Saturday, August 23, 2003


coffee worth an international phone call

it's true -- the level of espresso presentation at the new cafe joe on waverly near 6th ave. in the west village is so good i sat down in one of the asian-style chairs and called mark prince in canada.

jonathan is doing it all the schomer way. his machine tech altered his la marzocco; his dog-eared copy of schomer's espresso book is ready in the drawer under the counter.

the latte art is perfect. however, jonathan's not pouring that; he has a schomer-trained friend in to help on the rosettas. since the friend's only around for another week, go now for what is definitely a contender for the best espresso in new york city.

ken nye of higher grounds at 9th and c in the east village should be glad that most new yorkers never cross town! because jonathan's giving him a run for his money!

joe's espresso blend is great barrington, from a massachusetts roaster. jonathan chose that blend partially because his pal the latte artist once worked there, and partially because he likes it a lot himself.

the blend is good in heavy milk drinks, but not so good by itself, to my mind; even in a macchiato it struck me as a little sharp and a tad too dark.

in fact, i stood in the store and called mark prince in canada, marshall fuss in la-la land, and steve schulman of kudo beans. steve raced over to try the coffee. that's how good it really is. . .

plus, jonathan has a tremendous attitude. passionate, idealistic -- exactly what i wanna see. dear readers, go there now!

also today i stopped by another new store, jack's on w. 10th. he has a nice la cimbali machine and not a clue what to do with it.

i asked for a doppio macchiato and he didn't know what it was. i asked for a china cup, and he wouldn't give me one.

the people behind me asked for decaf, and he said he didn't serve it. (well, i admire that, but it's a difficult business decision!)

his blend from vermont was so oily, there were brown drippy streaks inside the hopper of his mazzer super jolly. disgusting.

the coffee was undrinkable and i tossed it. shame, because his storefront is quite cute.

finally, i was down on the lower east side today, and i stopped by angelina's on orchard around the corner from arlene's grocery. that place has been getting raves as best coffee on the east side.

but it's a lie. i went in there and the owner had the portafilters out on the counter cold. i asked about his coffee. "it's italian roast," the surly owner replied.

"but what kind of coffee?" i asked politely. "i don't know," he snarled. "when was it roasted?" i persisted nicely. he gave me a really ugly look. "ok, thanks," i said and left.

never never never to return. . . ken nye at higher grounds owns the east side.

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