The fine folks over at Coffee Lovers Mag have featured my New Orleans Coffee Crawl in their 9th issue! This free-to-try iPad/iPhone magazine is a great way to explore what’s going on in the coffee community, and I am humbled to be a part of the September issue. Please download it and share with friends!
The Coffee Guy
One of the perks to going to school an hour north of NYC is that I occasionally get to venture into the city for an adventure or two. The problem is that the barriers to entry are large – logistics of where to stay, how to save money, and who to hang out with have prevented me from getting into the city nearly as often as I’d like. Today is one of those opportunities I rarely have – a free evening in New York City with little on my plate, and a hankering for good coffee.
Today I find myself at Bluebird Coffee Shop in East Village, Manhattan. Good coffee has slowly been seeping into this turf – one that until recently has been heavily steeped in the likes of Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks. In March of 2010 the NYT ran an article titled “New York Is Finally Taking Its Coffee Seriously” where it outlined some of the quality coffee that was only then starting to pierce the veil of commodity coffee. One of the coffee shops covered in that article is Bluebird Coffee Shop, where I just ordered a standard latte.
Bluebird Coffee Shop is small, located on the corner of 1st Avenue and 1st Street in East Village. It has a bar that can be sat at from the inside or outside, and three small tables (they can fit your coffee or your laptop – not both). Half of the room is dedicated to the coffee bar and storage shelves in the back. They serve whatever is in season from Counter Culture, with several roasts for sale by the bag. Their menu is composed of espresso drinks and drip coffee. To my chagrin, no pour-overs are available. Still, the coffee is excellent, and the shots are pulled well. The environment is minimalist, the music is low but enchanting. It’s the type of place to stop while on your way elsewhere, not necessarily ideal to stop and smell the roses.
Since I’ve been sitting here, several locals have come in for an espresso shot and to discuss coffee with the barista. This is a place that depends on regulars.
Lattes are hard to make poorly, but equally as hard to make excellent. I ordered one because, well, I felt like one. That being said, it was excellent. And I don’t use that term lightly. The barista frothed the milk to exactly the right consistency, and the shots were pulled without flaw. The latte art was impeccable (I had already taken a sip in the picture on the right) and from the conversations the barista was having with customers I could tell he loves his craft.
While it was hard to tell the specific notes of the espresso due to the creamy and delicious milk, I could tell that they had light, fruity tones to them. Definitely nice for a summertime latte. I just got into town, and it was exactly what I needed after a day of flights and time change.
Bluebird Coffee Shop is worth visiting if you can make the trek to East Village or if you live nearby. A few notes: they have a $10 minimum for card swipes, but gladly accept cash. They have bags of freshly roasted Counter Culture for sale, and they also sell KeepCups (which I can personally endorse having used one for months). Additionally, wifi is free, as is people watching!
The Coffee Guy
Find Bluebird Coffee Shop Online:
BluebirdCoffeeShop.com
Bluebird’s Facebook Page
@bbcsnyc
Instagram
Located in East Nashville on Gallatin, the outside of Barista Parlor is basically a three door garage. Inside, however, is a different story. The front of the coffee shop is a large island with two bars – one side seems reserved for espresso, the other for manual brew methods. Past the island, and on either side, are long wooden bars to sit at and enjoy your food and drink. Larger tables are in the back for bigger groups of friends. The sides are sprinkled with smaller round tables. The back-left wall displays coffee equipment and beans for purchase, the far wall contains a large pixelated image of a ship being tossed by a storm. Lights are suspended throughout the coffee shop – hanging from the high ceiling, but providing a warm yellow glow to the whole room.
When I arrived at the Parlor, the aesthetically-pleasing inside caught me off guard – it’s beautiful. The second thing I noticed was that there were a lot of people hanging out and sipping coffee. This is obviously a community favorite. The third thing I noticed was the most surprising – the Barista Parlor serves six coffees from six different roasters used for by-the-cup pour over methods and three coffees for espresso. This is more than any other coffee shop I’ve ever seen. Intelligentsia, Stumptown, Handsome, Sightglass, Four Barrel, and Madcap coffees are all available. This means tons of coordination on the part of the coffee shop, and it really impressed me.
I ordered a cup of the Kenyan Gotomboya from Four Barrel made in a v60, and a shot of Bandy espresso from Handsome. I was hungry as well, so I ordered the “Huntsman” – scrambled eggs with pepperjack, bacon, and cornbread.
My coffee was out in a flash, followed quickly by my plate of food. While the food wasn’t quite the portion I would have liked, it was incredibly delicious. I suppose after supping on large homemade southern breakfasts for the last several weeks it’s not quite fair of me for me to dock Barista Parlor points for this; truth be told, their breakfast was scrumptious.
The coffee was up to par with what I would expect from Handsome and Four Barrel. But a bad barista can make even the best beans taste off-kilter. Props to the baristas that work at the Parlor, they gave both my espresso and my pour-over the taste they deserve.
The espresso from Handsome had hints of chocolate, smooth carmel, and provided a lovely spike on the palette. I found myself nodding my head in approval and flicking my tongue to get the most taste out of each sip.
I wasn’t sure I liked the Four Barrel pour-over at first, possibly because of the slightly skunky smell. But as the cup went on I found it to be quite delicious. It had an even profile, not very acidic. I’m used to an acidic cup these days, I think. Still, it tended to have brief spikes of flavor. It was a nice cup to enjoy on a chill day like the one I was having, that’s for sure. By the end of the cup I nearly ordered another.
The Coffee Parlor is filled with the chatter of meetings, the laughs of friends, and the sounds of coffee-creation. The music was playing lightly in thebackground – a playlist with some bands I have never heard as well as the Rolling Stones. Everything creates a vortex of background noise that is quiet enough to read a book in, but forgiving enough to allow for normal conversations.
Laptops and tablets littered the bar and tables everywhere, and ample outlets provided plenty of power. That said, a fairly large amount of people were reading paperbacks too. I like this conflux of mediums, and I like that the Barista Parlor is the type of place to let both thrive.
As a coffee geek, I felt right at home. Huge siphons, v60 drip stations, and coffee paraphernalia were out for the world to see at the brewing bar, and it was cool to be able to look over and see coffees being made with ease by the well-seasoned baristas.
The Barista Parlor is the type of place that’s good for just about everything. Meetings could be held in the back of the room, small gatherings of friends would be a perfect fit for the smaller tables, and sitting alone while reading a book works perfect at one of the bars. Laptops fit everywhere, and plenty of power means lots of time to get that project completed. It’s a versatile coffee shop space, and I would recommend it to just about anyone.
The wide range of coffees made by skilled baristas means a quality cup and a great experience. In short, I can’t recommend the Coffee Parlor highly enough. It is one of the best coffee shops I have ever had the pleasure of reviewing (and their food is great too!)
The Coffee Guy
Find the Barista Parlor online here:
BaristaParlor.com
Twitter: @BaristaParlor
Facebook.com/BaristaParlor
