Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Review - Tea Do
132 N. 10th St
215.925.8889
Yelp, Website
M - Th: 10:30am - 12am, Fri - Sat: 10:30am - 1am
Continuing my series on bubble tea houses. Shortly after writing the review for Tea Talk, I discovered that two more bubble tea houses had recently opened up in Chinatown. (I guess I should've done my homework!) One of them, Tea Do, is just a block down from Tea Talk. Perhaps the owners of Tea Do saw what I saw--that Tea Talk has been slipping and there was room for competition.
The drink menu at Tea Do is very similar to Tea Talk: a variety of teas and tea flavors with options for tapioca and popping bubbles. But that's where the similarities end. With its bar-like atmosphere, Tea Do feels like Tea Talk's more risque older brother. Dance and techno music pumped from the speakers, overpowering any sound that might be coming from the flatscreen TV mounted behind the bar and airing the Olympics. The furnishings are better quality than Tea Talk's Ikea tables and lamps; the decor was slicker and more polished. The menu also includes more small-plate food items like gyoza, seaweed salad, and sweets, clearly targeting an older clientele with deeper pockets.
On a Tuesday night, the place was fairly empty but I could easily imagine a partying crowd spilling in on the weekends with trashy couples making out in the corners and rowdy guys yelling at the game on TV. That kind of scene doesn't seem to go well with a cup of tea.
But that night, I kept it tame with my standard black milk bubble tea order. Despite the unappealing ambience, I had high hopes for Tea Do to step it up and give Tea Talk a run for its money. But my drink was watered down and flavorless. The quest for the perfect bubble tea continues.
Tea: 2 beans
Atmosphere: 2 beans
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Review - Tea Talk
205 N. 10th St
215.925.1581
Yelp, Google Maps
Su - Th: 11am - 11pm, Fri - Sat: 11am - 1am
Like a lot of things in Philly, we were late to the bubble tea party. For those of you not familiar with bubble tea, sometimes called boba, it's a Chinese tea with tapioca balls that you suck up with a special wide straw. It's almost always sweet and served with milk. Sure, bubble tea is sold at any of the Chinese bakeries in Chinatown or even, one of my personal favorites, at the bar at the restaurant Rising Tide. And then there was the now defunct Bubble House in University City--more restaurant than cafe. But until last year when Tea Talk opened, we didn't have a dedicated bubble tea cafe.
Well, those first few months, it had been worth the wait. Tea Talk had the best cup of bubble tea you could find in Philadelphia. It's clean (unlike a lot of shops in Chinatown) and the service is quick and efficient. But more recently, they seem to be slipping. Perhaps its inconsistencies among the staff, but my last visit was definitely not up to par. The tea had a bitter aftertaste, possibly from overbrewing. And my companion's Thai tea was so sweet it tasted like the leftover milk from a bowl of Frooty Pebbles.
A couple of other drawbacks to note: at peak times, there isn't enough seating. But that doesn't seem to deter people from just standing around, as if it were some kind of bar (it's not). And the crowd most likely to be at Tea Talk tends to be on the younger side (think high school), which I find distracting. Maybe it's in having to deal with this less mature and possibly less discerning clientele that Tea Talk has lost their grip on quality.
Regardless, my favorite drink is the classic black milk bubble tea, cold when the weather's hot and hot when the weather's cold. The other flavors are just as good but you can't beat the clean, consistent taste of a classic (when it's done right, that is).
If you're feeling especially adventurous, you can try one of the "popping" bubble drinks. It's a unique kind of yogurt-filled tapioca ball. It's... interesting. Worth trying at least once but not the type of drink that turns into a regular order.
Tea: 3 beans
Atmosphere: 3 beans
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Review - Odd Fellows Cafe
1201 Spruce St
484.897.0633
Yelp, Google Maps
M - W: 7am - 10pm, Th - Su: 7am - 11pm
From the owners of Spruce Street Espresso, Odd Fellows is an odd cafe. Like Gold Standard in West Philly, it's a combination of cafe and casual dine-in restaurant. I want so much to like Odd Fellows for what it is, but I can't.
If it were a dine-in restaurant, it would be great. If it were a cafe, it would be great. But it fails at trying to be both. There's nowhere to sit if you just want to drink a cuppa and read a book. Unlike Gold Standard which clearly separates the cafe from the dining room, Odd Fellows has just one open space. I found it confusing.
It could have been that I went on a off-day. It was a weekday evening and the weather forecast called for heavy rain. I entered only to discover I was the only customer there. A friend was meeting me, so I ordered an iced tea. I've been on a rooibos kick lately and theirs hit the spot. But still, I felt uncomfortable. The service was great, but the hour or so that I was there, no one else came in. I noticed two or three single patrons sitting outside, but that was it. Just two or three odd fellows. The cafe certainly lives up to its name.
Coffee: 3 beans
Atmosphere: 2 beans
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Review - B2
1500 East Passyunk Ave.
215.271.5520
Yelp, Google Maps
M - F: 7am - 10pm, S - S: 8am - 8pm
Free Wi-Fi, Tables, Outlets
I'll admit I wandered in here by accident. I was supposed to have lunch at the sushi place down the street but apparently it only serves dinner. Thank goodness B2 was here to save the day. I was hungry and my boyfriend needed to use a restroom, so we wandered in. I'm glad we did.
This place was an interesting mix of hipster and old-school South Philly. Cut-off jeans, unkempt hair, Chucks, bike locks, and messenger bags sat side by side next to balding white men with beer bellies in ragged sweats. A balloon at the bar marked B2's 4th anniversary.
The menu had a variety of sandwiches (we ordered a tomato basil mozzarella combo), fresh fruit smoothies, and soft serve. Yes! Soft Serve! The fresh fruit smoothie options were interesting. We didn't know what to expect with our orange blackberry choice, but it was delicious and the flavors worked really well together. I also got a cappuccino, which was okay. But I liked that they had an 8-oz, 12-oz, 16-oz, and 20-oz option. Caffeine!
All in all, it was a great little place. A bit dingy but it's almost expected for South Philly (no offense). Lots of big tables for getting stuff done.
Coffee: 3 beans
Atmosphere: 3 1/2 beans
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Review - Almaz Cafe
140 S. 20th St.
215.557.0108
Website, Yelp, Google Maps
M - F: 8am - 10pm, Sat: 9am - 10pm, Sun: 10am - 6pm
Going on six years, Almaz has been at its 20th and Walnut location longer than I've been working in Philly, but I had only been there once before this review. So recently on a weekday evening, I met up with a few girlfriends for coffee there. It was hot and humid outside and not that much better inside despite the air conditioning unit.
We took a table on the lower level since we were told that upstairs was reserved for dining. I ordered a cappuccino and my friends ordered from their fresh fruit smoothie menu. All our drinks were great, but especially the mango smoothie. And it definitely helped to beat the heat. The owner took our orders and was super-friendly. He was patient with us even as one of us waffled on whether she wanted a cookie. (She did. It was freshly baked on the premises. He was kind enough to give her the biggest one from the jar.)
The decor is not much to look at. It's not very well-lit and can be a bit cramped. But the food and drinks more than make up for it.
I saw other patrons ordering dinner and the look of the Ethiopian dishes made my mouth water. I'll definitely be stopping by in the near future to try something from the main dinner menu and maybe get another one of those mango smoothies.
Coffee: 4 beans
Atmosphere 3 1/2 beans
215.557.0108
Website, Yelp, Google Maps
M - F: 8am - 10pm, Sat: 9am - 10pm, Sun: 10am - 6pm
Going on six years, Almaz has been at its 20th and Walnut location longer than I've been working in Philly, but I had only been there once before this review. So recently on a weekday evening, I met up with a few girlfriends for coffee there. It was hot and humid outside and not that much better inside despite the air conditioning unit.
We took a table on the lower level since we were told that upstairs was reserved for dining. I ordered a cappuccino and my friends ordered from their fresh fruit smoothie menu. All our drinks were great, but especially the mango smoothie. And it definitely helped to beat the heat. The owner took our orders and was super-friendly. He was patient with us even as one of us waffled on whether she wanted a cookie. (She did. It was freshly baked on the premises. He was kind enough to give her the biggest one from the jar.)
The decor is not much to look at. It's not very well-lit and can be a bit cramped. But the food and drinks more than make up for it.
I saw other patrons ordering dinner and the look of the Ethiopian dishes made my mouth water. I'll definitely be stopping by in the near future to try something from the main dinner menu and maybe get another one of those mango smoothies.
Coffee: 4 beans
Atmosphere 3 1/2 beans
Monday, April 16, 2012
Review - Lovers and Madmen
28 S. 40th St.
I randomly stopped by here on a Sunday afternoon for a quick pick-me-up, so this is really more of a "drive by" review. But my brief experience was so lovely that I hope to spend more time here in the future (and write a longer review).
