Super Nice (UES)

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I’ve known about Super Nice for a few years now; it all goes back to 2021 when I got their pastries delivered to my best friend for her birthday during quarantine. She had a roommate that was vegan and, well, this place fit the bill. I’d ordered from their 108th St location, given that the birthday girl lives off Malcom X Blvd. However, I can still recount the joy at discovering that this cafe has a second location in East Harlem. Sadly, as I continued my trek up Lex, I would have absolutely missed this spot if I wasn’t looking for it. It might only be just beyond the MI BARRIO MEAT MARKET; and there is a black, plastic A-frame and matching awning. Yet, the sign’s exhausted chalk and the street-facing words COFFEE-ESPRESSO-BAKERY on the awning’s edge almost push it more into neighborhood obscurity. I questioned whether it was even open, with windows so magnificently reflective that I couldn’t see beyond them to the menu listing, a layering of Scotch tape and scrap paper (on what appeared to be a piece of cardboard), pushed right up to it. Getting eyes on the donuts—the goods—before needing to know what you want is an impossibility. How to (or if I) could order further confused the situation. One door had a laminated “Window Service” sign, but someone walked through it at my approach. Could I? Since I couldn’t see anything, and no one was at the window, I thought that maybe I could go enter and that this sign was a suggestion. 

“I’ll be right with you,” the guy behind the bug screen acknowledged. 

So, I waited. 

When another woman walked up, there was a different person behind the screen now ready to take her order. Everything was quickly remedied, I hopped in and placed my order while she apologized. No slight or malice in the entirety of it all. In the end, okay the experience wasn’t super nice, but it definitely wasn’t bad to any degree. If you want a largely neutral, take-away coffee encounter, look for the pig.

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Drink: Drip Coffee

By far the best this cup of coffee was the best I’d had all day. They were selling bags of whole bean Paper Plane Coffee Co. Santuario Single Origin Specialty Coffee and TINTO, so I assume that’s what they were brewing. My suspicions were confirmed when I saw the larger bags on the shelf above the espresso machine. They also had some Crown Beverage’s Emperor’s Finest Decaf, so there could very well be variation. But, with the natural sweetness, accompanied by an intentional fruit angling, and something like a graham cracker undertone, my money is on Paper Plane Coffee Co. all the way. Regardless, it’s good. Funny, I wrote this line and thought, have I heard this somewhere? Sure enough, the last line of a coffee mention in one of their update emails: “It’ll be great, regardless.” I can confirm. 

•••

Drink: Loganberry Donut

I had asked for a recommendation because I just couldn’t decide. Mango chili, loganberry, blood orange, maple pecan !!! [how it was written], and every cake donut (honey cornbread, birthday cake, lemon poppy) spoke to me. She pointed me at first to the passion fruit, then advocated for the popularity of the plain glazed. The blueberry cake (not on the menu) was also apparently a favorite. But, I couldn’t resist my own intrigue. What is loganberry? I didn’t need to ask: “blackberry and raspberry purée.” A yeast donut, perhaps, but it didn’t seem it. It was soft yet hefty. Unfortunately, the glaze does—for lack of better phrasing—absorb. She had put a napkin in with the donut and, by the time I’d gotten a chance to eat it, half of the topping was in the napkin. While the donut was still decent, its intriguing flavor aspect was too short lived for my taste. I’m big on balance—eggs-to-potato ratios, just enough cream cheese to thinly layer the bagel, cheese as an additive to the dippers—and I’d have preferred that the loganberry had more prominence to balance things out. I’ll just have to venture into cake donut territory when I visit the west side location...

Price: Drip Coffee (10 oz.)=$3; Yeast donut (Loganberry donut)=$4.50

Hours: Monday–Friday {8–17}; Saturday–Sunday {10–16}

Irving Farms (JFK - Terminal 7)

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If I wasn’t desperately looking, I probably wouldn’t have noticed this spot and had gone to Apartment 7B. Why? Well, as you circle the corner from security in Terminal 7, the center of the dining area is filled in by an architectural chunk (it’s way too big to be characterized as a pillar) that has painted brick wallpaper and tabling with a grey and white tile underside. Irving Farms is completely shrouded as a result of its placement within the food court layout, just beyond this bulwark. What also doesn’t help is the logo choice, the steely black variation with lettering in an only slightly contrasting steel shade acting as paneling along the counter and some added wall decor. The most successful part? Strangely enough, the glamor shots of a Lorin’s roaster, iced coffees, and lattes. Slightly cooled, darkened, and sharpened, the rosette and ice cubes breaking through coffee and dairy goodness signal that this food hall participant is more than what goes with your deli sandwich or Saran-wrapped danish. Every suitcase rolls through and every backpack you can think of is the last of a passerby. An almost indiscernible swirl in this whirlpool, if you do have the good fortune of noticing it, there isn’t much subsequent promise. Can you find an uninspired wood slab to sit at?

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Drink: Cortado

Just a stray thought: always serve a one-shot cortado in an espresso cup. This pairing might sound like a given, but it isn’t. A cortado should be around 6 oz. Espresso cups run around 4 oz. What this means—and it was much the case at Joe Coffee Company in Grand Central a few weeks ago—is that the 6 oz is served in a partially filled 8 oz. cup. Why was that not done here? Because of what the lady in the Dunkin’ Donuts shirt made clear to me: all of their small drinks have one shot while all of their larges have two. One ounce of espresso, two ounces of steamed milk, and an ounce of micro foam and what you have is a to-the-brim cortado or a heavy-handed macchiato. Either way, I absolutely dug it. The main goal was to taste the Irving Farms. And, boy oh boy, mission accomplished. 

••••

Price: Medium Cortado=$5.75

Hours: No idea. Cannot find this info anywhere…

✓ WIFI

Extra Notes:

While there is WIFI, it’s a little wonky. Best not to rely on it if you can.

