Grey Dog Cafe is nice on Carmine St. in Manhattan. Coffee's decent, but I mostly like it for the environment. Drip is also pretty good. I normally go to *bucks. Not because it's better (which it's not), but because it's more convenient and consistant (in terms of coffee and environment). If you go for Americano instead of the brewed stuff, it's not so bad.

Gosh, no one's mentioned London's Caffe Nero, a daily ritual when I'm there.
Also agree with the comments on Illy, we buy it at the market when we're renting in France, an excellent coffee for the home kitchen.

Intermezzo, in the Tyneside Cinema building in Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K.

Great coffee (Breda), great pannini's, great salads, great music, great staff and great newspapers (including European dailies.)

Also, add me to the Illy-lovers list.

P.J.'s Coffee in New Orleans (and elsewhere??)
 

Best iced coffee anywhere - I am addicted....truly sad!! (They "cold-brew")

When in Milwaukee, I always make a trip to Alterra http://www.alterracoffee.com. Great coffee, and the N. Prospect cafe is fun to hang out in, with tasty baked goods; I haven't been to the lakefront location yet but have heard it's very nice.

Chicago & Budapest
 

Let me apologize for posting to/resurrecting this thread--and yet, how wonderful to find a good coffee house when traveling! (Intelligentisia is still going strong in Chicago). I did so with the hope some others will be able to add their current favorites.

A few additions:

Julius Meinl Coffee, in Chicago (3601 N. Southport, (773) 868-1857). A slightly more formal coffee house experience, the Viennese coffee house Meinl for some reason decided to open up a shop on Chicago's North Side. Features great coffe, stellar pastries and cakes (Meinl's has its own in-house pastry chef), and a generally good selection of food for lunch and/or dinner. Often has music late. Wonderful, because one doesn't have to fly to Vienna for it!

Cafe Central in Budapest. (Károlyi Mihály U. 9). One of Budapest's grand old coffee houses, now restored. Pastries range from okay to excellent, but the service is sharp and the espresso comes out on a silver tray with a glass of water and a cookie. A good selection of food is available. Quite convenient to the Metro. Budapest has a selection of other excellent coffee houses, some restored, some declining, many worth visiting--but I like coming back to the Central.

-Hayden

No worries, Hayden. We're all here to share. Nothing like a good recommendation from a fellow traveler.

Well the micro-roasting craze has Portlanders in a tizzy. Here are a couple of boutique roasters:

Blue Gardenia
Stumptown Roasters
They have a cupping (!) room. Very :cool:

When I'm in this part of Austin, this is one of my early morning haunts for great coffee:

http://www.sweetishhill.com/

Not really a coffehouse, per se, however. More of a bakery, really, but they have some great coffee brewed and waiting. This was the first place that I encountered Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, which is my favorite to brew at home.

Not too far away is another favorite:

http://schlotzskys.know-where.com/sc...01517&address=

Similar in offerings, but I prefer the atmosphere at Sweetish Hill better.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

Glad to see someone mentioned Alterra in Milwaukee. For me a visit to Milwaukee is not complete without having coffee at Alterra, preferably at the "Alterra at the Lake" location. Specifics below. Just be prepared to stand in line on a weekend....it's a very popular place. And justifably so - it's in a great renovated building with a view of Lake Michigan! There are also five other locations.

Alterra at the Lake
at the foot of Lafayette Hill, across from the marina
1701 N. Lincoln Memorial Dr
Milwaukee, WI 53202
414.223.4551
Monday-Friday: 6:30am-10pm
Saturday: 7am-10pm
Sunday: 8am-10pm

Stumptown Coffee in Portland serves perfect coffee.

The Cupping Room on West Broadway in NYC has great coffee and food... ^

Nothing beats their caviar and sour cream omlette!!!

My favorite is Con Pane is San Diego. It is wonderful little coffeehouse/bakery in Point Loma area (corner of Rosecrans and Canon) They have great Coffee and the best Scones.

sdcarver

Any airport Starbucks. Just kidding. I like Dunn Bros. in St. Paul, MN.

I'm a big fan of the EspressoBars in Tel Aviv, they make great espressos, and they have cute waiters/barristas.

I'm writing this from Mazzarine in Hertzliyya which is also quite excellent.

Mud Coffee
 

Saw this on Oprah by way of Rachael Rey (sp?) from FTV offering her favorite places in NYC. Enjoy!

http://www.themudtruck.com/index.html

There is an Israeli chain that I am sure you are familiar with -- Aroma Espresso Bar -- which just opened their first U.S. store in New York City. I've had two cappuccinos there, both of which were great.

From a "local" 's perspective, Shaw's Coffee is indeed a "must". Their "coffe club" is a great way for non-locals to bring the taste home, or gift an ex-STL native :D. And, Viviano's is well, just plain awesome. Anyone that likes Italian food and especially anyone that likes to cook Italian food (or has an italian food lover/cook on their gift list) has to check it out.

Café Fischer in Aschaffenburg, Germany is one of my old hangouts. Click Here

M8

The Grandview location on Grandview ave. is still open and stilll worth the trip, but the suburban location has closed. This location is a favourite of mine as it's close to an art theater and several fine dining options all within walking distance.

The company has also acquired the local "Cup O Joe" chain which is worth mention. There is an airport Cup O Joe that is a pretty good pre/post flight coffee fix as well as the upscale Cup O Joe/Moe Joe Lounge on North High over the 670 cap near the convention center. Both serve Stauf's coffee and are worth the trip. The latter location morphs into a Lounge with drinks and small plates in the evening and is very close to downtown.

_m

The Cafe Franck at the Eichendorffstrasse in Cologne. A cozy neighbourhood cafe for breakfast or cakes by day that doubles as a club lounge on Friday and Saturday nights.

Also a walking distance from my favorite restaurant in Germany, Gasthaus Esser's ( http://www.essers-gasthaus.de/ ).

Flat White on Berwick St in Soho, London.

They take their coffee extremely seriously there. More than once i've ordered a coffee and listened to the baristas have heated arguments with the lingering barista friends over the best modifications to make to their expensive coffee machines to achieve optimum results.

"Ooooh! A X3 filter on a Mk. 5 steamer! Interesting!" (or whatever - all a different language to me).

I searched this one out on my last trip to London based on recommendations from the CoffeeGeek board. Great coffee, but I think the friend who was with me was not so amused by the area we walked through to get there. ;)

Depending on your sensibilities and the angle of attack to reach Flat White, I can see how one may find it a bit dodgy.

I'm assuming you're referring to coming from the south via the little alleyway full of peep shows and porn shops? Personally I like the squalor and depravity of it all (favourite neon sign in the area - "Trashy Lingerie" - I think it's suppose to be sexy, but it just comes across as being so twee and English to me), and while it all looks a little seedy, it's perfectly safe to walk around.

If you come from the north, you'll pass the european headquarters of lots of record companies and media dahlings generally, and Flat White is directly opposite Ford's european design HQ.

It's actually a pretty desirable/hip/expensive place to have an office.

Precisely. As you've noted, it's really not that bad, but if I ever visit there again with that friend in tow, I will know to approach from the north.

My favorite is Cafe Drouant in the Opera quarter of Paris. Also serves good food and opens late.