Favorite coffeehouses
 

What are they, and where are they located?

My favorites include:
* Espresso Vivace in Seattle, or possibly Cafe Zoka (sp?) in Seattle. I haven't tried too many other notable coffeehouses in this city, but these two must be among the tops as roasters and also just for hanging out.
* Brooadway Cafe & Roastery in Kansas City, Mo. I used to travel to KC on a semi-regular basis, and this place was always tops for espresso or cappas with the "lattte art." I spent many enjoyable mornings here gulping a beautiful espresso or two and reading the KC Star before heading out to business appointments.
* PJ's Coffee & Tea in New Orleans. Sure it's a local chain, but it's a very good one. PJ's operates the best coffeehouses in a coffee-crazy city.

So where do you find good coffee when you're traveling? And please, don't tell me you go to Starbucks! http://www.flyertalk.com/dining/ftdi...orum/smile.gif

Cafe du Monde - New Orleans

I don't drink coffee, but I get a cup here and of course some beignets (sp).

Cafe Trieste, in San Francisco's North Beach, just off Columbus on Vallejo. They have live opera arias on open mike on Saturday afternoons beginning at 3 p.m. Their on-site roaster is next door, so you can get some beans or ground beans to go.

Runner up: Cafe Puccini on Columbus. There's Curuso on the jukebox. <g>

Here at home (PDX), I go to any of the four Torrefazione outlets when I have time to kick back a bit, or Seattle's Best if it's a grab and go situation. I avoid Charbux at all costs.

[This message has been edited by essxjay (edited 07-27-2003).]

Willie -- I enjoy Cafe du Monde too...not so much for the cafe au lait (sp) but definitely for the beignets. In NOLA, you can always go somewhere like PJ's for a good coffee after 3 or 4 of those sugary treats. http://www.flyertalk.com/dining/ftdi...orum/smile.gif

essxjay -- I definitely would suggest avoiding "Charbux," but so many people think of it as the standard of all coffees. Charbux is a horrible place IMO for straight espresso or brewed coffee...so I guess that's why most people seem to go there for those flavored coffee-flavored "drinks."

Which roast would you recommend from Torrefazione? I think I have visited one of their Seattle cafes. And where is that cafe in Columbus?

I've been drinking Torrefaz's Palermo (their darkest) for well on nigh a decade now. Luv the stuff. Has a lovely topnote to it. I do it in a French Press .... Mmmmmm.

Cafe Puccini? Gosh, uh, it's not in my latest Zagat since it's just a coffee/dessert place, so no address handy. (Google it?) But it's west of City Lights bookstore, but not as far as Vallejo. It's right in that whole Italian cafe strip along Columbus.

Or were you talking about Cafe Trieste?

Puccini -- but I can look it up. Thanks for the tip.

I thought of another good cafe -- Intelligentsia in Chicago. This is another serious coffee business with a big roasting business. I have made espresso -- yes, the straight stuff -- with their Italian roast but didn't care for the ultra-dark (IMO) roast. It was a high-quality roast, though, so I just need to try their other coffee blends and "single origins."

Thanks for the tip on Intelligensia. I go to Chicago about four or five times a year and can appreciate having a great coffeehouse to hang out in.

Barney's breakfast bar, in AMS is a long time favorite. They serve coffee drinks, breakfast specials, Dutch pancakes, and great deserts. They are also licensed to sell cannabis, which can really take the edge off if you drink too much coffee. http://www.flyertalk.com/dining/ftdining_forum/wink.gif

essxjay - Intelligentsia has a north side cafe (Lakeview area?) on Broadway. Looks like a seconf cafe is opening downtown on Jackson. Click on www.intelligentsiacoffee.com for more info. I also have been to local restaurants, like the coffee bar/cafe section at Bin 36, that serve Intelligentsia espresso and other coffees.

Copied from my recent post in the FT. Midwest Dining forum...

Mother Fools Coffee House at 1101 Williamson St. in Madison Wisconsin is a funky coffeehouse in the tradition of beat poets and bohemian artists. Also an art gallery with changing monthly exhibits, including a graffiti mural on an outside wall, and a music venue attracting local to international artists, but the coffee’s the thing here. Their Mother Fools House Blend was once judged the ‘best brewed coffee in the known world’. Try the cold brewed iced coffee, and the vegan pastries!



[This message has been edited by HigherFlyer (edited 08-04-2003).]

Thanks, Pietro! Looks like I'll be in Chicago next month and I usuall stay downtown. I'll be sure to checkitout!!