Brooklyn Kolache

~ Dedicated to Laura and Mike ~

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One might think an introduction happens only once. Allow Brooklyn Kolache to defy this innate construction. First introduction: meeting a couple in Red Hook, New York that met and fell in love while working at this cafe, a painted canvas depicting them in its foreground along with several versions shrunken into CD cover art crowning their impressive tapes collection. Then a re-introduction—the handshake of the differentiated and vibrant—offered by the two orthodox men that slowed my approach to the hot orange metal caging igniting the façade. I have had enough people in my life complain about using “first” and then not listing more numbers as transitions. Not this girl. Third, there was being introduced to the actual space, the steps off the black-and-white polygonal, arrowhead patterning through the door. The Golden Girls greet you on your right, courtesy of Cameron Stanford’s “Thank You For Being My Friends,” four gold-framed canvases of heat transferred vinyls. White-brushed brick, a worn wood counter, and a sharpie-assaulted menu in an angled, plastic sign holder (options dwindle as the day goes by), all signs that your environs are a Brooklyn beloved...and then there is a cookie sheet of kolache, catching whatever sunlight achieves passage through the portico and the main window. While taken together, the cafe cultivates a uniqueness all its own, it keeps going. A room in the back was the sanctuary for The Breakfast Club if they were Brooklinites (a white guy with a wireless mouse and headphones fused to his head, a girl in a hijab energetically remarking to her shabbily dressed friend that she didn’t have a Turkish accent, a Jake-from-Twilight fellow wearing fishnets and pointed black stilettos, and another two presences keeping to themselves at the final table) and the entire scene played out much like the first few minutes of the film’s Saturday detention—silence. It doesn’t feel stuffy, just focused. And, with the most gorgeous back garden, this cafe is each and every intro and is the worthy compound of every duction.

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Drink: Small Coffee

That hot hot blue cup and then the coffee? Perfect temperature. It’s hot enough to warm you up, but not to burn your tongue. The taste is a light kind of fruity, not hard on the cherry notes. What’s interesting though? It does start to lean chocolatey as you go along. I don’t know how...I decided to go online and check out how exactly Kitten Coffee describes its Alchemy roast. The description: “...bursting with chocolate and berry notes.” Well played, well played. And, I’m happy to report that it doesn’t back down, even at the last dregs. 

•••

Food: Vegan Biscuit with Strawberry “Butter”

This baked good really hit the spot after 3.5 hours in the Brooklyn Museum and a 40-minute walk over (I’d had a bag of potato chips and a few dried cherries during that time). And, unbeknownst to me, they were promoting it on their Instagram, and it was available for the first time that day! Talk about getting in on the ground floor. I asked for it warmed up, and Jen was kind enough to oblige. Even after going to the bathroom, it was still warm in its green plastic basket. Ready for the kicker though? That strawberry “butter.” I was nervous about two things: the butter and the biscuit’s hardness. For the first apprehension, chuck it out the window. The butter didn’t even need to touch the biscuit to melt. It seemed to know the assignment. It really brightened up the biscuit too and, although it looked small, was the perfect amount. I need to fess up one thing: I did drizzle Choloula on it as well to contrast with the sweet. Totally unnecessary, but I’m a sadist. Then, regarding the biscuit’s hardness, an absolute non-issue. It was soft and yet the proper amount of dense for a biscuit. Vegans rejoice; non-vegans, the dare’s on the table. 

Cherry Sweet Cheese Kolach

So pleasantly surprised. As I ate the sweet bread, I wondered why anyone would make it any other way. There could have been more filling, of course. But, what went ahead and impressed me was what my brain likened it to: a blueberry pastry I’d had at a farmer’s market on Jiřího z Poděbrad Square almost ten years ago. It must’ve bee a koláč. Delightful.

Price: Vegan Biscuit=$4.50; Cherry Sweet Kolach=$4.50; Small Hot Drip=$3

Hours: Monday–Friday {7:30–18}; Saturday–Sunday {8–18}

✓ WIFI

bourke street bakery (Grand Central)

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When I warned this couple chowing down on their sandwiches in the line area that I was going to take a panorama, they quickly apologized and moved out of the way.

“You can stay! I just wanted to warn you so you didn’t think I was trying to take a picture of you guys,” I reassured them.

They still rushed out of the way. I felt horrible. Then the man turned around as I got in position.

“It’s a nice bakery,” he remarked, agreeing with his own nod.

You know, it isn’t anything fancy. But, if it makes him happy, gosh I’m so happy. It’s a quick takeaway, and normally it would warrant a reduced rating—the nature of a cafe blog. HOWEVER, because of this interaction above and one other thing, this carved out, two-cooler bakery with burgundy walls is a pleasant presence, finely positioned on the way to the subway. You think I forgot? EH? The second thing that earns its stripes: the windowing all along the outer edge. What an exquisite design element, displaying the back of the counter through the view of croissant sandwiches (tomato Swiss cheese everything and smoked turkey Swiss cheese arugula among them) and rows of their book all things sweet. The espresso machine becomes the front and center actor in what begs to be defined as a kind of amphitheatric arrangement. Every time I trot to the subway, I stop and stare for the briefest acceptable moment. Distinctive design leaves no need for window decals or banner promotion, and this bakery knows it.

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Drink: Cortado

I would get it again. I would get it again. I couldn’t believe it. I’ll have to go pin it against the Zaro’s in Grand Central. I went back and forth at first after the guy taking my order told me that alternative milks didn’t cost extra. Then oat showed up $1 more on the register screen. Back to cortado we went. But honestly, I’m so glad I did. It is crazy potent. Like, if you routinely take sweetener in your coffee, grab a handful as you pick up your cup and go. Me? Perfect. The Counter Culture Coffee shines, blindingly. 

••••

Price: Cortado=$4.25

Hours: Everyday {6–21}

✓ WIFI

Extra Notes:

The WIFI is the one in Grand Central, and it is a total lifesaver.

