On cafes and junky cafe food
Today I worked all day in one of the cafes I manage at NYU. This one is in the math and computer science department, and most of the people who frequent are middle aged white men, sometimes with exotic accents, who drink black coffee and can scarcely interact with other humans, let alone female non-mathematicians who serve coffee for a living. It is an interesting place to spend time and I often find myself thinking of the Mentats in Frank Herbert’s Dune books, engineered from childhood to behave like computers. I also find myself becoming very rude to these poor geeks, which probably makes me a bad person. 
I also feel conflicted about the kind of food and drink we serve here. On one hand, coffee and bagels and pastry are what people want from cafes. Our soup and sandwich offerings are pretty classy and well-made, but still emphasize wheat, dairy and meat. Just about everything we serve here is something I consider to be at least partially toxic and unhealthy. Soda, coffee, tea, chips, cereal, bagels, muffins, scones, lattes- none of it is very good for anybody, even if it’s good.
But it’s the sort of fare the institution of the coffeeshop is founded upon, so I comply. I can’t help but to wonder whether our collective consciousness, and therefore our political situations, cultural norms, degree of freedom and happiness, etc would be altered if we did not eat and drink poisonous, exploitative crap like sugar and coffee and wheaty baked goods all the time. Perhaps. But then coffeeshops would not exist, and all of the great moments of culture that have taken place in cafes around the world would never be. But maybe we wouldn’t need them, either.
Since our cultural dietary habits, and bionic modern bodies, are hard to kill, at least a few awesome and reputable institutions still exist in the proud tradition of café-cum-bookstore/salon/meeting place, authentic places with good music on the speakers, attractive, educated, hip baristas, good lighting and comfortable seating.
Starbucks can try all they want to make coffee culture suck like McDonald’s but they shall not prevail as long as people recognize the important social function of little independent coffeeshops.
My top 10 places to get coffee and hang out in nyc:
cake shop is my favorite place in manhattan. its everything a girl could want- show venue, record store, bar, cafe, cupcake-seller, wifi, cute little tables, and there always seems to be a place just for you to sit and hang. I’ve spent two days solid in here and only got sick of it at the very end.
best and only feminist/political bookstore/infoshop in nyc. they also have yummy coffee and lots of amazing books. best place to meet punks and their dogs.
hell. yes. everything is for sale, there are very few rules, the owner is awesome, shows are sometimes bad but always exciting, and there is a strange crew of regulars, bartenders, and Bushwick neighborhood artistes around all the time. A quiet, dreamy place to work and hang out during the day, when it’s nearly empty and there is free wi-fi, the couches and tables all available to you.
i work here. when i first entered this place, i thought to myself “i want to work here.” and now i do, and we sell really good coffee. sweet books,too.
my new neighborhood cafe. have to say, i havent spent much time here. but it fulfills the multi-function cafe-cum-salon role very well. there are shows, an open mic, readings, meetings, books thru bars, and a self-publishing business.
Hungarian Pastry Shop
just go here, once in your life. its freaking awesome.
Everything Goes Bookstore Café
Staten Island’s used bookstore, cafe and show space, run by the friendly, furry folks at Ganas, a communal stronghold on the island since the 70s.
Verb on Bedford (no link)
ok so people here might be a little bit snobby, “hipsters,” even, but if you are on bedford you know what you’re in for. Earwax is on the corner, that’s my excuse. At least you know where a good cup of coffee and an old wooden chair can be found.
Joe The Art of Coffee Waverly Place
This is a tiny-ish, unassuming coffee-only kind of place. Their coffee is truly delightful. I used to walk a good 15 minutes out of my way to get coffee there before work, and there was a line. The staff was always pleasant and prompt. Sitting here works if you miss the rushes, otherwise it’s too crowded.
So ok, it’s not a “shop.” But this Mud truck is great. The girl who works here is amazing and cheerful and sells delicious coffee. It’s just parked there, flaming in the middle of the most flaming neighborhood in the world. I don’t know how I feel about Mud’s weird branding campaign, but I admire their homemade aesthetic and their hardcore, almost Turkish coffee. They have one size, which is more awesome points. I also have a thing for cool food trucks.
March 15th, 2009 at 8:04 am
Great post! I love Cake Shop as well!
Greets,
Mary