On the recommendation of a friend, I ordered a pour-over to go. It was a dollar more than the drip but I'm willing to pay up for a fresher cup of joe. I was pleased to see it was a blend from Counter Culture, known for bringing quality sustainable coffee to the conscientious consumer. While I waited for the hand pour, I lingered by the bar near the entrance to take in the atmosphere.
What I enjoyed most about this place was that it had a very home-y feel to it. Despite being pretty full that day, the cafe was very quiet because all the patrons (likely local area students) were studying. Some people might have found it too quiet and even a little tense in the silence, but I appreciated that a person could enjoy a beverage and meditate on one's topic of choice without loud distractions. It was easy to see why these studious individuals were all attracted to Lovers and Madmen. It was clean, there were plenty of tables, and a wealth of natural light poured in from the large windows.
As for the coffee--it was decent but too hot. Nothing irks me more than a scalding cup of coffee. Except for maybe loud cafe patrons who don't know when to shut up.
Coffee: 3 beans
Atmosphere: 4 beans
215.243.9851
M - F: 7:30am - 6pm, Sat: 8am - 6pm, Sun: 9am - 6pm
 |
| Lovers and Madmen |
On the recommendation of a friend, I ordered a pour-over to go. It was a dollar more than the drip but I'm willing to pay up for a fresher cup of joe. I was pleased to see it was a blend from Counter Culture, known for bringing quality sustainable coffee to the conscientious consumer. While I waited for the hand pour, I lingered by the bar near the entrance to take in the atmosphere.
What I enjoyed most about this place was that it had a very home-y feel to it. Despite being pretty full that day, the cafe was very quiet because all the patrons (likely local area students) were studying. Some people might have found it too quiet and even a little tense in the silence, but I appreciated that a person could enjoy a beverage and meditate on one's topic of choice without loud distractions. It was easy to see why these studious individuals were all attracted to Lovers and Madmen. It was clean, there were plenty of tables, and a wealth of natural light poured in from the large windows.
As for the coffee--it was decent but too hot. Nothing irks me more than a scalding cup of coffee. Except for maybe loud cafe patrons who don't know when to shut up.
Coffee: 3 beans
Atmosphere: 4 beans
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Review - Gold Standard
4800 Baltimore Avenue
215.727.8247
Website, Yelp, Google Maps
M - Tues: 7 am - 8 pm, W - F: 7 am - 9pm, Sat: 8 am - 9 pm, Sun: 7 am - 8 pm
[Editor's note: this review was written by a guest blogger, Norma, who also wrote the view for Cafe L'Aube.]
The first of many great things about The Gold Standard Cafe is that it's really two cafes in one. When you first walk in, there's the self-serve area in the front where you can get a cup of coffee to go, or sit down with it and know you'll be left alone to study or have a conversation with a friend at your leisure. Then, there's the larger dining area in the back, where a host or hostess seats you and a server takes your order from a fairly extensive menu.
The self-serve cafe: I mentioned there are many great things about Gold Standard. Not only is it clean and well-lit, I love how there's always plenty of seating, both indoor and out. Maybe it's the time of day when I'm usually there (late afternoons on Sunday), but I appreciate how I can almost always get a seat inside near the wide window in the front and spread my things out. And since it's not crowded, it's also quiet. The only thing I wish they would fix is that the front door slams shut, and if you're not expecting it, it can be very jarring. For the more diligent patron, there's free wifi and the occasional outlet.
They serve La Colombe (my favorite!) but for some reason their iced coffee was only decent, so I'm guessing they don't cold brew. I've had better, but I've also had worse. I will say that they make a mean chai latte that has become my go-to. Also, be warned that if you're there in the summer, they do have A/C but they don't blast it like the larger corporate coffee chains will and so it can get warm.
Dine-in cafe: In short, the service is slow but the food is solid and in most instances, worth the wait. For breakfast/brunch, I'd recommend the omelet, french toast, or for lighter fare, the lox. For sandwiches, I liked the reuben and turkey waldorf.
The Gold Standard is conveniently located on Baltimore Ave, right along the Route 34 trolley.
4 beans
215.727.8247
Website, Yelp, Google Maps
M - Tues: 7 am - 8 pm, W - F: 7 am - 9pm, Sat: 8 am - 9 pm, Sun: 7 am - 8 pm
[Editor's note: this review was written by a guest blogger, Norma, who also wrote the view for Cafe L'Aube.]
The first of many great things about The Gold Standard Cafe is that it's really two cafes in one. When you first walk in, there's the self-serve area in the front where you can get a cup of coffee to go, or sit down with it and know you'll be left alone to study or have a conversation with a friend at your leisure. Then, there's the larger dining area in the back, where a host or hostess seats you and a server takes your order from a fairly extensive menu.
The self-serve cafe: I mentioned there are many great things about Gold Standard. Not only is it clean and well-lit, I love how there's always plenty of seating, both indoor and out. Maybe it's the time of day when I'm usually there (late afternoons on Sunday), but I appreciate how I can almost always get a seat inside near the wide window in the front and spread my things out. And since it's not crowded, it's also quiet. The only thing I wish they would fix is that the front door slams shut, and if you're not expecting it, it can be very jarring. For the more diligent patron, there's free wifi and the occasional outlet.
They serve La Colombe (my favorite!) but for some reason their iced coffee was only decent, so I'm guessing they don't cold brew. I've had better, but I've also had worse. I will say that they make a mean chai latte that has become my go-to. Also, be warned that if you're there in the summer, they do have A/C but they don't blast it like the larger corporate coffee chains will and so it can get warm.
Dine-in cafe: In short, the service is slow but the food is solid and in most instances, worth the wait. For breakfast/brunch, I'd recommend the omelet, french toast, or for lighter fare, the lox. For sandwiches, I liked the reuben and turkey waldorf.
The Gold Standard is conveniently located on Baltimore Ave, right along the Route 34 trolley.
4 beans
Friday, July 15, 2011
Review - Shot Tower Coffee
542 Christian Street
267.886.8049
Website, Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, Google Maps
M - F: 7 am - 7 pm, S - S: 8 am - 6 pm
Free Wi-Fi, Tables, Outlets
Have you ever had what my friends affectionally call the "Ratatouille moment?" If you've watched the Pixar movie, the food critic Anton Ego has such a moment when he tastes Ratatouille made by the protagonist, Remy. I had such a moment today when trying coffee at my new favorite cafe. I've been visiting and patronizing various cafes around the city for the last 7 years and have sampled quite a number of them. People have routintely asked me for my favorite ones, and I've somewhat floundered when trying to answer. Philadelphia boasts a number of high quality coffeeshops but they all seem to have their pros and cons. If you're a regular follower of my blog, you might know that I evaluate a number of factors and characteristics when reviewing a coffeshop. The decor, ambiance, studying environment, availability of tables, outlets, and Internet, friendliness of the staff, price, and of course the the quality of coffee. Every cafe I've visited seemed to lack at least one of those qualities. Until today. After years of searching for the "best cafe in Philadelphia," I have finally found it. Without further ado, I introduce to you, Shot Tower Coffee, where every factor I evaluated was perfect!
Shot Tower Coffee is located in the Bella Vista neighborhood in South Philly. In fact, Shot Tower is truly a local cafe. It's owners grew up in the neighborhood. While it might be a little out of ways for most of my readers, if you're every in the neighborhood, this IS the cafe to visit. And even if you're looking for a cafe and you're not close by, this STILL is the place to go. Besides, Belle Vista is a great neighborhood with a number of great restaurants to try out too.
The moment I stepped into Shot Tower, I was very impressed by the clean, refreshing, and simple decor. The cafe is surrounded by huge window panes so there is tons of natural light. The owners, Mariel Freeman and Mat Derago must have read my mind when choosing their decor. It has a refined decor while at the same time avoiding one of the biggest problems of most cafes in the City: over-crowdedness. There's one large "picnic-style" bench in the middle of the cafe that seats 12, and there are about 11 bar-style counter spaces. There are also 4 outdoor tables. That isn't the most amount of seating, but the cafe is certainly very spacious and isn't overly crowded. The cafe isn't overly-crowded as there's plenty of seating unlike Elixr or Nook. It's spacious and isn't cramped unlike Spruce Street Espresso and Lovers and Madmen. It isn't dark-lit like Last Drop or Mugshots. The high ceilings and natural light doesn't make it seem like you're in a basement like OCF. It's spotless and immaculate unlike the grimy feeling you get in La Colombe or Ultimo. To round off the ambiance, they have a pretty nice music selection, which isn't overbearing or too loud. Most importantly, they don't just play super-hipster music like Ultimo.
As for a study-spot, it's perfect. There's tons of table and seat space. Plenty of outlets, and of course free Internet. In fact, my test reveal that Shot Tower has the fastest Internet of any cafe I've reviewed with a download speed of 9.30 Mbps, and an upload speed of 8.34 Mbps. My only criticism of this place would be the hours as it closes at 7 pm on most days.