Van Leeuwen (Rockefeller Center)

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Whether or not you feel any special way about Rockefeller Center (and I definitely run in the fond feelings category), this ice cream shop’s sheer presence is an impeccable tailwind. If only it had been around during the fabled time of nearby Prometheus, to defy the gods and bring ice cream to humans, a civilization built on the spun flavors and bliss of decadent treats. Rosy walls surround and an unruly gold wave of pipe follows a silver birch counter that extends as floor to the door. Come to think of it, the space almost subtly suggests the electrolysis of rose gold. Could there be a more fitting effort in the throngs of the gilded Rockefeller Center? And the silver birch ensures that Van Leeuwen—its white, shadowed and lighted-face letters—and its stainless steal ice cream cabinets are what’s experienced. Every drop of ice cream that misses ones mouth appears, but for a moment. Tourists fill benches of the silver birch that bunches up as it begins to ascend the wall, and yellow-legged circulars where the surface material has finally managed to detach. You’ll find no plugs. However, if you think about it, “anything good” doesn’t promise everything. Vegetables and charging ports can’t be too far away—Prometheus’s fire at play. 

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Drink: Iced Oat Latte

He swirled the latte—very finesse of him—as he handed it out. The espresso was pulled by the La Marzocco, and then some CALIFIA FARMS Oat Barista Blend milk was added. It was exactly what I was looking for. It’s not stellar, but it will arrive on time to the ice cream festivities—a reliable attendee.

•••

Drink: 2 Scoop Classic

Ice Cream Cake Scoop – It had more meat to it than the typical cookies  and cream—a delightful surprise. It reminds me of the classic Coldstone combo of sweet cream and Oreos folded together on a slab. This flavor was my favorite growing up. This scoop is all the richness I love. 

Passion Fruit Berry Pop – This special Keith Haring, Pride Month makes my heart flutter. Not only does it fuse the art world and the LGBTQIA+ community—not the easiest feat—but it’s colorful and flavorful and well worth the dipper’s trip. What I love most though is how adventurous it is: blue raspberry, passion fruit, and strawberry jam combined. No one at HQ held back. Maybe it was just for the colors, but it pulls it off. It isn’t a chaotic melding. Rather it is the ice cream translation of canvas to pint. 

Price: 2 Scoop Classic=$8.85; Latte=$4 (no upcharge for non-dairy milk)

Hours: Everyday {11–1}

Extra Notes:

There is a WIFI network, and you can probably get on it. However, because I couldn’t get the password (or figure it out otherwise), I wasn’t able to confirm that it works.

Steeplechase Coffee

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Indoor plants along the window, individual stained glass panels along the main wall, and enlarged images of the Coney Island Steeplechase (that went dark in 1964) on what empty wall space is left, this cafe is that corner character that is actually interesting once you get to know them. You know the type. The exposed brick behind the counter seems to mimic the reddish wood panels on the floor and the tiles of square rings painted copper on the ceiling. None of it fits into each other, all the design seams visible. And yet, an industrial style table—all steel pipe links for legs—with a relentless spider plant atop it acts to distort the view of the La Marzocco machine. A trandescantia zebrina and aloe on the counter further absorb the lion and the high-performing equipment. This arrangement, coupled with one uncluttered soul per table—most with just a laptop in front of them—ushers in an unassuming refuge, the locale manifestation of a bud peaking through pavement. 

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Drink: Skim Cappuccino

This is one of the worst cappuccinos I’ve had in a long time. It tasted like they made it with 2 oz. of blonde roast rather than espresso. I don’t know how they concocted this exactly. I asked if they put in 2 shots, and I got an enthusiastic yes…well, as enthusiastic as the distracted (or maybe a little aloof?) barista with the myriad of neck jewelry (including the classic black stretch choker). My brain just kept saying, Drink, it has to get better. But that first sip indicated all I needed to know. I think that the grinder is off, to be honest. I think that it is too course and maybe not grinding the right volume of coffee for the portafilter. At one point, my throat didn’t even want to swallow it, with it bubbling back up into my mouth. Jesus. There’s so much going on in the flavor too, berries, cocoa, fig, flowers, root beer, and honey. I think it requires more careful dialing in. My assumption? They kept the machine at the same calibration from the following day (or days) leading to an inaccurate and poor cup. 

••

Price: Cappuccino=$4.75

Hours: Monday–Friday {7:30–15}; Saturday–Sunday {8–15}

✓ WIFI

Extra Notes:

WIFI wouldn’t let me post on my Instagram story though...

The Uncommons

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10/10 on the vibes. Oh, I knew before walking in. I’ve been here before. A very long game of Ticket to Ride, from what could be almost ten years ago is seared into my memory...but, somehow it has retained its spark (and dare I say has gotten better). Why do I claim this? Not why, who. Who: the spectacled specimen at the counter with the rawest gorgeous energy. I walked in and proclaimed how annoying I was going to be, just buying a coffee to use the bathroom.

His response: “Oh my gosh, you can just use it. Do not worry.”

Okay, take my money. This response is one from a sensational human being.

Then, spotting the Hex & Co. business card on the counter, I voiced some perplexity.

“Wait, are you guys related to Hex & Co.?”

He then gave me the full run-down of the relationship—they’re like sister stores because of the owners—and then he asked me if I knew about the new location that just opened up. I shook my head.

“Well, we’re supposed to be plugging it,” he continued.

“Plug away!”

I mentally added it to my list. Then I suddenly remembered: bathroom. I passed through the tunnel of never ending board games, card games, and more—for sale, for play, for perusing—and found the bathroom just past the packaged Catan (and of course my dreaded Ticket to Ride). When I emerged back into the sanctuary of play, my eyes did a basilic reach to try and pick out a game or two, wedged into any one of the hundreds of stacks. But, it’s like trying to read every label at the Met. The solution is the same: follow your intrigue. Whilst ceasing my efforts, the perfect scene unfolded in the main room. A casual couple were in the middle of some decisions at the counter when a few folks walked in behind them... 

Outburst.

They were friends of theirs, and they’d all unknowingly gone to the same spot at the same time. As they all hugged, one of the young women said through a caught breath: “It’s such a big city...”