If you are ever in Vancouver you must go to Caffe Artigiana (http://www.caffeartigiano.com/contact.html)

It has to be one of the best coffee places I have been to. The have excellent coffee (Intelligentsia) which I always stock up on to bring home, espresso drinks with terrific "latte art" and excellent breakfast lunch with Italian grilled sandwiches etc.

Glad to see that some people are going somewhere besides Charbucks for their caffeine fix. http://www.flyertalk.com/dining/ftdi...orum/smile.gif

I was in Kansas City recently and am happy to report that the Broadway Cafe/Roastery is better than ever. www.broadwaycafeandroastery.com

Thanks for the tip on Cafe Artigiano in Vancouver. I'm not too surprised that they import coffee from Intelligentsia in Chicago, assuming that is the same place.

New York - Starbucks at 40th and Lexington - sit in the window and the people-watching is a great way to waste time. (Or Big Cup, on 8th Avenue)

Paris - Cafe Amnesia; La Sancerre, in Montmartre.

Berlin - Cafe Mohring

Chicago - Scenes, on Clark (not sure if that's still there, though). Again, I like the people-watching in that neighborhood.

San Francisco - Cafe di Roma.

Montreal - Presse Cafe on St. Catherine's in the Village, near the metro stop.

EDIT: Scenes hasn't been around for a LONG time -

"In the winter of 1996, nestled in a string of old buildings on Clark Street near Belmont Avenue in Chicago’s Lakeview district, Scenes Cafe closed one evening, bartering away its ragtag collection of furniture and remaining books concerning theater and screen writing. Scenes, owned by two brothers, was forced to shut down due to a Starbucks Coffee House which was opening at the nearby corner in the same stretch of building. Unfortunately for the small, family-owned cafe, the landlords of the buildings had a strict non-compete clause that prevented both cafes from remaining open.1 Due to the immense earning potential combined with the rapid gentrification of the neighborhood, Scenes was left in the wake of Starbuck’s role as symbolic Phallus, simultaneously creating the Law while utilizing the law for its own success.2 The void created by the disappearance of Scenes quickly became mythologized in the minds of former patrons; now abandoned to the streets of Chicago, searching for identification which became only memory, during the times when they would have been sitting in their neighborhood cafe which no longer existed outside of psychological imagery and residual objects which used to occupy a place separate from memory alone. Like Norman Bates in Hitchcock’s Psycho, the patrons of the small cafe had been overwhelmed by the power of the Symbolic Law that had replaced the Imaginary family atmosphere of identification.3 The incestuous link of community had traumatically been fragmented by the algebraic unity of commerce."

http://www.bridgemagazine.org/culture.html

Thanks for all the great suggestions.

Here's one for Louisville: Heine Brothers Cofee, with several locations throughout the city. The Bardstown Road location I have been to seems like a nice neighborhood coffeehouse with better-than-average espresso. I didn't try the drip coffees but several single-origin varieties -- including Fair Trade organic coffees -- were readily available.

Heine is also a nice place for whole beans (roasted at their facility in Louisville) and coffee/tea accessories.

http://www.heinebroscoffee.com/

No problem. Yes it is the same. It looks like I will have to plan a trip to Chicago to try Intelligentsia on its home turf http://www.flyertalk.com/dining/ftdining_forum/wink.gif

In Buenos Aires: Cafe Tortini and La Biela.

In Vienna: Cafe Landtmann

If you're in Indianapolis, add Stanton Coffee to your list. Tim Stanton is a very good small roaster with a nice but small cafe and a loyal neighborhood following. Open 6 a.m. or so to 5 p.m. most days and convenient to I-65 or I-465 on the west side. Espresso and espresso drinks are extremely good. (Visit www.stantoncoffee.com)

Hubbard & Cravens is another fine option in Indy with several locations but good but not the most amazing coffee I've ever had. Their cafes are very nice, though. (Visit www.hubbardandcravens.com)

Add La Colombe and Cafe Caribou in Philadelphia. La Colombe, imo, has some of the consistently best coffee I have ever had.

:::slaps head:::

I durned near forgot all about World Cup Coffee in Northwest Portland, between the Pearl District and Nob Hill on N.W. Glisan St. It's an exquisite sanctuary and in a lot of ways preferrable to the two Torrefazione outlets in Northwest Portland, which can sometimes get crowded.