As for coffee, this place doesn't take any shortcuts. They use 2 kinds of roasters: PT's (which is a Kansas-based roaster also used by Elixr) and Stumptown (which is a Portland-based roaster). I've tried a number of PT's coffee at Elixr so it wasn't that novel to me. But I was VERY happy to learn that they use Stumptown, which is growing in popularity due its wonderful coffees. And what makes Stumptown even more special is that there aren't that many Philadelphia cafes that use Stumptown. Stumptown has a variety of single-origin coffees and also several blends. They're also very famous for producing their "Hair Bender" blend, which produces some of the best espresso shots ever. After talking rather extensively with the very friendly and knowledgeable baristas, I settled on both a coffee and an espresso. They usually brew their coffee via drip (though you can request pour-over when it isn't too busy). The coffee was a single origin coffee by PT's from Ethiopia. It was a light roast with subtle notes of Blackberry and smooth composition. Very aromatic and not too acidic. It was truly one of the best cups of coffees I have had in my life. The espresso was also a single origin coffee from Ethiopia from Stumptown. Also very delicious. If you're big into espresso shots, you absolutely have to try Shot Tower. The espresso machine they use is the Strada model made by La Marzocco. If that has no meaning to you, let me just say it's perhaps the best espresso machine made by perhaps the best espresso machine producer. It costs around $20,000 and what makes it unique is that it has a variable pressure controlling mechanism that gives the barista who's pulling the shot ultimate control over the shot. I believe it's one of few such machines in the East Coast and I think it's also the ONLY one in Philadelphia. You have to check it out.
Most impressively, the coffee wasn't overly-expensive unlike Elixr. An 8-ounce cup of coffee will cost you a mere $1.25. If you're not a huge coffee drinker, they also have legitimate tea. They won't just fill up a cup with hot water with tea bags, but will actually steep the tea with real tea leaves.
To summarize, this cafe is just about perfect in every way. Perfect ambiance and environment. Awesome awesome coffee. Friendly and knowledge staff. Spacious and reasonably-priced. My only criticism is that it isn't open that late...but 7 pm is on par with many other coffee shots in Philadelphia. Therefore it is without any hesitation that I give Shot Tower the first ever "5-bean" rating and the title of "Philly Cacophony's Favorite Cafe!"
As always, share your comments below!
267.886.8049
Website, Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, Google Maps
M - F: 7 am - 7 pm, S - S: 8 am - 6 pm
Free Wi-Fi, Tables, Outlets
 |
| Shot Tower Coffee |
Shot Tower Coffee is located in the Bella Vista neighborhood in South Philly. In fact, Shot Tower is truly a local cafe. It's owners grew up in the neighborhood. While it might be a little out of ways for most of my readers, if you're every in the neighborhood, this IS the cafe to visit. And even if you're looking for a cafe and you're not close by, this STILL is the place to go. Besides, Belle Vista is a great neighborhood with a number of great restaurants to try out too.
As for a study-spot, it's perfect. There's tons of table and seat space. Plenty of outlets, and of course free Internet. In fact, my test reveal that Shot Tower has the fastest Internet of any cafe I've reviewed with a download speed of 9.30 Mbps, and an upload speed of 8.34 Mbps. My only criticism of this place would be the hours as it closes at 7 pm on most days.
Most impressively, the coffee wasn't overly-expensive unlike Elixr. An 8-ounce cup of coffee will cost you a mere $1.25. If you're not a huge coffee drinker, they also have legitimate tea. They won't just fill up a cup with hot water with tea bags, but will actually steep the tea with real tea leaves.
To summarize, this cafe is just about perfect in every way. Perfect ambiance and environment. Awesome awesome coffee. Friendly and knowledge staff. Spacious and reasonably-priced. My only criticism is that it isn't open that late...but 7 pm is on par with many other coffee shots in Philadelphia. Therefore it is without any hesitation that I give Shot Tower the first ever "5-bean" rating and the title of "Philly Cacophony's Favorite Cafe!"
As always, share your comments below!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
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.
267.519.8860
Website, Yelp, Google Maps
Everyday: 7 am - 10 pm
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.
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
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
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!
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 |
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!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Review - Cafe L'Aube
Updated: Website, Yelp, Google Maps
M - F: 7:30 am - 6 pm,S - S: 8 am - 6 pm
Wi-Fi, Tables, Outlets
[Editor's note: this review was written by a guest blogger, Norma.]
Philly residents who know their food will tell you that the best thing about Café L'Aube is the crêpes. I have to disagree. While it does have arguably the best, most authentic Parisian crêpes this city has to offer, I would venture to say that the best thing about Cafe L'Aube is, in fact, the atmosphere.
L'Aube (pronounced lobe) is the French word for dawn: the first appearance of daylight in the morning, the beginning or rise of something fresh and new. The word perfectly captures the atmosphere at this South Street gem. If you're like me--an urban dweller who loves (mostly) everything that a vibrant bustling city has to offer but also revels in finding the occasional quiet retreat, then Café L'Aube will appeal to you too, on many levels. Located between 15th and 16th streets, the block is not heavily trafficked for most parts of the day and you can easily miss the cafe if you aren't looking for it. I've visited at times when my party was the only one in the entire cafe, evoking that sense of calm and newness that blankets the city just after a Saturday sunrise. But I've also seen the cafe brimming with customers like chirping birds announcing the start of an early morning. It truly strikes the perfect balance between an invigorating peacefulness and a soothing energy.
Practically speaking, Café L'Aube is always clean and well-lit, inviting you in with comfortable seating and a homey decor. Add in their free wire-fi and I could easily spend all day here (and I have!). But given all that, my favorite thing about this place that keeps it near and dear to my heart is its playlist of musical artists that sounds like it was ripped right from my Pandora: Rilo Kiley, Camera Obscura, Arcade Fire, Radiohead, Cat Power, The Shins, Explosions in the Sky, Iron & Wine, Postal Service, and Death Cab, just to name a few. All these things brew together to make the perfect ambiance whether you're studying, reading leisurely, or catching up with friends over a light meal.
Overall, Café L'Aube reminds me of the European cafes I used to frequent during my year studying abroad. Besides catching a glimpse of a native Frenchman (owner Jean-Luc), you can always expect to encounter interesting people, solid music, good coffee, and great food here.
Four and a half beans.
[UPDATE, April 2012: The original location on South St. has shuttered since the original review last year. The new location at 1631 Wallace St. is what I would call a diamond in the rough. The decor is sparse and not as warm and inviting as the original South St. location. The hours are more limited. But the food and beverages were still as good as I remember. My only disappointment was that they were promoting a Thai Iced Tea House Specialty but had run out of "Thai flavoring" when I tried to order it. It's still managed by Frenchmen with even more boisterous Frenchmen as customers (I assume). I will always think of this place warmly but it's definitely not a must-go like it used to be. Three and a half beans.]
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Review - Cake and the Beanstalk
1112 Locust Street
215.592.6505
Website, Yelp, Google Maps
M - F: 7 am - 8 pm, Sat: 8 am - 8 pm, Sun: 9 am - 7 pm
Free (and fast) Wi-Fi, Several Tables, Lots of outlets
Cake and the Beanstalk, located near Jefferson University, is a relatively new establishment as they're only a little over a month old. They occupy Flying Monkey's old spot, which wasn't that good, so I'm glad there's a new coffeeshop in town! I should mention, that Cake and the Beanstalk isn't strictly a cafe. They also boast a good selection of homemade and delicious desserts. When I asked the owner, Daniel Klein, why he named it Cake and the Beanstalk, he answered that he wanted something that captured elements of both dessert and coffee. Daniel has quite an impressive resume when it comes to his baking experience. Drew Lazor from Meal Ticket notes that Daniel is a lifetime baker who's worked at Striped Bass, Circa, Morimoto, Le Bec-Fin, and Twenty 21. I must say that his desserts are quite tasty. I tried his Strawberry Shortcake and his one-pound brownie with walnuts. They were both pretty delicious but the brownie would've been much better if it had been heated up. They also offer an array of other desserts, paninis and salads.
As for the coffee ($1.75), Cake and the Beanstalk uses Chestnut Hill coffee, which I've never heard of or tried. So I was pretty excited to try it. I asked the owner Dan what kind of roast/blend they use. I think he was a bit surprised with my question and wasn't sure how to answer. He said it was a house blend but didn't know anything more beyond that - except that he thought it might include some South American beans... and that he thought it was a medium roast... I was definitely disappointed to hear this from my barrista, but I took my coffee and brownie and sat down. The coffee wasn't bad at all actually. It was definitely brewed recently, didn't taste watered down, burnt, or old.