No need to think of a better way to sum up the magic of this uncommon experience.  

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Drink: Coffee

The culprit is La Columbe. I did not know that’s what I was going to be served. But, once I brought it to my lips, I knew something was up. I won’t go holding it against them. It just lands plain—no fruitiness, no flavor notes, no potency. It would act well as a diner coffee, but for a cafe coffee—with no sandwiches to be wary of it clashing with—it hits the bottom of the river with an audible thud. To hedge your bets, I would say that this place is the one to just get a latte and flavor it with something you’ve never considered before. A mocha might do the trick or perhaps, if you are truly feeling adventurous, peanut butter or raspberry. But try to avoid plain coffee. 

•••

Price*: Small Coffee=$2.50

*If you’re in here to play (because, why wouldn’t you be?), there’s a student discount Monday–Thursday: $8/three hours rather than $10/three hours!

Hours: Sunday–Thursday {10–23}; Friday–Saturday {10–00:00}

Gumption Coffee

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It doesn’t take flashiness to get my attention. A little effort goes a long way...you just have to go in with gumption, so it seems. The palette of blue denim, teal, and turquoise is funky and brave, but it’s the large hexagonal tiles on the floor that electrify the room. Because, beyond just being a color you’d never expect, the tiling is patterned with the white frames of triangles that almost fit into each other, set into rows with centers of angular collapse. It offers high contrast, especially with the standing tables in the center of the room and one blue booth with a few integrated side tables. It must be said that major amounts of paint chipped away on these few pieces of furniture communicates unspoken neglect despite the all-caps turquoise writing on the wall: “CAREFULLY MADE QUICKLY SERVED.” A fresh coat of blue and a quick dusting would elevate the space and the cafe’s messaging a thousand times over. But, focusing on what is, the decorative round walls—like a turquoise rib of a ship’s hull—behind the counter and a delectably scripted GUMPTION in dark blue just above its TV screen menus are components that voice some kind of cartoonish inspiration. The framed comic panels on the wall opposite the mirror that tell their story, from obsession to the customer experience, further bring the hammer down on how they illustrate their brand. As for this store, it was when the aux changed hands to the chilled out sort on the espresso machine that it all finally came together. His first selection? “For My Hand” by Burna Boy featuring Ed Sheeran. Hitting a wavy yet not beachy beat, the collaboration the world didn’t know it needed felt like the right track. Don’t ask me why. Ask the barista, with his finger on the phone and subsequently the cafe’s pulse.   

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Drink: Oat Cappuccino

I made two mistakes at this Australian spot: I had a Joe Coffee Company cortado minutes before, AND I got a cappuccino instead of a flat white. It grows with intensity, but I can’t be sure if this is attributable to the waning Joe or if it is their cappuccino’s nature. However, once the espresso does begin to speak for itself, it is less weak than balanced. I have a feeling that oat milk wasn’t the smartest choice either. What I’m saying ultimately is that I don’t think I chose well here. I accept the blame. The Goodness Galileo (what was on the hopper) was slightly robbed by my choices. The highlighted flavor notes of caramel and milk chocolate (of the Caramel, Macadamia, Fig, and Chocolate profile) aren’t as palpable as the description makes out. If anything, expect a very tame caramel, tamed presumably by the fig and macadamia. The fig is so subtle at the end, you almost don’t notice it. But, this is really what pivots away from caramel, so don’t be surprised if you don’t get the sweet you’re expecting. Because caramel isn’t my favorite flavor note, I’m not enthused with this drink. Nevertheless, it offers up what it needs to with a savory last sip. One thing: I wish they didn’t leave the origins of the blend off the front of the bag. All the bag mentions is that it’s an Australian creation and that it’s roasted in Brooklyn—it feels slightly misleading somehow. In case you’re curious: the blend is from Colombia, Bolivia, Guatemala, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Java.

•••

Price: Cappuccino=$4 (+Oat Milk=$0.8)

Hours: Monday–Friday {7–18}; Saturday–Sunday {9–16}

Joe Coffee Company (Grand Central)

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Between Track 105 and the elevators, it isn’t much more than a serving structure among the other Grand Central stalls. But, anything under the unshaded bulbs of the train station—affixed to the ceiling in the center of a spiky medallion or concave circles with toothed petals—is special. It’s the nature of being the subterranean of the grand, eternal constellation just a floor above. A few gold stanchions are set up for queuing, presumably for a rush at some other point in the day. At 13:10, it was fairly mum. It’s no exercise in extravagance, that’s for sure. However, the EQUALITY sticker—the lettering the many symbols of diversity coming together—on the La Marzocco Linea Classic is the gentle nudge of comfort in a place where the many in transit might for a moment worry whether this fast-paced world still recognizes them.

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Drink: Cortado

Never seen a “Q” scribbled as indicating a cortado, but alright. No harm. It’s kind of sweet and has good character. There is a complaint: it is (or at least feels) way too small. When she handed it to me, I got sad for what was in the to-go cup. It does the job, but it doesn’t reach my coffee soul. A weird way to land, yet here we are.

•••

Price: Cortado=$4.50

Hours: Everyday {7–18}

✓ WIFI

Abraço

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Visually, this place is ooey gooey. Yes, I mean that this cafe is like interior design’s response to one of those mega cookies being pulled apart on an Instagram reel. It’s enticing, you want it in your life, and—as simply a matter of circumstance—it’s not for everyone. Trying to pinpoint exactly what triggers this association in my head is tricky. The two sets of neon, the “abraco,” a blood orange crown of light the main counter, or the blue “abracolina,” electrifying a dim corner, into which someone nestle in a cerulean bench, definitely anoint this place with flavor. Yet, it’s more. These pops of color pale in comparison to the two conducting barista characters. The one on the San Marco espresso machine is straight out of a Nickelodeon cartoon, while the presence on the register is a total recall of Dita von Teese with glasses (or maybe a tussled Linda Belcher). The side-by-side espresso machines—the second a FAEMA E61 that blisters under the formerly mentioned neon statement—that grace the elegantly simple bar make what they’re about clear. But again, it’s ooey gooey, it’s got flavor in all directions. 