1369 Coffeehouse on Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge, MA (Central Square). Great atmosphere to sit and lounge while hanging out with grad students/[ex-]dot com entrepreneurs/artists/Cambridge intelligentsia/some combination of the preceding. It's nothing fancy, but the coffee is great, the staff is friendly and cares about how one likes his/her coffee and how their coffee tastes, and the baked goods aren't bad (and made on-site). I just about lived there through law school, up to 10-12 hours per week--and there were many who were there far more often.

In Columbus, Ohio, a microroaster named Stauf's operates two really good coffeehouses. One location is in one of the upscale urban neighborhoods and the other is in a suburban area inside an office park neighbohood strip mall. The suburban location is on the north side, not far from I-270 and across a parking lot from the Sheraton Suites. It's worth staying in this area - or driving from another part of the city - to have a morning cup here.

http://www.staufs.com/

Also, I visited the newer Intelligentsia location in downtown Chicago on West Jackson Street - talk about superb espresso. The drip coffees of the day were excellent on my vists. Intelligentsia is a wonderful roaster, and lots of cool coffee and tea stuff is available at the shop.

www.intelligentsiacoffee.com



[This message has been edited by Pietro (edited Jan 06, 2004).]

Frankly being a NOLA native I think PJ's s*cks. they use this funky machine to make latte's and espressos. They can't control the temperature that they steam milk which really aggravates me. If you are looking for a local chain coffee house check out CC's Coffee. The coffee is much better.



[This message has been edited by prncess674 (edited Jan 08, 2004).]

Thanks for the PJ's feedback -- I should add that I've never had espresso or espresso-based drinks (lattes, etc.) at PJ's...I've only had various brewed coffees, usually in a french press. There are very few coffeehouses where I've had espresso since so many places use sub-par espresso equipment or employ "baristas" who don't know their stuff (IMO).

Sorry to hear that about PJ's, but I'll be sure to try CC's on my next trip. Thanks.

Edited to add: Is CC's a coffee roaster as well? It seems like very few coffeehouses in most cities roast their own beans.

[This message has been edited by Pietro (edited Jan 09, 2004).]

Pietro, get outta my head! I'm going to Chicago next weekend and was planning on visiting intelligensia. I think I'll hit the Monandock location after a corned beef at Manny's. Thanks for the review.

CC's stands for Community Coffee which is one of the oldest names in coffee around New Orleans. It's the unofficial coffee of Louisiana. I always bring a bag of New Orleans roasted coffee to my client sites, and most people love the rich taste. 9 out of 10 times if someone makes coffee for you in their home in Louisiana it's Community Coffee.

http://www.communitycoffee.com/

Thanks -- I knew the "Community" name but didn't make the connection with the CC's cafes. (Really, I'm not usually so slow.) Now that I think of it, I believe I have had a few cups at a CC's in the garden district or somewhere around Loyola. (?) Regardless, I definitely know the Community Coffee name.

Noticed CC mentioned in a couple of posts; I live in Dallas and always enjoy Community Coffee. Our family has enjoyed CC for over 35 years as far as I know, and maybe longer. As for coffee houses here in Dallas, Cafe Brazil (they have 3 or 4 locations in metro Dallas)is great. They also serve great food, so it is a cross between a classic coffee house and a restaurant. They have a wide selection of good coffees, by the pour or by the bean.

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Excellent choice! Although, usually in Madison I go to the Ancora Coffee. I can't get enough of their organic Sumatran! I am more regular brewed coffee type, but their cappucinos are out of this world too. They have several outlets around Madison -- I like the one on King St., just off Capitol, the best.

http://www.ancora-coffee.com/

Ewww, Finland leads coffee consumption stats, but it is some crappy, bitter liquid they sell here... I am not a fan of Charbux, but oh boy, was I happy to even get their Sumatran in Frankfurt recently. (No Charbux at these latitudes yet, and even Mac is deeply in the red.)

When in Venice, if you happen to be wandering around the peggy Guggenheim museum, be sure to pop into Bar Gino. It is the perfect coffee bar... opens at 7:00AM so you can read your Trib, have some wonderful tramezzino and chiccetti closer to noon. The espresso made me a convert from hot tea and the capuccino, standing up at the Bar, made me a Venetian.IMHO, there is no better coffee bar in the world.

obscure2k - I believe you. Italian cities and smaller towns are home to the BEST espresso bars and cafes. What else can you expect from the creators of espresso?

globalguy - thanks for the DFW tip...I'll look for one of those locations on my next trip there.

[This message has been edited by Pietro (edited Feb 17, 2004).]

