cookies. But due to the fact that I like to work and read in coffee shops, the low lighting and the loud music will not work well for my focusing. However, please check them out, Grey Dog is a welcome addition to the Chelsea neighborhood.

The next stop on my coffee crawl of lower Manhattan brings me to a healthy West Village favorite: Soy Luck Club. Located on Greenwich and Jane Avenues, the store is perfectly located to position itself as the “cute neighborhood coffee shop.” It also has an incredibly tough audience to please: the affluent, intelligent, health conscious and coffee-loving West Villager. From frequenting this place over the years, I believe that Soy Luck Club has reached their audience well.

Upon entering the coffee shop, you are automatically taken to a place of relaxation. The walls are painted a soothing light orange color and are decorated with abstract canvas paintings all in neutral tones. They have provided many tables with adequate space and seating to do work or to socialize with friends. I find the chairs incredibly comfortable made of a padded leather. The atmosphere is made even more relaxing with the choice of music: an ethereal and light rock sound. The volume is at just the perfect volume for studying. The employees are very friendly and suggestive of what to order.

Signage in Soy Luck Club is very prominent. From the menu to store reminders, they are everywhere, but tastefully. One sign that immediately catches my eye is the “A Few Reminders” blackboard by the register which discusses some shop rules:

1. No Cell phones (to add to the relaxed atmosphere)
2. Absolutely NO pets, no matter how tiny or cute they are (to maintain repoire with the health dept)
3. Please share your table during rush hours
4. No outside food or beverages
5. Please don’t leave your laptops unattended

I love these rules. Politely asked and not unreasonable at all. Also, located near the cash register is a sign calling out that “soy memberships are back!” For only $89.95 the customer gets $110 in store credit, a one week pass to Equinox Gym, a one hour session with a personal trainer, 60% off a zipcar membership, and 15% off orders placed to-go. This is an excellent deal!!

The food menu at Soy Luck Club is definitely a healthy one. A lot of their food is vegan or vegetarian. They serve breakfast, lunch (salads, soups and crostinis), cold sandwiches (see picture of their vegan avocado…yum), panino/crepes and desserts. In the past, although I’m not eating anything today, I have had their mulitgrain french toast and let me say…AMAZING. It’s served with grilled pineapples and pumpkin syrup drizzle. To die for. And it won’t kill your waistline, either. My other personal favorite is the turkey, apple, brie and honey mustard sandwich which is served on a walnut raisin bread. If I could eat this everyday, I would.

The drinks at Soy Luck Club are not all soy. If you feel so inclined, they can substitute in whole and skim regular milk or even non fat soy. This selection of milks helps its image with the vegan and vegetarian food options. Today I am enjoying a skim latte. Served in a classic white mug and perfectly steamed with the right amount of foam, this latte is great. The espresso is not bitter at all, actually it’s one of the smoothest lattes I’ve tasted. There are not any options of coffee beans although they are all fair trade and organic – another great trait to possess when serving the West Village customer.

Overall, I have to say, Soy Luck Club has nailed their target customer on the head. Serving excellent, healthy food, great tasting coffee and espresso drinks and offering an awesome membership, I’m sure they have attracted a great return customer base. My only criticism is that I don’t see a website at all. I searched google and could not find anything. Either it’s difficult to find or it doesn’t exist. This definitely needs to change.

A+ Soy Luck Club!

The next stop on the coffee crawl kept me close to home. I found myself at one of my favorite local coffee shops where I was very inspired to blog. Roasting Plant is a great little find in the West Village on the corner of Greenwich Avenue and 7th Avenue. The name says it all. They actually roast their own coffee in each store “so it’s always fresh, full of flavor and never bitter.” And those words do not lie, but I will get to the taste review shortly.

Upon walking into the shop, it’s easy to point out the design theme of Roasting Plant: simple and sleek. Slate tile flooring gives way to limited wall seats made of a shiny plastic material and only 3 small tables (about 18″ square inches total). The shop quickly fills up with laptop users as the store offers a great, free WiFi connection for customers. Despite the seating and small tables, the space is definitely not meant to be a study or work place.

Roasting Plant prides itself on seeing, hearing and smelling the entire process of getting to you that little cup of coffee goodness. They use what they have coined as the “javabot” system: once a coffee bean has been selected, ”javabot” automatically roasts the fresh green beans, sends them to rest (cool) and then precisely grinds and brews your favorite cup of coffee in seconds. The best part is that you can physically watch the entire process as it happens (see picture at right). The only negative remark that I had and from what I heard after interviewing a few of the patrons who were either working or chatting with friends, is the noise that the system creates. From the roasting of the beans to the transportation to the grinder, the beans move along a clear plastic tubing. This tubing is neither insulated nor is it sound proof. The clanging of the beans moving around gets to be quite loud when many cups of coffee are being ordered and roasting is concurrently going on. Another reason for not being able to do work, read or really have quiet conversation.

Sweets, with a more sophisticated taste offering, are sold here as well. Chocolate covered ginger, pecan pie bites, and chocolate butter crisps can be found inside small glass cases at the checkout register. Everything is weighed and paid for by the ounce, making the price a little confusing to discern without actually expressing interest in purchasing something to eat. Once you do however, you won’t be disappointed with the yummy sweet goodness of some of the treats.

Coffee and espresso prices are a little higher than most coffee shops, but that is to compensate for the cost of roasting and grinding everything in store. A small cup of coffee costs $1.84 while a latte costs $3.49.  Fresh squeezed orange juice (what I enjoyed today) is also quite costly at $3.75 for a small cup. Roasting Plant also offers coffee for sale by the bag, which is shipped in from various countries. With more than 10 types of coffees available to choose from, they definitely cater to most consumers’ tastes who walk in to the store.

Definitely check out Roasting Plant. The coffee is smooth, no bitter at all and the people who work here are incredibly nice and knowledgable. Even if you don’t come back often for that cup of joe on the go, you can take a bag of their coffee home to brew yourself.