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

When I originally checked out the East Side location of Cafe Angelique a few months ago, I decided that I really loved it. The indoors garden-style look & feel, the antique chairs that looked like they were right off of someone’s (well-decorated) veranda, and the wall hangings all make this shop a great place to sit and enjoy someone’s company or a delicious treat. The West Side location right on Bleecker (close to 7th Avenue) is much more spacious, and crowded, than its East Side sister. Not that the busy-ness was a bad thing, it just provided a more bustling feel to my crawl this week.

Wandering around the West Village with a friend, we decided to pop into the cafe for a little afternoon snack and caffeine pick-us-up. When I saw that we were near Cafe Angelique I was pretty excited because I remember from the other location that I had tried the most delicious cookies from This Chick Bakes. Before I get in to what I had let me first set the scene of my stop. First, there is either a to-go counter for customers to place their order or you must sit down at one of the cafe tables for table service. I at first wanted to simply grab my cookie and iced coffee, take it back to my seat and enjoy, but after our waitress stopped by to take our order I was glad we had to sit down to order. She was probably one of the sweetest servers I have had at a coffee shop of this sort. I can only imagine how difficult it must be to remain happy and composed all day when you’re constantly running around on your feet and taking orders for what ultimately will be a very small check. However, she was excellent and made our visit at Cafe Angelique that much more pleasing. The decor of this location subtly screamed (is that even possible to ‘subtly scream’ anything?) “garden party” – with the outdoor tables and chairs, paintings on the wall and flowers scattered throughout the restaurant. You have to know that I loved it. Despite there being a very angry and rude man sitting directly behind me, I had a lovely time and will definitely be coming back.

However, let me now get back to This Chick Bakes. I may sound like I’m harping on this, but seriously her cookies and treats are simply out of this world…and healthy! I asked our waitress what selection of her cookies they had to offer and she brought over a whole handful of individually wrapped morsels. While everything caught my eye (of course) the one that stood out was the Gluten Free (Wheat Free) Peanut Butter Chocolate cookie. Peanut butter and chocolate have to be the best invention ever created for the cookie world. I honestly am not sure how she’s able to get the cookie to be so moist and tasty yet be better for you than a normal cookie would (especially for those of you out there with Celiac or some other allergy to wheat products). Check out the This Chick Bakes website out, you can order the cookies straight from the site and have them delivered to your doorstep. Um, hello amazing service!

And as usual, I drank down the cookie with a large iced coffee. Since this was technically my second stop and crawl to Cafe Angelique, I already knew how good the coffee was. This time was no different. My company, the neighborhood, the atmosphere of the cafe and the amazing treats all made this coffee crawler very happy to be back for more.

In the spot where Left Bank Books once stood (and where I would spend many a day searching through the stacks of wonderful books), Cafe Minerva has now been erected. Tucked away at 304 W4th Street between W12th and Bank Streets, this new edition to the West Village coffee scene stands in a glorious location. It almost seems as if you are sitting in a set for “Sex and the City”, with all of the beautiful people, outfits, and buildings surrounding you. I unfortunately wasn’t able to snap a picture of the outside of the cafe. There is no overhang, no sign, nothing to let you know that you have reached Cafe Minerva except for very lightly colored lettering on the glass windows. I almost walked right past it, if not for the delicious aroma wafting out from the espresso bar.

Walking over the freshly painted threshold (and it really is freshly painted, the shop has been open for only about 2 weeks) I noticed that most of the seating available was only for table service. As you are all aware of, I tend to frequent and enjoy the cafes that are self-service. I enjoy ordering my coffee and treat from a barista, scoping out my table, and enjoying my purchases by myself, without server interruption. However, there were about 6 stools available at the espresso bar, one of which had my name on it. Pulling up to the bar, I looked around making mental notes of the decor and patrons that were here. Overall, the entire place seemed a little too sterile. Too clean. I like my coffee shops more worn-in-looking. As for the patrons, most were in groups of 2 or 3, chatting and laughing with each other as if they had no care in the world. The others were, not surprisingly, plugged into their laptops or iPads. I had simply my magazine and my iPhone with which to snap pictures and take notes.

The menu of Cafe Minerva consisted mainly of Italian breads and sandwiches with a few pastries and desserts and of course coffee and wine. I was a little concerned with the quality of the espresso and coffee beverage I would order, initially thinking that the shop would have invested more into their food preparation than their coffee. Boy, was I sorely mistaken. I will make a very bold statement here and say that Cafe Minerva’s cappuccino was the best one that I have had since starting this coffee crawl. The experience began with a wonderful and friendly barista taking  my order. I then watched as he used the grinder to make me a fresh batch of espresso grinds for my espresso drink. He then pulled me a fresh shot and combined it with the steamed milk for my cappuccino. Before serving it to me, he created beautiful latte art on the foam. I hated messing up the design but I had to add my sweetener and enjoy the drink. And enjoy it I did! The espresso was so fresh and milk perfectly warm and smooth that it was almost as if I were sipping a coffee milkshake. Absolutely the most delicious drink that I have had on this crawl. You must check out Cafe Minerva. Even if you are put off by the semi-sterile environment of the store’s atmosphere and people, you will fall in love with the drinks.

Enjoy.

