The Elk - West Village

The Elk is a coffee shop located on the very west side of the West Village on Charles street. The area where The Elk is located at is quiet but people that enjoy coffee would trek into west village to have coffee here despite the fact that it is a bit far from the train. The inside of the coffee shop you will find a lot of stuff made from woods as well as white, simple stuff. The tables and the seats are all wood and the counter as well. The place has 4 tables and some window seats on the other side of the door. Overall the interior of the place is very modern.

            The main reason why I wanted to review The Elk is because they are the only coffee shop that serves beans from Sightglass Roaster. Sightglass is a roaster based on San Francisco and I always ordered beans from them on their online shop. Bluestone Lane also used to serve sightglass beans but they had stopped, so The Elk is the only place that still serves Sightglass. In The Elk, you can get regular brew coffee, espresso drinks such as latte and cappuccinos, and they also does chemex. My favorite was the single origin beans chemex, chemex is a pour over coffee in this glass container. The chemex is definitely what I order every time I go, however it is on a pricey side.

 

Little Zelda - Crown Heights

            Little Zelda is a local coffee shop located in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Little Zelda is a pit stop for me every time I go to the Brooklyn Museum or the Prospect Park. I would always grab coffee here before or after I go to the museum or park. The outside of the shop is decorated with pots of plants and flowers with a few outdoor seatings. The outdoor seatings are perfect when the weather is nice, to just read a book or people watch with a cup of coffee. Inside of the shop, there are few tables inside but overall the space is extremely small. The table next to the counter has a collection of classic books for people to read while having their coffee.(of course, because the name of this place is called Little Zelda and of course they have Fitzgerald books.)
            Little Zelda serves coffee from Toby's Estate, and tea from Rishi Tea. I remember the first time I was there I got an iced coffee and it was delicious and cooling. There are almond milk and soy milk available as a milk substitute for the people that are lactose intolerant. Besides coffee, they also carry Ovenly baked goods and donuts from Dough Doughnut. I love all of the pasties and sweets they carry and they always pair well with coffee. You can also order sandwiches which are made next door, their spicy avocado toast is to die for.

Stumptown Coffee Roaster - Greenwich Village

Stumptown is one of my all time favorite roaster, it is a roaster originated from Portland and one can find their beans being used at local coffee shops through out the country. Stumptown has two locations in New York City, one located in the Ace Hotel in NoMad and another one in Greenwich Village near NYU. I am going to focus on the Greenwich Village location for this blogpost. The Greenwich Village Stumptown is located on west 8th street, the space used to be a bookstore but it has been renovated into a coffee shop. The coffee shop has around 4 to 5 tables and one big table. There are always NYU students doing their work here and refuse to leave even if they have been here for the whole afternoon and there are people looking for tables to sit down.
One of the main reason why I think Stumptown has the best coffee is that the baristas there are very well trained. The espresso drinks you get such as lattes or cappuccinos are always consistent, the espresso shot is pulled properly and the milk is steamed to have the right texture. There is also a brew bar at the Greenwich Village location. The brew bar brews coffee with many methods such as aeropress, traditional pour over, chemex and more. At the brew bar, they also have single origin beans for any of the brewing methods they have available. One of my favorite drink to get at the brew bar in the summer is their nitro cold brew. The nitro cold brew is a cold brew coffee with added nitrogen, it tastes very smooth and creamy, almost like melted ice cream but without the sweetness. Of course you can add some sugar to make it actually taste like melted ice cream, but I usually take my coffee black and unsweetened unless I'm ordering an espresso drink. 

Happy Bones - Nolita

            Happy Bones is an Australian owned coffee shop located in Nolita. Happy Bones was opened in winter of 2013 and its interesting name made people want to check this place out. The decor of this place is very minimalist. Everything is white in the cafe and it is a very small coffee shop that only has three tables. Happy Bones also carries magazine like Kinfolk, Surface Magazine and books from local artists. The location of Happy Bones is perfect because the neighborhood has very high traffic and people always walk past Broome street after or before shopping in Soho. Perfect for a cup of hot latte before shopping or a cup of iced coffee after shopping in the summer to cool down.

            Happy Bones serves coffee from Counter Culture. Counter Culture is a roaster based in Durham, North Carolina, counter culture is a very popular roaster in the northeastern area(especially in New York City). The training lab of Counter Culture is located few stores away from Happy Bones. When Happy Bones was first opened, they used to serve their coffee with a leopard print spoon, but they stopped doing so because people kept stealing them. However, that does not affect the quality of their coffee. The most ordered drink at Happy Bones is probably the cortado. Cortado is a drink with an equal amount of espresso and steamed milk usually served in a glass cup. Happy Bones makes exceptional cortados and it is definitely my favorite too. Besides coffee, Happy Bones has donuts from Dough Doughnuts, cookies from Ovenly, and they sometimes carry Balthazaar pastries as well. All of the snacks and sweets they carry always go with any coffee drink you can order, but my favorite has to be the Dough donuts and cookies from Ovenly.

