Review - Good Karma (9th & Pine)

928 Pine St. (between 9th & 10th St.)
267.519.8860
Website, Yelp, Google Maps
Everyday: 7 am - 10 pm

[Editor's note: this review was written by a guest blogger, Yoo Jin]

I moved to Philadelphia about two months ago. Since then, I have been desperately searching for a new “go-to” place. Finally, after so many days of aimless wandering, I think I may have found my second home.
It took me awhile to find this place because it does not show up on Google search. Only the location of the original Good Karma comes up. So, I would not have known about this relatively new franchise if I had not stumbled upon it.

Hidden in the residential area of Society Hill, it just comes out of nowhere with its bright yellow-green storefront. I remember physically stopping from across the street and thinking I've been transported to some European city. I first noticed the patrons sitting outside and leisurely enjoying their afternoon. Behind them were two glass windows, through which I could see the bright, spacious interior. Young people who appear to be students, couples, families with kids, and even dogs bustled in and out through the open door.
Once inside, I was pleasantly surprised by the temperature. With the front door open to the street and the backdoor open to a private garden, it is well-ventilated and cool even without air conditioning. Maybe, it’s just me, but I prefer a natural breeze to freezing, artificial draft.

There are plenty of seating and outlets for those of you who like to study at cafes. The wifi internet is, of course, available and free. I really liked that the tables are large enough for all my books and gadgets. The music is relatively unobtrusive and in good taste. (I may be slightly partial here since they were playing one of my favorite bands.) And, despite the kids and dogs running around, the atmosphere is calm

The coffee was not bad. I was impressed that they had soy milk out as an adjunct at no extra charge. They also offer bottomless mugs for $3, which is a great deal if you are a caffeine junkie like I am. And, for non-coffee drinkers, they also have a variety of Italian sodas, smooties, teas, and bottled drinks. Their pastry and food selections are above average. I had one of their black and white cookies, which was excellent! I haven’t tried any of their food. But, a lot of customers were eating bagels and croissants sandwiches that looked delicious. You can also buy small bags of fair-trade coffee beans to make your own cup at home.

To top it all off, the small but lovely garden in the back provides a pleasant escape from the city. Sitting under the shade, I felt as though I am in a friend’s backyard. Wifi still works out there though there are no outlets. There is also a large room that can be reserved for group study

If I had to be nit-picky and point out the minor negatives, I would have to mention that the place only accepts cash. There is an ATM machine inside, however. (It charges $1.50 for withdrawal.) And, few of the tables are little wobbly.

Overall, I love this café. Not only is it inviting, it is also eco-friendly and socially responsible. Like its name, there is really good karma emanating from its space.

Review - Capriccio Cafe and Espresso Bar

110 N. 16th Street (between Arch and Cherry Streets)
215.735.9797
Website, Yelp, Google Maps
M - F: 6:30 am - 6:30 pm, S - S: 8 am - 8 pm
Wi-Fi, tons of tables, tons of outlets

Capriccio Cafe

To my loyal readers and follower, I must sincerely apologize for the obvious dearth of posts for the last few months.  I've been caught up with finals and graduation, which put my cafe blogging on a temporary hiatus.  Plus, not having a functional laptop makes it a bit more difficult to review coffeshops on the spot.  But fear not, because I HAVE been visiting a number of cafes in the past 2 months and I promise that I will be gradually rolling out the reviews as I write them.  Be on the lookout for reviews of OCF (18th and South), the new La Colombe (near City Hall), the new Saxby's near Rittenhouse (yes, I'll give Saxby's one more chance), Chapterhouse, Good Karma, Bodhi, Spruce Street Espresso, Lovers and Madmen, etc, etc, etc).

But without further ado, let's get on to talking about Capriccio.  So Capriccio is not within my typical radius of walking.  If you click the link to the Google Maps, you'll see that it's located about a block and half northwest of City Hall.  Not to say this is a bad location, but it's a not somewhere I go walking around on a regular basis. However, a friend recommended the place to me so I decided to give it a try.  As you might guess from the location, the cafe is full of businessmen and women stopping by to grab coffee on the way to the office.  That said, Capriccio does a great job of still maintaining the ambiance and environment to make it a desirable place to chat or read.  It's probably not that apparent from the rather poor picture taken by my iPhone, but the entire cafe is its own little building, sitting like an island in the middle of a block.  Moreover, instead of having traditional walls, the cafe is covered by huge glass windows!  It might seem like you're entering a fishbowl, but the ambiance inside is quite pleasant.  The huge glass windows lets in a lot of natural light (but not direct sunlight), which makes studying very enjoyable.

Any kind of extravagant decor is missing, but the cafe is clean, simple, and sleek inside  There are about 12 smaller tables spread out throughout the cafe.  While the tables aren't the biggest tables, they are sufficiently spaced apart from each other so even the most claustrophobic customers probably won't feel cramped.  They have plenty of outlets for all your electric needs.  They're supposed to have internet, but I had some trouble connecting.  As a bonus, there must be a Starbucks nearby however, because I was able to pick up their Wi-Fi signal with good speed.   One unique thing I noticed - they didn't have any background music playing for the first few hours I was there.  They eventually turned some music on after a few hours, but even then it was rather quiet, which provided a nice break from a number of cafes these days that blast background music.  But the huge windows, plus the nice white noise of nearby conversation, and soft humming of the ceiling fans made it the perfect environment to get some quality studying done.

As for the food, when I went up to the counter, I was very impressed by the variety of choices.   They had all the usual cafe items, but this particular one also offered ice cream, milkshakes, and most impressively, Hope's Cookies, which in my humble opinion produces the best cookies in the Philadelphia area.  I ordered a small coffee and one chocolate chip cookie with the friendly barrista.  When asking what type of coffee they use, the barrista stumbled and couldn't answer.  She said they're supposed to use La Colombe coffee, but at the time were using some other coffee that they didn't know....  Anytime a barrista doesn't know his or her coffee, I do get a bit suspicious.  Thankfully, the coffee wasn't that bad.  Or maybe the excellent taste of the cookie masked it.  But the coffee wasn't that great.  It tasted slightly watered-down and lacked any kind of dynamic flavor, which would be evident from any properly brewed La Colombe coffee.  But the coffee sufficed and was certainly better than the burnt coffee you might get at Starbucks.

All in all, this cafe is very unique and might offer you a nice respite or a change of scenery for those of you who like to study with lots of natural light (as I do).  The coffee is so-so, but it passes..this place is definitely worth checking out.

3.5/5 beans.  As always, please comment below and be on the lookout for consistent reviews of more cafes!