“Peppermint tea.” 

“Peppermint tea!” These baristas had to take turns calling out this abandoned order. Those under the disco ball and dripping fish bowl pendants in the back didn’t even bob their heads. The conversations beyond the portaled wall didn’t stall for even a second. Somehow, the cafe sidesteps the trap of being all mood lighting and no mood. And, its final success is the pull-apart: its stretch from 7th Street, down the brick steps, through the flung open French doors, following the counter’s curvature to the enlarged photo of a 1970 Stooges performance plastered with the word “FAMILY.,” and then directly into the kitchen (not cloaked in “the back,” but rather only slightly separated by two sides of decorative wooden partition). In other words, if you’re New York enough, you’ll know when to peel off from your stride, an unnatural yet completely intentional fall.

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Drink: Cortado

I’ll be frank, the first sip taste wasn’t good. It had that leftover grinds sediment slightly in texture and taste. Maybe the portafilter needed an extra dab or a quick rinse before being loaded with espresso. While the initial flavor was less than idea, it surprisingly got sweeter and better with each sip. The final presence in each sip gives Chardonnay; I can’t tell you why. In the ways that it is sweet yet dry, and how you can almost grab on to a juiciness of a fruit that once was. They don’t have any alternative milks, so you fully avoid what I’ve coined “Milks Anxiety.” In addition, I got a chance to speak to the barista who gave me the rundown on their beans. For espresso, they use a Brazilian coffee called fica (available in store). They roast their own beans. I Googled in later—I can be a bit too curious—and fica looks to mean “he is,” “stay,” or “be” in Portuguese.

•••

Price: Cortado=$4.25

Hours*: Monday {CLOSED}; Tuesday–Saturday {8–18}; Sunday {9–18}

*Google: Monday {CLOSED}; Tuesday–Thursday {8–18}; Friday–Saturday {8–18}; Sunday {9–15}

Dough (Brooklyn)

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“Just a sandwich and a soda,” the man outside repeated over and over again outside—sometimes tacking on a ma’am or sir at the end. He’d said it to me too as I passed through the mint blue door frame. 

The young man with the twist outs running the shop offered to shut the door. “I’m just so used to it by now...” I said it was fine to be left open. His constant request went in one ear and my brain just registered Brooklyn. The shop itself is simple, spiced up by a mint blue continuation along the cabinets and counter wall. Interestingly, they have a tiny table and chairs along with a chalkboard covered in magnetic letters. What I’m trying to say is: they have a children’s area. Two hanging cloths, one sparkling silver and one a delicate blue tie dye, acts as contextualization for this unmarked area’s in an odd twist of fate for this photo shoot backdrop. Children’s cries are common for this cafe and so is finding yourself in a back-and-forth bobbing situation at the door, kids both seeing knees and also being unable to register your intentions to get by. There’s a bench pressed into a neat right angle at the front, so it’s easy to sit for a few moments (or until a parent arrives). There are even some pillows, patterned with brush strokes of a complementary blue palette and a more abstract tan version with elliptic elements, adding colors but also comfort. There are some tables; you can stay in the space, lit primarily by opaque schoolhouse pendants. The tunes will include Omarion, One Republic and of course, the track at the top of the 2023 Billboard chart, “Just a sandwich and a soda.”

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Drink: Coffee

In the United States, BONJOURNO COFFEE is carried exclusively by Dough Donuts. It says it up on the menu board as well as proudly on their website. They bill the specific Royal French Blend, what they brew, as being a light/medium roast. As far as the flavor, I can’t help but compare it to the drip coffee I had from their Rockefeller Center shop. That brew was punchy and obviously light. The one at the Brooklyn location was less expressive, as though someone brewed older beans or ground the beans too finely, overextracting and landing it a bit on the bitter side. It’s still a decent cup of coffee, but I’d love for the two stores to exchange notes. That being said, having the coffee run a little bitter at a donut shop is much better than running sour. Pastries’ sweetnesses balance better with bitterness, in my opinion. 

•••

Food: Ube Cheesecake Donut

When I bite into a filled donut, my every thought surrounds the filling. I mean, it’s an obvious thing to focus on. Yet, unlike other aspects of the pastry, it definitely warrants the attention. The ube cheesecake filling is no joke. Essentially, it isn’t a misnomer. There was a good amount, and it’s not just whipped up creme with a purple dye. The texture didn’t drown out the ube flavor—a blessing that takes talent. What I was precisely expecting, I don’t know. The purple registers in my brain as needing perhaps a smidgeon more flavor, but at least it came in hot on the visual smack. The purple sugar dusting does end up melting into the dough when they wait on the rack to be purchased. So, it might lose a little vibrancy, but it’s PURPLE. And—let’s be honest—that’s what I came for.

Oh, and once more thing…when your finished/during those delicious bites, check your face.

You’re welcome.

Price: Royal Blend Drip Coffee (12 oz.)=$3*; Ube Cheesecake Donut=$5.95

*The menu says a small is $2.75, but they charge you for the large. It’s fine, I just wish they taped over the menu with the update like they did for the Hibiscus Lemonade and the Passion Fruit Mint Cooler. 

Hours: Monday–Saturday {9–19}; Sunday {9–18}

✓ WIFI

Partners (Urban Space Vanderbilt)

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I associate Partners with the streets of Brooklyn. So, for someone who doesn’t leave Manhattan, this stall is less of an option and more of an opportunity. The amount of PRIDE happening with the limited real estate at the end of the hall had me smiling from ear to ear—all the mini flags hung above the commotion and below the espresso machine and order pick-up actually matched the rainbow push-letter board and kaleidoscopic cups. They didn’t go for anything bright or gaudy, rather they placed blue neon script on a white panel and hung it above the register. Boom. If it read “Get coffee here,” it would have been just as effective. It doesn’t go professing to be more than what it is, opting to fit into its environment with a crinkled metallic front with some light wood additions. Looking around at its surroundings—Playa Bowls, YumYubu, and the restrooms—from one of the few tables or during a 360-moment at least one thing can be said: this coffee from Partners feels atypical in almost every way. Evidently, you can take a cafe out of Brooklyn. But, can you take the Brooklyn out of this cafe and cram it into Manhattan’s devoid needs?

