That's right Readers, after a summer break and some great discoveries, I'm ready to start flopping my unsolicited opinions out on to the world wide web (does anyone call it that anymore?)
Let's get right to business.
Recommended: Big Bear Cafe
I was beginning to think that Tryst in Adams Morgan would remain the singular legit coffee shop in DC. Several recent entries onto the market had offered some hope, but with disappointing results. 14 U is just silly with its styrofoam cups, terrible joe, and very nice but very inept service. Busboys and Poets is a zoo. At B&P, I want some earplugs and a sedative, not caffeine. Murky serves great coffee, but I don't hang out in Arlington or on the Hill.
Thank goodness for Big Bear Cafe.
Located at 1st and R St. NW, this is not a destination for the faint of heart. Once you arrive in the neighborhood after making your way through streets of people glaring at you from the hoods of old cars and cramped liquor stores on every corner, it's a gem. Gentrification is in full swing in the Ledroit neighborhood (oddly, the yuppie locals call it "Bloomingdale"), which is a unsettling mixed bag. I'm still not sure how to feel about "urban renawal". On one hand, I hate to see people who have lived in a neighborhood for generations become displaced because of rising property values, and I can understand the fear and frustration they experience when places like Big Bear arrive on the scene. However, on the other hand, it's hard to argue with friendly coffee shops and farmer's markets taking the place of burned-out shells and crack parks, and since coffee isn't any more expensive than the beer and booze sold at all those liquor stores, who's to say the long-timers can't partake of Big Bear's offerings just like everyone else?
But I digress.
Sitting in a sunny corner window reading the paper, I found myself silly happy to be enjoying a perfect iced latte, the big, open, tasteful interior, and a great soundtrack pumping over the speakers. The over-flow crowd from the farmers market was diverse - for real. Black, white, locals, transplants, poor students, rich yupps, old people, gay, straight, artistic grunge, and even a few frat guys.
The corner location offers plenty of sidewalk seating under umbrellas and nice wood cafe tables. Inside seating is plentiful given the small space, and includes sofas, window tables, and bar stools.
But a great space with crappy coffee is just ... well, Starbucks. So the proof is always in the joe. Serving Counter Culture Coffee, the same roast as Murky and Tryst, BBC doesn't offer anything new to the DC coffee landscape, but they do a fantastic job pulling a shot and serving it the way it's supposed to be: their cappuccinos are cappuccinos, not lattes. Their drip is not overly strong so that it is indistinguishable from burned espresso, and the foam and crema is the perfect consistency.
Alas, BBC is not perfect. The staff seem to swing from disinterested in the customer to obnoxiously informative about the product. Luckily, I take rude with my coffee since having to get used to similar service at Tryst, my neighborhood third place.
I wish I had taken pictures of the place, because there aren't any good ones on the net. I'll have to make a point of that this week. But in the meantime, pack your mace and head to Big Bear for a coffee experience that will have you thinking you are in the Village.
And speaking of NYC ...
Recommended: the Trek Soho
I just got a new bike, and I love it. I'm a marketing sucka, so Trek's description of their hybrid designed for urban commuting in lower Manhattan sucked me right in. It even comes with an award-winning coffee mug. See the pics and details here at http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/2007/archive/soho.
If you're in the market for a city bike, this one is IT. Besides the gimmicky, but very useful coffee mug, this bike has nearly puncture-proof tires, smooth-as-buttah high-end components, disc brakes for rainy conditions, and bumpers on the frame to protect against scratches when you lock it to a metal street sign.
I had to cancel my gym membership to afford it, but I'm already in better shape from riding everywhere. I have a Trek Interchange rear rack so I even bike to the grocery store!
But the best part about the bike is the expanded territory. I have always been a huge fan of the pedestrian lifestyle in the city, but I was starting to feel a little boxed in by the distance that I was willing to walk. I've covered every square inch of my 10 block radius. But the bike has opened up new areas of the city, and with a lot more speed. I can be in Georgetown in 6 minutes ... SIX! I can be on the Mall in seven. Granted, the heat of summer and cold of winter will probably find the bike parked in the closet, but for fall, I'm a biking fool.
Readers, it's good to be back. I hope I can get Super Zoe to return ... anyone seen her?
SPOILER ALERT