Maman - Nolita

Maman is a french cafe/bakery based in Nolita. The head chef Armand Arnal was the head chef at Michelin star restaurant La Chassagnette in South France. This french bakery has a homey ambiance and there is also a backyard that opens in the summer. The bakery opened last summer/fall and it is a go to spot for quick lunch, pastries, coffee and baked good. When you first step into the bakery, the smell of baked goods will immediately drawn you into a pastries heaven. Inside of the bakery, there are three window seats decorated with flowers and rabbits. I love sitting here everytime I come to just drink my coffee and eat my pastries while I people watch. There are many tables in the back for people to work or just to lounge around and talk to friends.

At Maman, they serve coffee from Toby’s estate and they also have a lavender hot chocolate that is to die for. I usually just get their normal drip coffee because the baristas are not as well trained(no pretty latte art for you guys). The food and the baked goods are what make this place so popular. The menu of Maman changes daily and they always source local ingredients that are in season. My favorite baked goods were the pumpkin bread pudding(was only available during fall/winter) and they lavender white chocolate pound cake. The pumpkin bread pudding was well spiced and soft, I had two in a roll because it was that good. The lavender white chocolate pound cake was moist and surprisingly not too sweet. The lavender infused glaze goes perfectly with the white chocolate cake, it pairs perfectly with a cup of coffee. Maman’s salad are also great and they sometimes have toasts and sandwiches too. Overall this place has everything one can crave for, from a brownie to a salad.

Bluestone Lane - West Village

             Bluestone Lane is one of the Australian cafes that are popping up in New York City. The owner is from Melbourne and he really wants to bring the coffee scene in Melbourne to New York City. Bluestone Lane has four locations throughout the city, midtown east, financial district, Bryant Park and West Village. Today I will be reviewing the Bluestone Lane Collective Cafe in West Village. The Bluestone Lane Collective Cafe is located on Greenwich Avenue, it is the only Bluestone Lane that has a dine in service compare to the other ones which are just coffee shops. There are three parts of to this cafe, when you first enter the door you will see the espresso bar and there are three tables and window seats near the bar. Then if one walks through the small hall way, there is another room that has around seven or eight tables. My favorite part of the cafe is the little patio/backyard they have, I love going to the backyard in the summer to just talk to friends and escape the crowds in Manhattan.

            When you think of coffee and Melbourne, the first thing that will come to your mind would probably be a flat white. Bluestone Lane serves amazing flat whites and they also have another drink called the Aussie Latte which is a normal latte with a scoop of vanilla ice cream in it, best thing to drink in the summer! I am a very indecisive person and the food menu just makes me want to order every single thing. The avocado toast is a popular choice by many people, but my favorite has to be the warm banana bread. The banana bread is toasted with ricotta and honey comb on top, goes perfectly well with any coffee drinks on the menu. For a savory dish, I recommend the egg sliders which is brioche buns with fried eggs, prosciutto, avocado, sprouts and a homemade sauce. (I am drooling over my keyboard as I'm thinking about the food)

 Backyard at Bluestone Lane

Window seats

 Flat white and iced latte with toasted banana bread.

Sandwich, flat white, iced latte.

Toby‘s Estate - West Village

            Tobys Estate is a roaster based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Tobys Estate has three locations throughout New York City, one in North Williamsburg, one in West Village and one in the Flatiron District inside the Club Monaco Flagship store. In this blogpost, I will be focusing the Toby’s Estate Coffee in West Village, Charles Street. The West Village location just opened this past winter in November, it is located at the corner of Charles Street and 6th Avenue. The location is small but they have window seats which I am all about. (Window seats = good natural lighting for pictures) There is also a huge standing table for people to just drink their coffee while reading today's paper. At the corner of the shop, there are two tables that have couches for people to lounge around with their friends on a lazy Saturday afternoon. The space always gets great natural sunlight which is one of the big thing that makes a good coffee shop to me. Who wants to drink coffee is a dark and gloomy place? I know I don't.

             Toby's roast their own beans in Brooklyn, their beans are guaranteed fresh for quality espresso drinks or just filtered coffee. Single origin is also another choice for pour over drinks. I personally love their Bedford blend for espresso drinks such as cortado, latte and cappuccino(it tastes wonderful by itself as an espresso too). The cold brew here is also impeccable, perfect for the spring and the hot summer days! The tastes of their cold brew is incredibly smooth without the bitterness one always find in a over steeped cold brew. I love their cold brew without any milk(it's not like I drink coffee with milk anyways), I think the taste of the cold brew is tolerable for people that cannot take the bitterness of black coffee. Besides coffee, Toby's also has a breakfast/food menu. For the breakfast menu they have granola with yogurt, avocado toasts and more. For pastries, they sometimes carry Ovenly pastries(my favorite vegan bakeshop) and donuts from Doughnut Plant. I strongly recommend to order a donut to go with your coffee. Well, I guess everything pairs well with a donut. 

Tea with succulents 

Cappuccinos with Ovenly cookie and canele,