Gray and Grizzled Food Fan

1) DTUT (84th and 2nd): Darker, cooler and hipper than any other coffee house in Yorkville. Great mix of ratty lounge sofas and chairs, good music (not just the five albums you liked in college) and a relatively low stroller count.

If you want to wax Brooklyn euro-hipster, there’s a strong beer and wine selection for a mid-day glass. Not good for academic research, but great for a first screenplay. Blogger heaven. Top destination for the click and caffeinate set.  Update: RIP (Now Cafe Notte, arguably the worst wine bar/coffee shop I’ve ever visited. Stay away, far away.

2) Choux Factory (87th and 1st Avenue): Great unadorned pastry. No hiding when it’s just custard and crust. Beard Papa’s fine, but I’m a Factory fan. The texture is always dead on. Plain choux is best, but chocolate and strawberry are by no means pedestrian (Next time it’s your turn to do dessert, buy all three and make a tasty tasting plate).

Friendly employees greet you in Japanese, keep the place spotless and have set up enough powerstrips to let a dozen people surf for hours without getting hassled. Stop by Glaser’s aftewards for a mini-jelly doughnut.

3) Starbucks (Various) : Dull, obvious and adequate. Do put your bag down first, as competition for outlets is fierce. Wireless isn’t free either, so consider going off the grid.

4) Carl Schurz Park (East End): You can always grab a signal from one of the apartment buildings. Views are unbeatable, especially if you like barges and bridges. Remember, cyber-squatting is risky surfing, so don’t play Charlie Sheen with stock tips.

5) M. Rohr’s (85th between 1st and 2nd): Haphazard decor, lusophone and Spanish-speaking staff. Friendly ramshackle feel and outdoor smokers salon on the benches. Perfect for a leisurely sip and surf.

This entry was posted on December 14, 2006 at 9:40 pm and is filed under Favorite 5 Lists, Yorkville. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.