So I’ve lived in the West Village for over a year now and tried out many different coffee shops and bakeries in the immediate area. Actually, I’ve almost tapped out every coffee shop and bakery in the area. I knew that I wanted to go on a crawl today, but since the weather decided to lightly rain and turn somewhat chilly I didn’t want to venture out too far from the safety of my warm and dry apartment. Then I got to thinking, “Grounded! How could I have forgotten about Grounded?!” This hidden gem in the West Village, very close to home, is what I like to call the ‘neighborhood java joint.’ Located at 28 Jane Street near Greenwich Avenue, Grounded provides the perfect tucked away goodness that I tend to really enjoy in a coffee shop. Today proved no different as I ducked in out of the rain.

Doesn’t the picture just make the shop look so inviting? I also love the organic nature of the coffee and tea as well, as dictated by the full name ‘Grounded Organic Coffee & Tea House.” It almost reminds me of my favorite place in DC, Teaism. Walking into the shop, an instant calm is brought over you: the music playing is usually classical or a light reggae-style (which I find very conducive to studying and reading), the people working behind the counter are incredibly laid back and give off that calm and relaxed vibe, and the patrons are actually nice. I know it’s hard to find calm, nice NY coffee drinkers sometimes, but come to Grounded and you will. It seems to be an unheard precedent that all of the customers adhere to: please don’t be rude or loud or we’ll kick you out. One downside (for the customer, not the store) is that it’s always difficult to find an open table or couch to plant at and enjoy your beverage and snack of choice. Like I said, everyone in the neighborhood loves it here. I do love, however, choosing from the eclectic array of seating options. It looks like the owners (or whomever the decorator is) decided to walk into a thrift store and pick out whatever they saw first. I absolutely love that style of coffee shop decorating. As you can see from the picture, I wanted to sit on the red couch…my fave…however it was taken by someone else loving it a little earlier than I did. Sigh.

Once I made my way to the counter to order my coffee and food, I had time enough to make a selection. One aside I must mention here. Fall + NYC + Coffee Shops have to be the absolute best combination of anything ever created. Starbucks brings out its beloved Pumpkin Spice Latte – the number one way that New Yorkers know that Fall has hit the City. For me, today, despite the glorious rainy and chilly weather, I knew that Fall was upon me from the menu of items with which I had to choose. I instantly picked out their pumpkin latte (made with skimmed milk, of course, because the pumpkin syrup was probably sugar-free and fortified with protein…kidding) and pumpkin bread. Let me just say, and commend loudly, that the latte was probably the best I have ever tasted. And I’m not just saying that, either. It was actually the right combination between espresso, yummy pumpkin syrup and milk. While I savored every last drop, it didn’t last more than 10 minutes. Delish. The pumpkin bread came next to tickle my taste buds. Freshly baked, moist and pumpkin-y goodness, the bread lasted even shorter than the latte did!

So definitely take my word for it and try Grounded out if you haven’t already. And do so before the Fall season for coffee and treats leave us. If you miss out on the pumpkin latte or pumpkin bread, you will be very upset with yourself!

I know that it’s been quite some time since a coffee crawl has been posted. I’m sorry. Don’t hate me. My personal life got a little hectic over the summer and it’s finally settling back in to some sort of normalcy. This means that I can finally resurrect my Coffee Crawl! To be quite honest I’ve missed it greatly. So sit back and enjoy my coffee stylings.

You may have noticed a subtle change to my description from “sipping my way through Manhattan,” to “sipping my way through New York City.” I have decided I need to venture out of Manhattan proper and check out what the other boroughs have to offer. Today’s crawl brought me to Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn to a perfect spot called Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain. I was visiting a friend and asked for a suggestion that would be a great installment for The Coffee Crawl’s first post in awhile. He took me straight to 513 Henry Street to this amazing find.

Right away, stepping across the Farmacy’s threshold I was transported to the 1940′s when soda fountain’s in drug store’s were at the peak of popularity. I actually found myself wishing I could experience them first hand from that time. The decor was simply perfect: old-fashioned soda fountains, bar stools surrounding the soda jerk station, antique light fixtures and furniture that could actually date to the 1940s. They even had gum and candy for sale that would have been for sale back then. I was in love with this place! The jerk’s were so friendly and seemed to be having fun in preparing the egg creams for their customers. You never find places like this in Manhattan. I guess I should come to Brooklyn more often!

For my first coffee crawl treat back on the job, I decided to opt for an iced coffee (obviously) and a turtle cupcake. Yes, my usual. The coffee could only be sweetened with pure rock sugar or simple syrup, none of the imitation sweeteners. It was delicious and sated my caffeination obsession perfectly. The cupcakes, prepared by Robicelli’s Cupcakes were simply divine. If you remember from my previous posts, The Coffee Craw was turning into somewhat of a cupcake crawl. I have no problem with that. I’m obsessed with cupcakes too. This particular dessert only added to my obsession. The cake was the perfect combination of moistness and “cakeyness” while the icing was an amazing mixture of (a ton of) butter, sugar and flavor for whichever you chose. Since I had the turtle cupcake mine had hints of chocolate, caramel and pecans. Yummy. My friend chose to go with a traditional soda fountain favorite: a Black & White Soda. This consisted of chocolate soda with vanilla ice cream. I of course sampled it (well, a lot of it) and my mouth happily cried with pleasure. It was chocolatey carbonated goodness.

In the end, I was thrilled to be back on the coffee crawl trail and that it brought me to Brooklyn. I even shopped in their drug store and bought a soda jerk hat and a few greeting cards. If you ever find yourself in Carroll Gardens, or want to hop on the F train, then you definitely have to make a stop at the Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain. I know I will quickly become a regular.