As for a cafe itself, I really liked how they set up the place. They definitely took the name of their establishment to heart and made the decor fit. They have unique and colorful tables, and no 2 chairs are alike. There is also a beanstalk painted on one of the walls of the bathroom that's kinda cool. They have big windows, which is nice because you get a nice view of the garden next door. It also lets in a lot of sunlight, which I think is mostly a good thing. My only gripe is that during the late afternoon hours, the sunlight is right in your face, which I hate. It makes looking at computer screens impossible! I stayed there until the sunset. Once the direct sunlight was out of my face, I was able to study much better. But I was then confronted by another problem - my table was definitely too dark. Looking around at the cafe, I think the other tables were adequately lit. I was at the table at the front end. While there were lights right above us, they weren't turned on for some reason and made studying quite difficult. Besides issue with lighting, I think the place makes a relatively good studying place. The decor is quite colorful and refreshing which can be a nice psychological relief after spending hours in a concrete library. They have super fast internet (9.82 mbps), decent number of tables (that weren't too crowded), and certainly enough outlets for all your electrical needs. They also had one table outside right next to the garden. I think once the weather gets bit warmer, that could be an awesome place to read a book.
Overall, it can be a solid place to study - I just have issues with the lighting. Coffee wasn't bad but I wish Cake and the Beanstalk would take a more serious approach with their coffee. They don't have to be snobs about it but at least know what kind of coffee they serve.
3 out of 5 beans, with room to improve for sure. Please share your thoughts!
215.592.6505
Website, Yelp, Google Maps
M - F: 7 am - 8 pm, Sat: 8 am - 8 pm, Sun: 9 am - 7 pm
Free (and fast) Wi-Fi, Several Tables, Lots of outlets
 |
| Cake and the Beanstalk |
As for the coffee ($1.75), Cake and the Beanstalk uses Chestnut Hill coffee, which I've never heard of or tried. So I was pretty excited to try it. I asked the owner Dan what kind of roast/blend they use. I think he was a bit surprised with my question and wasn't sure how to answer. He said it was a house blend but didn't know anything more beyond that - except that he thought it might include some South American beans... and that he thought it was a medium roast... I was definitely disappointed to hear this from my barrista, but I took my coffee and brownie and sat down. The coffee wasn't bad at all actually. It was definitely brewed recently, didn't taste watered down, burnt, or old.
As for a cafe itself, I really liked how they set up the place. They definitely took the name of their establishment to heart and made the decor fit. They have unique and colorful tables, and no 2 chairs are alike. There is also a beanstalk painted on one of the walls of the bathroom that's kinda cool. They have big windows, which is nice because you get a nice view of the garden next door. It also lets in a lot of sunlight, which I think is mostly a good thing. My only gripe is that during the late afternoon hours, the sunlight is right in your face, which I hate. It makes looking at computer screens impossible! I stayed there until the sunset. Once the direct sunlight was out of my face, I was able to study much better. But I was then confronted by another problem - my table was definitely too dark. Looking around at the cafe, I think the other tables were adequately lit. I was at the table at the front end. While there were lights right above us, they weren't turned on for some reason and made studying quite difficult. Besides issue with lighting, I think the place makes a relatively good studying place. The decor is quite colorful and refreshing which can be a nice psychological relief after spending hours in a concrete library. They have super fast internet (9.82 mbps), decent number of tables (that weren't too crowded), and certainly enough outlets for all your electrical needs. They also had one table outside right next to the garden. I think once the weather gets bit warmer, that could be an awesome place to read a book.
Overall, it can be a solid place to study - I just have issues with the lighting. Coffee wasn't bad but I wish Cake and the Beanstalk would take a more serious approach with their coffee. They don't have to be snobs about it but at least know what kind of coffee they serve.
3 out of 5 beans, with room to improve for sure. Please share your thoughts!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Review - Ultimo Coffee Bar
15th and Mifflin Streets
215.339.5177
Website, Twitter, Yelp, Google Maps
M - F: 7 am - 9 pm, S - S: 8 am - 9 pm
Free Wi-fi, several tables, several outlets
Ultimo Coffee, located in South Philly, has taken the Philly coffee scene by storm. For those of you who may be unaware, Craig LeBan (Philadelphia Inquirer's Food Critic) recently wrote several pieces of the changing coffee scene in the City. Though La Colombe's Todd Carmichael still remains King of coffee in the City, there has been a recent increase of fresh new competitors who take pride in a "craft coffee." Though somewhat controversial, this new movement of cafés and baristas identify themselves as the "third wave" of coffee (Folger's being the first, and Starbucks being the second, "hipster" coffee roasters being the third). Less than two years old, Ultimo (named after its owner Aaron Ultimo) is one such café, and probably considered to be one of the top cafés in the City. They also host a monthly "latte throwdown" where barristers from all over the City compete in the latte art competition. Due to all the publicity (some positive, and some negative), I decided to check this place out - even if it meant going far out of my way to visit. Fortunately for me, a friend graciously offered to drive me there! I have to admit, I had to mentally prepare myself for the onslaught of hipster culture. I have nothing against hipsters, but I have never been to a café in either Portland or Brooklyn so I didn't really know what to expect...
I was pleasantly surprised however, to learn that though my attire was pretty much the exact opposite of hipster attire, the baristas were quite friendly. I chatted with one of the baristas (he apparently won 2nd place in the most recent latte throwdown) for about 5 minutes about the café and the different coffee selections. He was very knowledgeable about his coffee, and contrary to my expectations, he didn't try to shove down his coffee philosophy down my throat. They had a selection of six different coffees all from Counter-Culture: Valle del Santuario (Peru), Baroida (Papua New Guinea), Buziraguhindaw (Burundi), Kagumoini (Kenya), Alarcon & Carhuachinchay Microlot (from a micro lot singled out for its superior quality from a farm in Peru), and an Espresso blend. I was tempted to get their espresso especially after Craig LeBan raved about it, but I ended going for the Microlot brew from Peru. I was a bit disappointed that they brew coffee via Chemex only before 11 am. After 11 am, your only choice is to get it hand-brewed using the pour-over method. My barista asked me whether I wanted my coffee "to-go" or "for-here." When I replied that I definitely would rather have my coffee in a mug over a paper cup, he jokingly responded by saying "we don't judge you at this cafe (this in reference to Craig LeBan's review of Elixr coffee where owner Inatome apparently protested LaBan's choice to get his coffee in a paper cup).
Having coffee brewed to order is always a refreshing experience, especially if the barista knows what he or she is doing. My coffee had a very smooth body, with no hint of bitterness or burnt-ness. And though I'm still working on my coffee-pallete, I could definitely taste the subtle flavors of pear and milk chocolate. Admittedly, I can see why many people are against the pour-over method - perhaps it's just a gimmick to justify charging more, and taking longer. If you're in a rush to get a to-go coffee, I would say pour-over method definitely isn't worth it. But I'm a student who likes to study at cafés. For someone like me, paying $3 for coffee instead of $1.50 may be worth it to know that the coffee isn't going to be burnt or old coffee. I honestly have nothing against regular drip coffee and places like La Colombe have great drip coffee! But I've had too many bad experiences at cafés where the coffee is disgusting (e.g., Tuscany Coffee, Saxby's, Last Drop, etc).
As for the ambiance and the environment, the café is fairly pleasant. I'm not too fond of "hipster" music, which I find pretty distracting when studying, but fortunately, it's not too loud. It's a lively café with many interesting conversations going on. They have a giant glass garage window thing that they apparently open up when the weather gets better. It's a shame I didn't get to experience that, but what I love about this place is that it's very well lit as the windows let in a huge amount of natural sunlight. Plus during the afternoon, there's absolutely no direct sunlight (which I'm not a big fan of). The decor is simple and definitely hipster-ish. But I think it's fine. It's also not the cleanest café, but it's not anywhere to the point of being disgusting. It's not a terrible place to study at - but I have my complaints. It's not a big café (only 9 tables). They do have good Wi-fi (4.3 mbps) and several outlets, but I really think it's probably impossible to find a table to study at. If you do happen to find a table (which we were luckily able to do), the studying experience is fine - good internet, outlets, big tables, and well-lit. However, I would expect that it's normally quite difficult to find tables because the slow pour-over method of coffee brewing caters less to the "to-go" coffee drinkers, and more to people who like to sit at a coffee table and chat or study for hours.
Bottom-line: if you're lucky enough to grab a table, it's a descent place to study especially with the guarantee that your coffee will be of excellent quality. It's definitely out of the way though and I think there are far better options in more accessible locations. The coffee is good, but I don't think it's worth it to make the trek just to try their coffee. It might be better just to buy your own gourmet coffee and brew using the pour-over method by yourself at home (just google it, it's really easy).
3.5 / 5 "beans." Let me know what you think please!