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Drink: Coffee

I saw that they were running a seasonal release for summer, BLOCK PARTY. A rainbow strip on the roll at the top of the bean bags said that $1 from every bag supports the LGBT Community Center. Say no more. And they had it on drip as their coffee of the day. Perfect. Partners’s cups always fascinate me. This one was Ernie orange. The coffee was a good temperature, hot but drinkable (how it should be), and the flavor was robust. The tasting notes listed on the bag were strawberry, apple, and honeycomb. On this characterization, I must argue. It is true: it isn’t too acidic, it isn’t too juicy, but it is more like Granny Smith apple balanced by honeydew. It doesn’t possess the berry of strawberry and it doesn’t really come off as sweet, even in honeycomb’s milder way. It is enjoyable, but the enjoyment comes from the flavor it does bring to the table and from the gorgeous cause that it supports. Maybe that latter note is the non-physical ingredient much like the everything nice to sugar and spice. 

•••

Price: Coffee=$3.75

Hours: Sunday–Monday {9–17}; Tuesday–Saturday {6:30–21}

Extra Notes:

I asked the barista what the password was, and she didn’t know. They definitely have a network, but you might have to go hunt it down. I honestly wasn’t that committed, so I let it go. 

Dough (Rockefeller Center)

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Think again.

Nuh-uh.

Nope.

Also no.

Don’t even think about it.

This string of thoughts kept pace with each taped down, stapled, and laminated paper sign my eyes landed on, cumulatively a mixture of get out messaging: “!!NOT A DINE IN!! !!ZERO SEATING!!,” “Please make room for other customers to prep their drinks. Prep Station Not A Dine In,” “NO Sitting,” and “Hello Beautiful People, once you receive your orders please step outside to prevent a crowd in the store. 🖤.” At some point, it almost reads like a cluster of caution signs that a group of teens pass on the way into a cemetery or woodlands in a zombie movie. Frankly, there really isn’t any place to stay, especially if this space really does fill up the way these signs make me suspect. But, to expect that a donut is also an immediate departure ticket—say on an especially cold winter or particularly hot summer day—sure does suck some of the sweetness out of the experience. With its tininess and white-tile walls, I couldn’t help but be reminded of another sweets spot downtown: Petee’s Pie Company. The only thing is, Petee’s does offer the ability to sit at a stool along the window. And pies—Petee’s has pies. Importantly though, not all hope is lost for a leisurely donut adventure; it simply continues out the door and around the corner...if you’re lucky enough to snag a green chair out on Rockefeller Plaza. So follow the door’s “Clasp & Push” instruction (made by a label maker) and let the kind Spanish man with the Aeropostale shirt and the Common facial coif take care of you. Then step out...what you do then with a donut and the day is up to you. 

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Drink: Coffee

SLAPPED. When I picked this cup up at 17:30, it tasted as though he’d just brewed it. It was so good that I couldn’t stop drinking it. That’s an amazing—and quite gratifying—feat.

••••

Food: Blueberry Lemon Donut

It must be stated: I am no food critic. I’m just a person with some taste buds. And it was these taste buds that were very underwhelmed. It’s actually a regular, old-fashioned donut covered in a raspberry pink glaze. If there was blueberry, I couldn’t taste it. It was a little drier than I expected and heavier simply for the sake of being heavy. I think that the glazing would be more effective with less surface area. In other words, if they ever have this donut in donut hole form, grab it. Otherwise, it offers a donut adjacent experience as overbreaded chicken tenders. On another note: I kept trying to put my finger on where any expectations I had came from. It later dawned on me that I expected that—because of the way it looked—this donut was going to be like the huckleberry donut from Sidecar Doughnuts in Santa Monica. That donut looks really similar to the blueberry lemon (sans the crunchy oat crumble)...but they are worlds apart and should not be compared.

Price: Drip Coffee (12 oz.)=$3; Blueberry Lemon Donut=$5.65

Hours: Monday–Sunday {8–19}; Saturday {9–19}; Sunday {9–18}

Parliament Espresso and Coffee Bar

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For me, the moment when this cafe fit most perfectly into its 1000-piece puzzle form was when an instrumental of Aladdin’s “Arabian Nights” began to play from some built-in sound source. In fact, you can probably find a few levels of puzzles (250 pieces, 500 pieces, 750 pieces) in the NY History Store that it is connected to. Considering that this cafe is the official one for The New York Historical Society—a free-standing partition signaling separate jurisdictions and acting as the key prop for the Parliament Espresso & Coffee Bar set—the muted imagination struck me. The menus are on hanging chalkboards and there is a chalked up mural of Henry and his LA VIRGEN COFFEE from Nicaragua, a scene—stylized like an etching—of a typified cafetero holding a branch of Arabica and another collecting coffee cherries into a woven basket. It’s an odd ode to the bucolic in this interior’s otherwise suburban clean. With one longer coffee table—with some industrial black rectangular tubing extending above it—and a cheese danishes plea from a regular customer, it might not be a chapter in the museum’s history, but it will at least claim a line, an epitaph. 

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Drink: Cappuccino

It’s not a third wave masterpiece, but rather your tasty, run-of the mill cappuccino. For what it’s worth, for a museum cafe, I’m impressed. That 2-group, yellow La Marzocco FB80 is an unexpected bit of coffee competence...not to mention beautiful beginning of a beverage. While you can’t take your drink into the exhibitions, you can take it along the outer perimeter. A coffee from here doubles as an accessory to an up-close view of the Waldorf Astoria Lobby Clock (currently undergoing restoration at the museum and soon to be returned to the hotel) or a quick peek at New York’s 1970s graffiti evolution. Coffee and history, history and coffee...and all New York City.

