Nothing like finding business write-offs on your vacation, right? A couple weeks ago I took a few days off from my quotidian ways and flew off to NYC for some fun times with friends, and of course that had to involve a little tour of the coffee. Thanks to Travis for coordinating a lovely walking tour around Manhattan, drinking macchiatos and getting soaked by the drizzle. It was positively Portland-like, except for the tall buildings and umbrellas.



Our first stop was Abraço Espresso, where I had a delightful Ethiopian from their drip bar. You'll have to excuse the lack of detail since I wasn't taking notes. (Ahh, vacation!) The place is teeny, tiny, and reminded me that we should never complain about how little space we have in our kitchen and roastery. Damn. Still, it was great to be shoulder to shoulder with the half dozen other people in the room. Everyone was friendly and unpretentious and thoroughly delightful. If I'd had more time I would have come back for more and tried the food!

Ninth Street Espresso serves Intelligentsia coffee, though they make up their own espresso blend. It was a good, classic espresso, sweet and maybe some tobacco-y notes, though seriously, I wasn't taking notes. The menu is short and sweet, if a little stark. I suppose it goes with the decor or something.




Next we went to the Roasting Plant but suffice it to say the JavaBot was a nice gimmick that left me scratching my head. Why use fully automatic espresso machines to showcase your coffee? Honestly, I can say I have no idea whether the roaster knows what he's doing because the preparation was so bad. Everything, down to the designer Dixie cups in this place was for show. My Americano was fairly undrinkable. Next.


Our last coffee stop of the day was a great one: Gimme! Coffee. I'd actually tried a Kenyan of theirs that a friend had brought back a few months ago, and absolutely, really not liked it, so I was a little wary of the hype. Still, my macchiato was delicious and Jenny, the barista, was super friendly. Once it came out that I was visiting from Portland a small discussion ensued about how great Portland is. New York loves Portland, btw.




Speaking of which, it seems I couldn't go even a few hours without stumbling across something close to home. At a little cupcake shop, Butter Lane, I saw this:


Stumptown was everywhere. Like I said, NYC really likes Portland.

During the rest of the weekend I also visited Cafe Grumpy (Chelsea and Greenpoint locations, but no Philip Seymore Hoffman sightings! He must have been in their Park Slope shop), and Oslo Coffee. At the Brooklyn Grumpy I ordered a Kenya AA prepared in their Clover, and it tasted like a Kenyan. Bright and fruity, but not terribly mindblowing. I always wonder how shops really feel about having paid lots of thousands of dollars for those machines. Hmm.

My other Brooklyn coffee experience at Oslo was less than stellar. They assumed I wanted my coffee to go, which I didn't; were surprised I asked for a HOT Americano (sure it was warm outside, but is it that weird?); and then looked at me strangely and said they couldn't toast my bagel. Then to add insult to injury, their water station featured tiny Dixie cups. Am I a small child? Must I seriously refill my water cup three times before I sit down? The Americano tasted fine, but really, if they're going to treat you like that, why bother?

Fortunately, NYC redeemed itself with my final visit to the Chelsea Grumpy. I almost missed my plane, but hell, I was on a hunt for Mr. Hoffman and I thought he might be there. Alas no, but my macchiato was quite tasty, as was the muffin and $7 handmade raw chocolate bar I brought back for Jeremy. No golden ticket inside, but maybe next time.

Wow. That was long. All in all, I had a great time in NYC, but I'm glad to be back in PDX where at least I know where I'm going to get good coffee and where I'll just get 'tude.