Is Lavazza considered crap? I like the espresso grind.

Lavazza is not great IMO, but you can find much worse. I think Illy is a better brand of "canned" (i.e., not freshly roasted by a local coffee rooaster) beans. Illy is known as an innovative Italian coffee company wiith a real focus on quality control and roasting.

If you can't get a good mediium-roast blend (or other espresso blend) fresh from a local roaster, I would go with Illy.

FWIW, Illy produces some of the best espresso cups too.

www.illy.com

[This message has been edited by Pietro (edited Feb 22, 2004).]

favorite coffee houses in Rome, Italy

moneywiese caffè (coffee) accounts for about one fourth of a daily turnover in a roman bar.

(no name Bar) in San Lorenzo, Largo degli Osci 20 (Monday-Saturday, 05:00-23:00)
'Un caffè', 'due capuccini e un cornetto', 'un caffèun pocco macchiato', 'un caffé correto': 9AM in the small local Bar in San Lorenzo (a 'workers' quarter of Rome), Eugenio runs everything with a smile at his Bar. As in every Bar, you pay first the cashier, give the 'bon' (with a small tip) toe tha bar-keeper, watch the caffé-machine boiling, drink the coffè in one pull standing (sitting costs more), chatting. Enjoy the local workers athmosphere, great and strong caffè.

Antico caffè Greco, Via Condotti 86, 08:00-22:00 (very near the base of the spanish stairs.
Opened in 1760 by the levantine Nicola Della Maddalena, this 'noble' coffe house (red velvet polstery) did already host Wagner, Mendelssohn, Stendhal, Liszt, Casanova. Goethe did write here (under the 'aka' of Phillipp Möller) scenes of ?Iphigenie in Tauris; Gog ol wrote parts of 'dead souls'. The calabresian painter Stelario is still a daily guest and paints often live here in a corner, for 25 years already.

Tazza d'oro, Via degli Orfani, 07:00-20:00 (near the Pantheon)
the smell of fresh roasted coffee-beans will not let you just pass by. Famous for 'Granita di caffè con panna' (don't think/count calories), the cooffee been mix is from Columbia, Costa Rica, few from Jemen (those are very strong and may be a little bit critical for some stomacs).

near by the Tazza d'Oro is also Gran Caffè La caffeteria, Piazza di Pietra 65, 07:00-21:00.
Meeting place for the stock-exchange people mixing with politicians

The Hill neighborhood in St. Louis has a pretty good coffee roaster and espresso bar. Shaw's Coffee Ltd. is next to a pretty good Italian grocery (Viviano's) and is housed in what looks like a former bank building. You can stand at a bar and enjoy your espresso or sit at a table in the main seating area. There's even a private vault "room" with a table where you can sit and while away some time.

The espresso here is OK but nothing spectacular IMO. The drip coffee (I tried a Tanzania, medium roast) was excellent the last time I visited. The people here are very nice and welcoming too.

Shaw's Coffee Ltd.
5147 Shaw Ave.
St. Louis, Mo.
314-771-6920
http://www.shawscoffee.com/

from the Portland Mercury Paper:

"Urban Grind

2214 NE Oregon, 546-0649

This is probably the best coffeehouse you haven't heard ofÉ yet. They roast their own beans"

Illy is "canned" in that it comes in a great little can, however their can is filled with nitrogen to displace the air which keeps the desirable flavor volitiles in the coffee itself (for up to two years, according to illy). Vacuum packaging, think Folgers, sucks these flavor components out of the coffee along with the air which is why you get that great coffee aroma when you open a vacuum-packed can. Whoosh. Too bad it won't be in your cup.

Whatever you do, don't buy fresh-roasted beans and try to preserve their flavor in the freezer.

And yes, illy does have magnificent cups! Try eBay for the older illy signed collections. Pricey, but worth it every time you use one. I prefer the cappuccino size, and fill it with a double illy espresso, or some days just add hot water for cafe Americano.

We sell chocolate, and illy is the only non-chocolate product we carry. 100% Arabica beans which are naturally lower in caffeine and higher in flavor. Francesco was a chemist, and to save you guessing, so is Mr. lilli (who has an unfortunate addiction to Charbux, but he's enrolled in a great 12-step program....

Ahhhh.... Cafe du Monde, coffee and beignets. That is a favorite place of mine :)

Cafe Fisher in Aschaffenburg, Germany.

I like Cafe DuMonde in NOLA also, but only because of the beignets.

Z