•••

Price: Cappuccino (12oz.)=$5.25

Hours: Wednesday–Sunday {9–15:30}; Monday–Tuesday {CLOSED}

Extra Notes:

There is a WIFI network, but it is impossible to access no matter how hard my phone tried—impenetrable both by LTE and my IPad. 

One other note: GoogleMaps shows this cafe as being on the south side of The New York Historical Society. It is on the east side, closer to the entrance. 

Gregory’s (44th)

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On what I like to call Elitists Row—Grand Central’s next door neighbor of Ivy League Clubs, the New York Bar Association, and others—this Gregory’s brings the stuffiness down a notch. The staff is very Gen Z, which doubly means that there was a moment when the better part of ten minutes was spend arguing about whether you could eat cereal with warm milk and also that they are on it. A hovering customer questioning the size of her oat, decaf Americano as it was being made? Corrected to large. Door opens? More often than not, a bright salutation from the barista in the backward-turned cap followed. A blink between order traffic? Changing trash bags and restocking. This location still has the circular box lights of the recognizable logo in the window, the newspaper wallpaper, and the hanging globe pendant lamps. What it doesn’t have? Outlets. Not a single one. In essence, it’s a cafe catering to grab and scoot and brief chit chat—a less common version of the cafe chain that is no better or worse but aware and just the right tempo. 

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Drink: Coffee

A cup of Gregs House is what you get, and that is brewed right and that’s more than enough. In its description, there is a first note about the blend’s body and chocolate notes brought by Brazilian beans. While this brew—still after seven years—never lets me down, it is the coffee equivalent of a trick shot: the Brazilian is the hoop, basket, or destination while the brightening Colombian coffee is what you’ll notice and remember. It’s been some time since I’ve had (or brewed) Gregs House myself, so I can’t say with certainty what the new Papa New Guinea element is adding. What I can say is that it in no way disrupts this strong staple. And, while encouraging the funkiness and complexity of the Colombian beans, I think it also helps it land on its feet. 

•••

Price: Gregs House=$3.35

Hours: Tuesday–Friday {6–19}; Saturday {7–18}; Sunday–Monday {7–17}

Extra Notes:

If you want Dark Enough, you have to go before 17:00. After that, they stop brewing it.

✓ WIFI

Don Café

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One might assume that saying that this cafe is red and on wheels would be enough facilitative direction. Afraid not. You’re at Columbus Circle which means that bicycle carts abound, on standby for tourists who decide they want to see Central Park but (on second thought) save the physical activity for later in the day. The bicycle carts do differentiate themselves in one way: some are decorated with bunches of faux flowers akin to roses and carnations. Rather, go looking for a paling olive awning that reads AUTHENTIC COLOMBIAN COFFEE on its outer edge branching off from a cherry-red cart, and you’ve found it. No space on the cart’s façade is wasted. On the left is the menu, an A food inspection rating, and their Instagram tag. On the upper panel are several items selected and magnified (Mozzarepa—a fusion of the words arepa and mozzarella—lives rent free in my head). Keeping clockwise, there are glamor shots of the mozzarepa, a soft drinks cooler, and a lower window revealing bags of their coffee and Saran-wrapped baked goods. While their Astoria Gloria steams, gleaming in the outdoor air, a turn right reveals the Maine Monument, left the Globe Sculpture at Columbus Circle, behind you vendors selling mounted New York City prints. The coffee cart in front of you—with Central Park just beyond—is the glorious gate push to taking on the City with an espresso glow.

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Drink: Macchiatto

A surface-level note: it’s good for a cart. Now for a meritable description…it straddles sour and bitter so much that there is no sweet. While dynamically odd, I didn’t find it off-putting (and I think that this will prove the case, at least for seasoned tasters). The espresso also pulls a less common very yellow brown color. You know what is dreadful? Boring espresso. And boring, this macchiato is not. It was an unfamiliar espresso stained with milk. I also think that the macchiato arrangement is the perfect way to drink it and would advice not getting it any smaller (e.g. an espresso shot) or bigger (e.g. latte, etc.). 

•••

Price: Macchiatto=$3.5

Hours: Monday–Tuesday {7–17}; Wednesday–Sunday {7–18}

Extra Notes:

There is no WIFI, BUT this cart rests right on Columbus Circle which means that you are mere steps away from The Shops at Columbus Circle—bathrooms and WIFI in abundance. 

No more hot coffee at 14:30. Have to order an Americano. 

Lucid Cafe

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Sure, you might wonder how I—a cafe reviewer—could be so complimentary towards this teensy spot. It’s so small that it shares the same street number as the next door cleaners: 311. It’s almost as though this place was a defunct side room that the cleaners either leases out or that the owner decided to reinvent. Either way, put a red patio umbrella out in the front and plop down two women in their mid-twenties, coffee cups in hand and staring out at the world and Lexington Avenue through sunglasses, and you’ve got yourself the canoe of cafes—it floats, it moves, it’s imbued with a sense of pedigree, and many people adore it. What’s more, the cafe does a lot with so little space—not always the case when it coexists with a culture of glorified minimalism. No, the priced panels of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers on holiday, the line from Proverbs 3:5-6, written up in glass pen on the opposing mirror wall, and the assortment of curiosities atop the medium cooler—Lucid Cafe coffee cup sleeves, a vase full of Choco Pies, humanoid cow figurines that clip and open, a canister of PURE MAPLE SYRUP from Vermont—places you in a chamber of visual reverberations. “My mom, she only speaks Korean,” said the lady who took my order and had been watching me pivot and spin throughout the space. “She says she likes your braids,” she finished. It was after interacting for a brief moment then—a thank you, light commentary, one question—that I left, turns out lucid as can be.

맑은

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Drink: Cappuccino

Someone did not dial in Counter Culture’s HOLOGRAM correctly. That is all I want to say here. 