215.339.5177
Website, Twitter, Yelp, Google Maps
M - F: 7 am - 9 pm, S - S: 8 am - 9 pm
Free Wi-fi, several tables, several outlets
 |
| Ultimo Coffee Bar |
I was pleasantly surprised however, to learn that though my attire was pretty much the exact opposite of hipster attire, the baristas were quite friendly. I chatted with one of the baristas (he apparently won 2nd place in the most recent latte throwdown) for about 5 minutes about the café and the different coffee selections. He was very knowledgeable about his coffee, and contrary to my expectations, he didn't try to shove down his coffee philosophy down my throat. They had a selection of six different coffees all from Counter-Culture: Valle del Santuario (Peru), Baroida (Papua New Guinea), Buziraguhindaw (Burundi), Kagumoini (Kenya), Alarcon & Carhuachinchay Microlot (from a micro lot singled out for its superior quality from a farm in Peru), and an Espresso blend. I was tempted to get their espresso especially after Craig LeBan raved about it, but I ended going for the Microlot brew from Peru. I was a bit disappointed that they brew coffee via Chemex only before 11 am. After 11 am, your only choice is to get it hand-brewed using the pour-over method. My barista asked me whether I wanted my coffee "to-go" or "for-here." When I replied that I definitely would rather have my coffee in a mug over a paper cup, he jokingly responded by saying "we don't judge you at this cafe (this in reference to Craig LeBan's review of Elixr coffee where owner Inatome apparently protested LaBan's choice to get his coffee in a paper cup).
Having coffee brewed to order is always a refreshing experience, especially if the barista knows what he or she is doing. My coffee had a very smooth body, with no hint of bitterness or burnt-ness. And though I'm still working on my coffee-pallete, I could definitely taste the subtle flavors of pear and milk chocolate. Admittedly, I can see why many people are against the pour-over method - perhaps it's just a gimmick to justify charging more, and taking longer. If you're in a rush to get a to-go coffee, I would say pour-over method definitely isn't worth it. But I'm a student who likes to study at cafés. For someone like me, paying $3 for coffee instead of $1.50 may be worth it to know that the coffee isn't going to be burnt or old coffee. I honestly have nothing against regular drip coffee and places like La Colombe have great drip coffee! But I've had too many bad experiences at cafés where the coffee is disgusting (e.g., Tuscany Coffee, Saxby's, Last Drop, etc).
As for the ambiance and the environment, the café is fairly pleasant. I'm not too fond of "hipster" music, which I find pretty distracting when studying, but fortunately, it's not too loud. It's a lively café with many interesting conversations going on. They have a giant glass garage window thing that they apparently open up when the weather gets better. It's a shame I didn't get to experience that, but what I love about this place is that it's very well lit as the windows let in a huge amount of natural sunlight. Plus during the afternoon, there's absolutely no direct sunlight (which I'm not a big fan of). The decor is simple and definitely hipster-ish. But I think it's fine. It's also not the cleanest café, but it's not anywhere to the point of being disgusting. It's not a terrible place to study at - but I have my complaints. It's not a big café (only 9 tables). They do have good Wi-fi (4.3 mbps) and several outlets, but I really think it's probably impossible to find a table to study at. If you do happen to find a table (which we were luckily able to do), the studying experience is fine - good internet, outlets, big tables, and well-lit. However, I would expect that it's normally quite difficult to find tables because the slow pour-over method of coffee brewing caters less to the "to-go" coffee drinkers, and more to people who like to sit at a coffee table and chat or study for hours.
Bottom-line: if you're lucky enough to grab a table, it's a descent place to study especially with the guarantee that your coffee will be of excellent quality. It's definitely out of the way though and I think there are far better options in more accessible locations. The coffee is good, but I don't think it's worth it to make the trek just to try their coffee. It might be better just to buy your own gourmet coffee and brew using the pour-over method by yourself at home (just google it, it's really easy).
3.5 / 5 "beans." Let me know what you think please!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Review - Tuscany Cafe
222 W. Rittenhouse Square (approx 19th and Locust)
215.772.0605
Yelp, Google Maps
M - F: 7 am - 8 pm, S: 8 am - 8 pm, S: 8 am - 7 pm
Located on the Western edge of Rittenhouse Square, Tuscany Cafe has some serious competition (most notably La Colombe). However, there is enough traffic in the Rittenhouse area that I think Tuscany has sufficient business. I went in with rather high expectations actually. Philly Magazine ranked Tuscany as the best café in 2004. I checked out the place mid-afternoon on a weekday and fully expected the place to be packed. I was rather pleasantly surprised to see that the café was fairly empty and made it a rather enjoyable experience. There's one thing that I hate about trying to study at a café - lugging a heavy backpack loaded with your laptop and heavy textbooks only to find that there's not a single open table at the café. I'm not sure what Tuscancy Cafe is like at peak hours especially considering they have a posted sign asking customers to refrain from studying during peak hours. But when I went, there were probably less than 10 customers.
Unsurprisingly, Tuscany Cafe uses La Colombe coffee, which is pretty much the gold standard coffee in Philadelphia (I've mentioned this before). They alternate between the different La Colombe blends offering a different light and dark roast each day. I chose the Venetian blend, which is a dark roast blend, which I paid $1.91 for with my credit card (I love places that don't have a minimum credit card charge). Perhaps it was because I went towards the end of the afternoon, but the coffee was honestly disappointing. It tasted slightly burnt and watered down. It was probably brewed several hours before... perhaps the coffee tastes better in the morning, but I was very disappointed. The café also boasts the usual selection of espresso drinks, pastries, and and sandwiches, but nothing out of the ordinary. The barista definitely knew what she was talking about and was very quick and speedy. But she was rather too curt to the point of being slightly rude. I didn't mind too much because I prefer quick service above anything, but I didn't really see the point of being that curt especially because there was no line behind me.
As a place to study, I have mixed feelings. On one hand, the café has fairly spacious tables. And there's a lot of them, 22 to be exact. Moreover, they have pretty speedy Wi-Fi (measured at 2.39 Mbps). But take that with a grain of salt. As previously mentioned, there were less than 10 customers in the café at the time. The place has a great ambiance too. Pretty good music track that isn't too loud. The walls are painted in pleasant colors, which gives it a very homey feel, and they display neat photographs of the surrounding Rittenhouse and Center City area. Moreover, the café is pretty clean too. On the other hand, there are some characteristics that make it a terrible place to study. First, it's pretty dark and gloomy in there, which is a shame! They have such a great location right next to Rittenhouse. I think if they had huge windows (like La Colombe), they could let in a lot more natural light. They do have a bunch of windows, but they're all tiny and do a terrible job of bringing in natural light. Second, they have absolutely no outlets. Actually, I'm wrong. They have ONE outlet near the entrance. I think it's probably a strategy to prevent people from camping out there all day and studying on their computers. Tuscany is probably a good place to read a book or chat with a friend. But if you want to do any kind of serious studying, I'd suggest finding an alternate location.
Bottom line, not the best studying spot and the coffee was weak. I'm not exactly sure why Philly Magazine ranked this place as te best café in 2004. Either their quality has drastically failed in the last 7 years, or the number of actual and legitimate cafés in the city have dramatically increased. If you're in the Rittenhouse area looking for a place to study, you'd do better going to other neighboring cafés (e.g., Elixr, La Citadelle, La Colombe, Nook, Cafe Loftus, and yes, even Starbucks).
2 out of 5 "beans." Comment below!
215.772.0605
Yelp, Google Maps
M - F: 7 am - 8 pm, S: 8 am - 8 pm, S: 8 am - 7 pm
 |
| Tuscany Cafe |
Unsurprisingly, Tuscany Cafe uses La Colombe coffee, which is pretty much the gold standard coffee in Philadelphia (I've mentioned this before). They alternate between the different La Colombe blends offering a different light and dark roast each day. I chose the Venetian blend, which is a dark roast blend, which I paid $1.91 for with my credit card (I love places that don't have a minimum credit card charge). Perhaps it was because I went towards the end of the afternoon, but the coffee was honestly disappointing. It tasted slightly burnt and watered down. It was probably brewed several hours before... perhaps the coffee tastes better in the morning, but I was very disappointed. The café also boasts the usual selection of espresso drinks, pastries, and and sandwiches, but nothing out of the ordinary. The barista definitely knew what she was talking about and was very quick and speedy. But she was rather too curt to the point of being slightly rude. I didn't mind too much because I prefer quick service above anything, but I didn't really see the point of being that curt especially because there was no line behind me.
As a place to study, I have mixed feelings. On one hand, the café has fairly spacious tables. And there's a lot of them, 22 to be exact. Moreover, they have pretty speedy Wi-Fi (measured at 2.39 Mbps). But take that with a grain of salt. As previously mentioned, there were less than 10 customers in the café at the time. The place has a great ambiance too. Pretty good music track that isn't too loud. The walls are painted in pleasant colors, which gives it a very homey feel, and they display neat photographs of the surrounding Rittenhouse and Center City area. Moreover, the café is pretty clean too. On the other hand, there are some characteristics that make it a terrible place to study. First, it's pretty dark and gloomy in there, which is a shame! They have such a great location right next to Rittenhouse. I think if they had huge windows (like La Colombe), they could let in a lot more natural light. They do have a bunch of windows, but they're all tiny and do a terrible job of bringing in natural light. Second, they have absolutely no outlets. Actually, I'm wrong. They have ONE outlet near the entrance. I think it's probably a strategy to prevent people from camping out there all day and studying on their computers. Tuscany is probably a good place to read a book or chat with a friend. But if you want to do any kind of serious studying, I'd suggest finding an alternate location.
