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

The Lower Manhattan Coffee Crawl kicked off today with a trip over to Gramercy. Irving Farm Coffee House can be found nestled between 19th & 18th streets on Irving Place. At first glance from outside, it seems like a trendy yet sterile environment. However, when I walked through their heavy dark walnut door, I was pleasantly surprised.

The seating area (pictured to the left) was nicely situated with cute bistro-style wooden tables with matching chairs. One wall was decorated with a closed off fireplace. Another had two window seats for extra room. Most people, on the beautiful day in New York City, were there to catch up with friends and enjoy a cup of coffee and of course one of the baked goods. There were no couches or other more comfortable seating available and the lighting was very low, but I believe that is one of the tactics of Irving Farm to make sure a constant flow of customers occur. There was the occasional student as both Baruch and NYU were mere blocks away. To that point, and to keep the atmosphere light, indie rock was playing in the background at a low volume.

Once I set up shop at the first available table, I quickly got on line. The rows upon rows of baked goods were incredibly enticing. They seemed to have everything from yogurt, granola and fresh fruit to cupcakes, brownies and cookies. To satisfy their customer’s sweet tooth Irving Farm offered homemade waffles, Reese’s Peanut Butter bars, giant chocolate chip cookies, and my personal favorite, the magic bar. And that’s exactly what I chose to indulge in. Combining chocolate chips, butterscotch chunks, shredded coconut, condensed milk, and a graham cracker crust how can you go wrong? Check out the picture of some of the selection that they had to offer.

Now the most important part of my trip: the coffee. Featuring both light and dark roasts, the coffee offered gave customers any flavor and strength of coffee that they could be looking for. The prices were reasonable with coffee priced at $1.62 for a small to $2.31 for a large while the more expensive latte cost only $3.23 for a small and $4.15 for a large. I ordered a light roast hazelnut iced coffee (since the weather was in the upper 40s…it’s like summer in the City). The flavor was very smooth and light and the caffeine not overbearing. Overall, I enjoyed my iced coffee.

Scattered around the shop were pamphlets telling the story of their coffee. They roast their own coffee at a farm in the Hudson Valley region of upstate New York called Irving Farm. According to the pamphlet it is a “micro-roaster that offers the highest quality, estate grown coffees, roasted in small batches to make sure of the best quality in every cup.” Since they first opened in 1999, Irving Farm prices itself on supporting sustainable coffee programs around the world by choosing beans that are certified Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and Bird friendly.

As my first stop on the Lower Manhattan Coffee Crawl comes to a close, I definitely recommend Irving Farm for the coffee and baked goods lover. You will not be disappointed.