Taking it back downtown to the West Village yesterday, I headed on over to a local favorite, Cafe Panino Mucho Giusto. Located at 551 Hudson Street (between Perry and West 11th Street), it’s just a hop, skip and a jump from home. And to that point, you can usually find me here on Saturday mornings or whenever I’m not crawling for new coffee shops. That being said, before we even get into the crawl today, I already find this place to be one of my favorites.
C
afe Panino Mucho Giusto means, in my translation, “cafe and sandwich done right.” I can definitely attest to both being done very right. The cafe itself is already located in a beautiful part of the West Village, surrounded by other small businesses ranging from restaurants to clothing boutiques to nail salons. Outside, as you can see from the picture, benches and chairs are placed around for customers to enjoy their coffee and food purchases. Inside the shop you are greeted with a living room/family room feel complete with antique chairs (some are wicker but very comfortable!) and gorgeous wooden tables and larger furniture pieces. Just walking into the coffee shop, I already feel at home and like it’s an extension of my own apartment, I even have my own spot at one of the tables (shown in the picture on the right). The music also adds to the ambiance nicely, usually playing either a light rock/pop or even classical at times. Basically, if you haven’t been able to tell yet, I truly find myself completely happy and at peace while dining, enjoying a great book, or sipping the perfect cup of coffee here.
The second half of Cafe Panino Mucho Giusto’s translation, “sandwich done right,” is also all too true. Aside from just their sandwich selection, they also do coffees, baked goods and other delectable treats very right! On my recent trip, I not only had the standard scrambled eggs, bacon and toast, but I also ventured to try the Baker’s Muffin. This looked like a simple muffin with a raised top, but no, it was amazing. Powdered sugar decorated it’s fresh-from-the-oven top and just the right amount of sweetness was found within. Basically, after the very first bite, my mouth could not stop watering. So, I had to try to abate the need for more deliciousness with one of my favorite drinks of all time, a hazelnut latte. I know that Starbucks and Au Bon Pain and other such chain coffee shops also prepare this coffee drink with the same syrups, but Cafe Panino Mucho Giusto does it perfectly every single time. I’m not sure if it’s the barista’s attention to detail or just the care that’s put into every cup made, but it’s great.
I hope that you can all now see why Cafe Panino Mucho Giusto is right at the top of my “Coffee Crawler’s Highly Recommended” list. Amazing ambiance, delicious baked goods and fantastic coffee drinks make each and every experience here one that I look forward to.