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Price: Cappuccino=$5

Hours: Monday–Friday {7–15}; Saturday–Sunday {8–15}

Extra Notes:

While I didn’t get food, they appeared to have great vegan treats in the case.

Krispy Kreme (Fulton)

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New York just New Yorks, everywhere you go, people are New Yorking. Yes, this Krispy Kreme in Fulton Transit Center, a major subway terminal, has finally inspired me to turn New York into a verb. Why it’s taken me this long is the real question. This Krispy Kreme is at one of the best avenues for viewing New York flying by foot...a stop for donuts or for bubble tea at the immediately opposing Gong-Cha. “Abdul,” a kid, probably around high school age, asked an approacher as he gripped his backpack straps. “I can’t believe it. Nooooooo,” he continued in light-hearted astonishment. They one-arm embraced and melted into a group. While definitely not emotional, you could tell that these two really hadn’t seen each other in ages—well, ages in young people time. You can oscillate between drooling over the donut case and staring out into the Fulton Transit Center mezzanines while you wait for your coffee, sweet, or to order, and—once you’re equipped—there are standing tables closer to the northeast entrance of the station (a nice touch for a town that aims to keep you moving). You will probably continue on down the escalator into the depths or out onto Fulton Street, presumably having come from below ground to begin with. Nevertheless, there’s a chance that you might run into an old friend. A reunion in a subway station while picking up Krispy Kreme...I’m having trouble thinking of another town where I could possibly witness such a Mad Libbed moment. 

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Drink: Iced Coffee

Here’s the craziest part about Krispy Kreme iced coffee: it’s not bad. The times where I’ve literally spit out iced coffee (Madman Espresso, I’m looking at you—but honestly it’s my own fault for ordering iced coffee at an espresso spot) are seared into my brain. Yet, Krispy Kreme—unpromising, not cold brewed for fifteen hours, without any major descriptors—offers a stable and solid 100% Arabica brewed iced coffee blend coffee (“CRISP & REFRESHING”) over ice that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend pairing with your donut of choice.

•••

Price: Classic Iced Coffee=$3.39

Hours: Monday–Friday {7–22}; Saturday–Sunday {8–22}

✓ WIFI

Rex Coffee

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They stan Counter Culture. That was the note I immediately made in my phone when stepping into a space that could only be a cafe...okay, that or another operation needing a storefront that is petite in scale: custom designs, ice cream, flower stall, knick-knacks, or boutique clothing. It’s what’s on the inside that counts. Yes, this too may be said about cafes. With another glance at the $200 painting “Portrait of a Blonde Man” for sale above archival black-and-whites of 10th Avenue and 57th Street, it’s decided. The menu font is very heightened caps, and you know, this design works—almost mimics the narrow-yet-high space. There are two tables beneath loft industrial-style pendant lamps—which are incredibly ridged and nailed, as though they were once affixed to a submarine—if you are keen to sit, but otherwise this sensible setup lets you a nab your coffee and olive oil cookie and carry on. 

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Drink: Cappuccino

I only needed to notice that Counter Culture’s la golondrina was on the hopper, and I knew it was going to be an experience. A single-origin from Colombia proclaiming milk chocolate, cherry, and nut tasting notes, the flavor of the milk and espresso beverage is definitely complex, but it’s also impossible to disentangle. This monochromic quality isn’t discouraging by any means, it just means that the taste result is more like a chord rather than singular notes.  There’s definitely a 98% chance you haven’t encountered anything like it during your day. It is New York though, so the 2% is for that inherent “anything’s possible” reality. The tulip art on the cappuccino looked more like a reed. The rarity with which an espresso beverage shakes loose a thought of Egypt earns it yet a little more love. 

••••

Price: Capp=$4.25*

*Alternative milks cost a different amount per size. Never seen that before. 

Hours: Monday–Friday {7–21}; Saturday {7–16}; Sunday {8–16}

Extra Notes:

Due to the unconventionality, I want to mention how I found out about this place. During my brief time living in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, I had engaged a little in NYC Girls Room. One woman has expressed interest in getting to know people over coffee. No need to open that door any wider for me. Anyways, her name was Hannah, and she told me that this spot was near her place and that she’d always wanted to check it out. That meeting never happened. However, fast forward a third try and almost a year later, and I finally made a solo trip in. A weird part of me likes to think that Hannah eventually made it too. 

Coffee Monster (162nd St)

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Whoever designed the peek-a-boo shelving with a chalk board running the length, bravo. I loved feeling my cheeks tighten looking at all of K2VIN PARK’s chi I-like interpretations of Black Panther, Spider Man, and Groot. It was the perfect relief, reverse tightening of my previously intensely pursed lips in trying to ambitiously concentrate on every ebb and flow of the Japanese Cold Brew’s flavor tsunami. Chalk work aside, the cafe is the size of a deluxe hole in the wall. Namely, there’s enough space to fill up and sit down with a shaved ice, but it doesn’t fall under the “stay and study for awhile” umbrella, which is all well and good. There are some circular tabletops (and they might just joyously spin, like mine did), and they’ve stuck up some brass coffee beans as wall art in spots of the checkerboard, pinewood paneling. Make sure to take a second look. Lights along this paneling look like sconced fixtures. They are not. Actually, they are coffee hand grinders turned into lanterns, the grinds container emitting delicate light. Yeah, some half-hearted coffee decor is peeling from the ceiling, but all in all the cafe delights. I don’t think that there is a more fitting word. Come in for a bitty bite, little coffee monster, and be delighted.

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Drink: Japanese Cold Brew

It could put hair on your chest. By golly. This coffee is not for the faint of heart. The guy who took my order was very upfront about everything after I told him I was looking for coffee. All of their coffee drinks are espresso based, and they have dark roast. Dark it was, indeed. The drink almost looked like black paint. I loved it.

•••••

Price: Japanese Cold Brew=$5.25

Hours: Everyday {7–23}

✓ WIFI