Bottom line, not the best studying spot and the coffee was weak. I'm not exactly sure why Philly Magazine ranked this place as te best café in 2004. Either their quality has drastically failed in the last 7 years, or the number of actual and legitimate cafés in the city have dramatically increased. If you're in the Rittenhouse area looking for a place to study, you'd do better going to other neighboring cafés (e.g., Elixr, La Citadelle, La Colombe, Nook, Cafe Loftus, and yes, even Starbucks).
2 out of 5 "beans." Comment below!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Review - Cafe 12
212 S. 12th Street (Between Walnut and Locust Streets)
215.893.5680
Yelp, Google Maps
M - R: 6:30 am - 8 pm, F: 6:30 am - 9 pm, Sat: 7:30 am - 9 pm, Sun: 7:30 am - 8 pm
I apologize for two things. First, for the recent dearth of reviews. Unfortunately, I've been a bit busy and haven't had as much opportunities to sample new cafés. But I'll be back on my usual schedule of at least one review a week. Moreover, if you're willing to do a guest review, drop me a line! Second, while reviewing Cafe 12, I forgot to bring my camera so unfortunately, there is no picture, except this one I took on my phone. I'll see if I can add a better one later. Without further ado, I present my review for Cafe 12.
Cafe 12, formerly known as Brew Ha Ha!, is located in the heart of Center City in the Gayborhood. While under previous ownership when it was still known as Brew Ha Ha, this café was recognized as the best café in Gayborhood by Philly Magazine. Even after ownership changed, Cafe 12 has been able to maintain quite a loyal client base as it remains one of the top independent café in the vicinity. I visited Cafe 12 Tuesday around 3 pm, which is generally not a peak hour for most coffeeshops. So I was a bit surprised to see that the place was packed.There are about 12 smaller round tables towards the front, but they were all taken. Fortunately, I didn't have any serious studying to do, so I was content to head to the back of the café , where they have several sofas, which were all open. I gladly sat down and found them to be reasonably conformable.
I went up the barista to get something to drink. I was pleasantly met with very prompt and courteous service. Though she didn't really to be the type of barista who's willing to engage in long conversations with customers, she was friendly and quick. She didn't seem to know too much about the coffees though. They had all the usual selection of coffees, espresso drinks, teas, Italian sodas, pastries, etc. But as you may know from my previous reviews, I tend to just sample their coffee. My theory is that if they can't get their coffee right, why try anything else? But yes, back to the coffee. I asked what kind of roast they had and she kind of hesitated. I'm always surprised by the number of barista's who are seemingly afraid to talk about their coffee - as if they know they don't know too much about it. She did mention that the blend of the day was a Honduras medium-roast coffee. After paying $1.89 for the coffee with my credit card (I love places without a minimum charge), I took my coffee back to my sofa. It had a pleasant aroma so I thought it would be pretty tasty. So I was shocked when I tasted it. It tasted very watered-down and pretty bitter. Not even worth finishing it in my opinion.
The ambiance is fairly pleasant. It feels very different from the typical chain café (e.g., Starbucks), and is very much an independent and local establishment. My big gripe though, is that it's very crowded and packed. If you're willing to sit on the sofas in the back, you won't feel that way. But if you're somehow able to sit at one of the smaller tables in the front, you'll be bound to feel extremely claustrophobic within minutes. It's almost as if the owners played a game to see how many tables and chairs they could fit in a confined and limited space. They do have a few power outlets disbursed throughout the café. But honestly, I don't think it's worth even trying to study here. The tables are impossible to get for one thing. But even if you're able to grab one, they're small. The space is packed. And the Wi-Fi is absolutely terrible (I measured it at .13 Mbps, which is extremely slow).
**Edit***
I forgot to mention. They have two bathrooms. In the spirit of Gayborhood, neither are gender labelled, with which I have no trouble. But the bathroom on the left doesn't lock! Another strike against Cafe 12.
Bottom-line: it's a cool little place in the heart of Center City. They have fast customer service, but coffee was unimpressive and it's impossible to study there. 2 beans out of 5. Share your thoughts in the comments!
215.893.5680
Yelp, Google Maps
M - R: 6:30 am - 8 pm, F: 6:30 am - 9 pm, Sat: 7:30 am - 9 pm, Sun: 7:30 am - 8 pm
 |
| Cafe 12 |
Cafe 12, formerly known as Brew Ha Ha!, is located in the heart of Center City in the Gayborhood. While under previous ownership when it was still known as Brew Ha Ha, this café was recognized as the best café in Gayborhood by Philly Magazine. Even after ownership changed, Cafe 12 has been able to maintain quite a loyal client base as it remains one of the top independent café in the vicinity. I visited Cafe 12 Tuesday around 3 pm, which is generally not a peak hour for most coffeeshops. So I was a bit surprised to see that the place was packed.There are about 12 smaller round tables towards the front, but they were all taken. Fortunately, I didn't have any serious studying to do, so I was content to head to the back of the café , where they have several sofas, which were all open. I gladly sat down and found them to be reasonably conformable.
I went up the barista to get something to drink. I was pleasantly met with very prompt and courteous service. Though she didn't really to be the type of barista who's willing to engage in long conversations with customers, she was friendly and quick. She didn't seem to know too much about the coffees though. They had all the usual selection of coffees, espresso drinks, teas, Italian sodas, pastries, etc. But as you may know from my previous reviews, I tend to just sample their coffee. My theory is that if they can't get their coffee right, why try anything else? But yes, back to the coffee. I asked what kind of roast they had and she kind of hesitated. I'm always surprised by the number of barista's who are seemingly afraid to talk about their coffee - as if they know they don't know too much about it. She did mention that the blend of the day was a Honduras medium-roast coffee. After paying $1.89 for the coffee with my credit card (I love places without a minimum charge), I took my coffee back to my sofa. It had a pleasant aroma so I thought it would be pretty tasty. So I was shocked when I tasted it. It tasted very watered-down and pretty bitter. Not even worth finishing it in my opinion.
The ambiance is fairly pleasant. It feels very different from the typical chain café (e.g., Starbucks), and is very much an independent and local establishment. My big gripe though, is that it's very crowded and packed. If you're willing to sit on the sofas in the back, you won't feel that way. But if you're somehow able to sit at one of the smaller tables in the front, you'll be bound to feel extremely claustrophobic within minutes. It's almost as if the owners played a game to see how many tables and chairs they could fit in a confined and limited space. They do have a few power outlets disbursed throughout the café. But honestly, I don't think it's worth even trying to study here. The tables are impossible to get for one thing. But even if you're able to grab one, they're small. The space is packed. And the Wi-Fi is absolutely terrible (I measured it at .13 Mbps, which is extremely slow).
**Edit***
I forgot to mention. They have two bathrooms. In the spirit of Gayborhood, neither are gender labelled, with which I have no trouble. But the bathroom on the left doesn't lock! Another strike against Cafe 12.
Bottom-line: it's a cool little place in the heart of Center City. They have fast customer service, but coffee was unimpressive and it's impossible to study there. 2 beans out of 5. Share your thoughts in the comments!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Review - The Last Drop
1300 Pine Street
215.893.9262
Yelp, Google Maps
M - F: 7 am - 10 pm, S - S: 8 am - 9 pm
Free Wi-fi, some tables, broken outlets
[Editor's note: this review was written by a guest blogger, Miriam. I apologize for the unoriginal photograph. Miriam doesn't own a camera so I instead used an image I found online.]
Hidden in a small corner on 13th and Pine, rests a mosaic café, dimly lit filled with somber music. As I scurried into the café to shelter myself from the stabbing cold wind, I was kindly greeted by the sweet aroma of coffee. I scanned the room quickly, to find few tables and chairs, a bar and few stools peppered by young adults furiously typing away. Gripping onto my laptop, I searched for an open table and a nearby outlet to plant myself on for the next hour. Nature called, and before I too was going to start furiously typing away, I needed to find the bathroom. I could not see any sign that obviously screamed out “BATHROOM” but instead saw a sign pointing downstairs that read “ATM”. My gut told me that relief would be found downstairs. I was surprised to find that there were more tables and lots of outlets on the bottom floor…but it was deserted. As I waited for the man who screamed “I’ll be right out!” from the toilet, I had plenty of time to examine this ground floor. Standing there alone, I got chills down my back. Though I knew people were upstairs, and someone was down here (though he was buy and probably would not be able to come to the rescue), it felt like the basement of an abandoned home. The carpet I was standing on felt grimy, dirty and I had the urge to wipe my feet from standing on it. Graffiti decorates the walls of the ground floor and also the bathroom. I made sure not to come into direct contact with anything.
I scurried upstairs and got in line to finally get a chance to judge the quality of the coffee served. I asked the cashier what flavors the cupcakes were, he said he did not know. I asked him what type of coffee they brewed, and his answer was “Phoenix”. I asked him if they didn’t brew La Colombe (since bags are sold on location) in which he responds that only the espresso is La Colombe. He must have noticed that I wasn’t too happy with this answer, so he quickly reassured me that he thinks Phoenix is under the same company.
I took the first sip of coffee and quickly realized that it was weak and had been probably sitting inside the percolator since 7 am. I felt like I was drinking black water. I planted myself under the brightest bulb I could find making sure I had a nearby outlet. As I decided whether to sit on the wooden chair, or the cushioned bench, I noticed that the cushion on the bench looked like it had seen better days… for obvious reasons. The outlet didn’t work and the longer I sat there, the dimmer the room seemed to get. Local musicians were sitting next to me chit chatting about business, sipping on some drinks and all I could smell was the stench of cigarettes. As a conclusion, the one good thing about it is that it’s open late and you can get a refill of coffee for $1. If you’re into dark rooms, depressing music, terrible coffee and graffiti filled bathrooms; then The Last Drop is for you. But if you have any respect for the beauty and simplicity of coffee and seek for an environment that is inviting and warm then this place will definitely not have you drinking their stuff until the last drop.
I give it 1.5 beans out of five. As always, comment below!
215.893.9262
Yelp, Google Maps
M - F: 7 am - 10 pm, S - S: 8 am - 9 pm
Free Wi-fi, some tables, broken outlets
 |
| The Last Drop |
Hidden in a small corner on 13th and Pine, rests a mosaic café, dimly lit filled with somber music. As I scurried into the café to shelter myself from the stabbing cold wind, I was kindly greeted by the sweet aroma of coffee. I scanned the room quickly, to find few tables and chairs, a bar and few stools peppered by young adults furiously typing away. Gripping onto my laptop, I searched for an open table and a nearby outlet to plant myself on for the next hour. Nature called, and before I too was going to start furiously typing away, I needed to find the bathroom. I could not see any sign that obviously screamed out “BATHROOM” but instead saw a sign pointing downstairs that read “ATM”. My gut told me that relief would be found downstairs. I was surprised to find that there were more tables and lots of outlets on the bottom floor…but it was deserted. As I waited for the man who screamed “I’ll be right out!” from the toilet, I had plenty of time to examine this ground floor. Standing there alone, I got chills down my back. Though I knew people were upstairs, and someone was down here (though he was buy and probably would not be able to come to the rescue), it felt like the basement of an abandoned home. The carpet I was standing on felt grimy, dirty and I had the urge to wipe my feet from standing on it. Graffiti decorates the walls of the ground floor and also the bathroom. I made sure not to come into direct contact with anything.
I scurried upstairs and got in line to finally get a chance to judge the quality of the coffee served. I asked the cashier what flavors the cupcakes were, he said he did not know. I asked him what type of coffee they brewed, and his answer was “Phoenix”. I asked him if they didn’t brew La Colombe (since bags are sold on location) in which he responds that only the espresso is La Colombe. He must have noticed that I wasn’t too happy with this answer, so he quickly reassured me that he thinks Phoenix is under the same company.
I took the first sip of coffee and quickly realized that it was weak and had been probably sitting inside the percolator since 7 am. I felt like I was drinking black water. I planted myself under the brightest bulb I could find making sure I had a nearby outlet. As I decided whether to sit on the wooden chair, or the cushioned bench, I noticed that the cushion on the bench looked like it had seen better days… for obvious reasons. The outlet didn’t work and the longer I sat there, the dimmer the room seemed to get. Local musicians were sitting next to me chit chatting about business, sipping on some drinks and all I could smell was the stench of cigarettes. As a conclusion, the one good thing about it is that it’s open late and you can get a refill of coffee for $1. If you’re into dark rooms, depressing music, terrible coffee and graffiti filled bathrooms; then The Last Drop is for you. But if you have any respect for the beauty and simplicity of coffee and seek for an environment that is inviting and warm then this place will definitely not have you drinking their stuff until the last drop.
I give it 1.5 beans out of five. As always, comment below!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Review - La Colombe Torrefaction (Rittenhouse)
130 S. 19th Street (Between Walnut and Sansom Street)
215.563.0860
Website, Twitter, Yelp, Google Maps
M - F: 7 am - 7 pm, S - S: 8 am - 7 pm
No Wi-Fi, lots of tables (though crowded), few outlets
If you ask anybody who's been in Philadelphia for an extended period of time, they'll tell you that the gold standard for coffee in Philly is La Colombe. There have been countless reviews boldly proclaiming La Colombe as the undisputed king of coffee in the city. In fact, many other establishments in the city also use La Colombe coffee (see, e.g., La Citadelle, Capogiro, Philly's Cafe, Sugar Philly, etc). I've frequently visited this particular location (they have several locations in New York City and also a new location opening up in Center City), but thought I'd visit it again to make a proper review.
So I visited La Colombe this past Friday, which had absolutely gorgeous weather. It was perhaps the perfect day to visit a café, so I must admit, I was in a very pleasant disposition even before I got there. I usually just get regular coffee there, which is their Corsica blend - a dark roast from Central/South America. In my opinion, it's one of the best coffees in the City of Philadelphia. Even if you normally add tons of sugar and cream to your coffee, you'll be just fine drinking this coffee black. On this particular visit, I decided to try their Café Americano (priced at $1.75). For their espressos, La Colombe uses their Nizza blend, which is a medium roast from several South American countries and Ethiopia. I actually think their Nizza blend is their best coffee, and in fact if you visit La Colombe, you'll notice a lot of people ordering Americanos. This review seems to agree and ranks the Nizza at 90 out of 100. I have to say, it was probably one of the best Americano's I've ever had. My only complaint was that I think the water they added was wayyyyy too hot and was undrinkable for about 5-10 minutes. La Colombe definitely lives up to its reputation for having one of the best, if not the best, coffee in the city.
As a café, La Colombe has a great atmosphere right next to Rittenhouse Square. They have a beautiful decor inside and a great urban café feel. They also have huge windows all over the café, which lets in a lot of natural light. Perhaps because of its location, the clientele is very diverse, which makes the experience much more pleasant. You'll find people of all ages, races, and professions (students, professionals, hipsters, artists, senior citizens, etc).
Unfortunately, what makes the café so great may also be its downside. Because La Colombe is so great, it's super crowded. Though they have 26 tables, it's often hard to find a table. Even if you just want to get a coffee to go, you'll most likely have to wait a line of considerable length. However, for such a popular café, La Colombe is somehow able to balance efficiency/speed with customer service. You certainly won't get the same level of attention as a smaller café might give you, but these baristas are certainly not like the ones at Starbucks. On the other hand, for how quickly the baristas work, they are quite friendly.
Moreover, while La Colombe would be a great place to read a book or chat with a friend, it's probably not that great of a place to study. Though they have 26 tables, the tables are rather small. They have no wi-fi, and only 2 outlets. Furthermore, from what I can tell, the tables with outlets are ALWAYS occupied by computer squatters. In the alternative, you can also grab a cup of coffee to go and take a stroll in Rittenhouse Park or read on one of the benches. Especially when the weather is 65 degrees in the middle of February, there are very few things more gratifying.
Bottom line - Excellent coffee. Great place to hang out or read but not to do any hardcore studying. I can't wait until their new location opens this Spring. 4/5 "beans." As always, please share your opinions about this place!
215.563.0860
Website, Twitter, Yelp, Google Maps
M - F: 7 am - 7 pm, S - S: 8 am - 7 pm
No Wi-Fi, lots of tables (though crowded), few outlets
 |
| La Colombe Torrefaction |
So I visited La Colombe this past Friday, which had absolutely gorgeous weather. It was perhaps the perfect day to visit a café, so I must admit, I was in a very pleasant disposition even before I got there. I usually just get regular coffee there, which is their Corsica blend - a dark roast from Central/South America. In my opinion, it's one of the best coffees in the City of Philadelphia. Even if you normally add tons of sugar and cream to your coffee, you'll be just fine drinking this coffee black. On this particular visit, I decided to try their Café Americano (priced at $1.75). For their espressos, La Colombe uses their Nizza blend, which is a medium roast from several South American countries and Ethiopia. I actually think their Nizza blend is their best coffee, and in fact if you visit La Colombe, you'll notice a lot of people ordering Americanos. This review seems to agree and ranks the Nizza at 90 out of 100. I have to say, it was probably one of the best Americano's I've ever had. My only complaint was that I think the water they added was wayyyyy too hot and was undrinkable for about 5-10 minutes. La Colombe definitely lives up to its reputation for having one of the best, if not the best, coffee in the city.
As a café, La Colombe has a great atmosphere right next to Rittenhouse Square. They have a beautiful decor inside and a great urban café feel. They also have huge windows all over the café, which lets in a lot of natural light. Perhaps because of its location, the clientele is very diverse, which makes the experience much more pleasant. You'll find people of all ages, races, and professions (students, professionals, hipsters, artists, senior citizens, etc).
Unfortunately, what makes the café so great may also be its downside. Because La Colombe is so great, it's super crowded. Though they have 26 tables, it's often hard to find a table. Even if you just want to get a coffee to go, you'll most likely have to wait a line of considerable length. However, for such a popular café, La Colombe is somehow able to balance efficiency/speed with customer service. You certainly won't get the same level of attention as a smaller café might give you, but these baristas are certainly not like the ones at Starbucks. On the other hand, for how quickly the baristas work, they are quite friendly.
Moreover, while La Colombe would be a great place to read a book or chat with a friend, it's probably not that great of a place to study. Though they have 26 tables, the tables are rather small. They have no wi-fi, and only 2 outlets. Furthermore, from what I can tell, the tables with outlets are ALWAYS occupied by computer squatters. In the alternative, you can also grab a cup of coffee to go and take a stroll in Rittenhouse Park or read on one of the benches. Especially when the weather is 65 degrees in the middle of February, there are very few things more gratifying.
Bottom line - Excellent coffee. Great place to hang out or read but not to do any hardcore studying. I can't wait until their new location opens this Spring. 4/5 "beans." As always, please share your opinions about this place!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Review - Elixr
207 S. 15th Street (around Walnut Street)
Website, Twitter, Yelp, Google Maps
M - F: 6 am - 10 pm, S - S: 7 am - 10 pm
Free but terrible Wi-Fi, few tables (fairly crowded), few outlets
I was very excited to hear about the opening of a new café in the heart of Center City. Elixr, which just opened a few weeks ago, prides itself in being true adherents to coffee made "the right way. " Evan Inatome, the owner of of Elixr, is the brother-in-law of Eagles player Winston Justice. In fact, Inatome claims to donate 20% of all proceeds from Elixr to various charities he's working on with Justice.
Elixr clearly takes great pride in its coffee, so let's talk about that first. All their coffee is "direct trade," which is a form of "fair trade" coffee As I'm sure you know, fair trade coffee is all the rage these days especially among certain groups. "Direct trade" is a bit different because direct trade aims to get the coffee directly from the farmers. I believe their coffee supplier is PT's Coffee. Their coffee may seem a bit on the expensive side ($2.25), but it's definitely worth it. Elixr will brew-to-order among the 4 brews available that day. Quite impressively, the baristas will hand-brew each order. And you know they're doing it the right way - they'll place the cup on a scale and watch as they pour the hot water over the coffee, to ensure they use the exact optimal amount of water. They're espresso offerings are also quite impressive as they use a La Marzocco espresso machine, widely regarded as the one of the best espresso machine. When I visited, I tried their Brazilian brew, which had a round body, sweet acidity, and roasted peanut aroma. As you would expect, it was brewed perfectly. The baristas are quite friendly and willing to answer all questions. However, I did notice that because the café is quite popular and crowded, the baristas somewhat rush you. I have to give them credit though. Considering the fact that they hand-brew each order, they're as efficient as once could be. In case you're interested, they also have a number of other hot and cold drinks (including bottled Coca-Cola) and and sandwiches from Marathon Grill.
The atmosphere is fairly pleasant. It takes on a post-modern approach - very simplistic, clean, yet elegant and sophisticated. The café is well-lit and has great decor. However, perhaps the appeal of the café is it's own downfall. The café is very crowded, perhaps bolstered by the fact that it has limited seating. It boasts 2 big "picnic tables," 6 seats the counter-top and 2 smaller comfortable chairs. While there are a fair number of power outlets dispersed among the café, it's probably impossible to find a seat to study unless you come early and just "camp-out" all day. Moreover, because of its popularity and over-crowdedness, the café feels less and less like a local independent coffee-shop, but instead more and more like a well-run and well-oiled chain café. Even if you are able to secure a study spot, I wouldn't recommend it. The café itself is quite small and the the noise within the café doesn't disperse very well as a white background noise (which I personally find very conducive to studying). Rather, it sounds like a busy marketplace....moreover, if you plan on doing any work online, you'll probably run into significant problems trying to connect to its free Wi-Fi. It t...ook me about 10 minutes to finally connect, only to find that the internet was extremely slow (1.46 mbps, which is about the speed of a 3G internet connection). It might be be worth it to try to connect to Max Brenner's Wi-Fi...Another complaint I have is their rather poor climate control. Every time the door opens, a huge cold draft rushes in, chilling the entire café. If you're lucky enough to be a woman, apparently their bathroom also has lotion, which is a nice gesture. I'm very disappointed however, that they would assume that men wouldn't want the same luxury!
Bottom-line - they are clearly coffee experts. If you consider yourself to be a coffee snob, this is probably one of the few places in Center City where you can find this level of quality. The ambiance has potential to be amazing. But until they fix their over-crowding and internet problem, I wouldn't recommend studying there. On the other hand, this is probably the only café I know in the city that opens until 10 pm... I give it 4.5/5 "beans" (with huge potential for upward mobility). Go check it out and let me know your thoughts!
***Update - for an excellent explanation of the "pour-over" method of brewing coffee, which is used by Elixr, please refer to this article.
Website, Twitter, Yelp, Google Maps
M - F: 6 am - 10 pm, S - S: 7 am - 10 pm
Free but terrible Wi-Fi, few tables (fairly crowded), few outlets
 |
| Elixr |
Elixr clearly takes great pride in its coffee, so let's talk about that first. All their coffee is "direct trade," which is a form of "fair trade" coffee As I'm sure you know, fair trade coffee is all the rage these days especially among certain groups. "Direct trade" is a bit different because direct trade aims to get the coffee directly from the farmers. I believe their coffee supplier is PT's Coffee. Their coffee may seem a bit on the expensive side ($2.25), but it's definitely worth it. Elixr will brew-to-order among the 4 brews available that day. Quite impressively, the baristas will hand-brew each order. And you know they're doing it the right way - they'll place the cup on a scale and watch as they pour the hot water over the coffee, to ensure they use the exact optimal amount of water. They're espresso offerings are also quite impressive as they use a La Marzocco espresso machine, widely regarded as the one of the best espresso machine. When I visited, I tried their Brazilian brew, which had a round body, sweet acidity, and roasted peanut aroma. As you would expect, it was brewed perfectly. The baristas are quite friendly and willing to answer all questions. However, I did notice that because the café is quite popular and crowded, the baristas somewhat rush you. I have to give them credit though. Considering the fact that they hand-brew each order, they're as efficient as once could be. In case you're interested, they also have a number of other hot and cold drinks (including bottled Coca-Cola) and and sandwiches from Marathon Grill.
The atmosphere is fairly pleasant. It takes on a post-modern approach - very simplistic, clean, yet elegant and sophisticated. The café is well-lit and has great decor. However, perhaps the appeal of the café is it's own downfall. The café is very crowded, perhaps bolstered by the fact that it has limited seating. It boasts 2 big "picnic tables," 6 seats the counter-top and 2 smaller comfortable chairs. While there are a fair number of power outlets dispersed among the café, it's probably impossible to find a seat to study unless you come early and just "camp-out" all day. Moreover, because of its popularity and over-crowdedness, the café feels less and less like a local independent coffee-shop, but instead more and more like a well-run and well-oiled chain café. Even if you are able to secure a study spot, I wouldn't recommend it. The café itself is quite small and the the noise within the café doesn't disperse very well as a white background noise (which I personally find very conducive to studying). Rather, it sounds like a busy marketplace....moreover, if you plan on doing any work online, you'll probably run into significant problems trying to connect to its free Wi-Fi. It t...ook me about 10 minutes to finally connect, only to find that the internet was extremely slow (1.46 mbps, which is about the speed of a 3G internet connection). It might be be worth it to try to connect to Max Brenner's Wi-Fi...Another complaint I have is their rather poor climate control. Every time the door opens, a huge cold draft rushes in, chilling the entire café. If you're lucky enough to be a woman, apparently their bathroom also has lotion, which is a nice gesture. I'm very disappointed however, that they would assume that men wouldn't want the same luxury!
Bottom-line - they are clearly coffee experts. If you consider yourself to be a coffee snob, this is probably one of the few places in Center City where you can find this level of quality. The ambiance has potential to be amazing. But until they fix their over-crowding and internet problem, I wouldn't recommend studying there. On the other hand, this is probably the only café I know in the city that opens until 10 pm... I give it 4.5/5 "beans" (with huge potential for upward mobility). Go check it out and let me know your thoughts!
***Update - for an excellent explanation of the "pour-over" method of brewing coffee, which is used by Elixr, please refer to this article.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)