Decisions, decisions.

With three Joe locations, which one to visit?

Each one offering a unique and truly enjoyable experience.

The tucked-away neighborhood-y café in the West Village packed with locals.

The always buzzing and popping East Village/NYU loft location.

And the chic espresso bar in the Alessi store down in SoHo.

Plus, the espresso at each is top class.

Joe has you covered for one of the best espressos in NYC, and probably a café mood to match what you’re up to for the day. Just take a look at the videos for a look at all 3.

You have your choice. With Joe you can not go wrong.

Want an amazing espresso? Casual service that is almost so casual it is too cool?

Ninth Street Espresso is then a place to go.

For a laid back café, visit Ninth Street Espresso in the far East Village, where you’ll have a park view, great espresso and a chill café environment.

For a bit more action, visit their espresso bar in the Chelsea Market. Same great espresso. Two very cool scenes on opposite sides of the island.

A true pleasure in NYC.

Abraço.

Fantastic espresso, prepared with care.

Actually, all of the menu items are attended to individually down to the ingredients. And the menu is developing each day.

Want to know what’s on the menu for the day? Just ask Jamie, who has created a friendly spot, where people come back, day-after-day to get the same great espresso, and a new dish prepared fresh.

Wonderful espresso. Eclectic and tasty pastries & dishes.

A tiny, bar-seating only lay-out for the café also makes for a friendly environment.

Just do not plan on staying for a 2-minute café, as you’re likely to get involved in a conversation and enjoy a longer visit.

Located just a few minute walk from Union Square, Everyman Espresso has a central location.

The café also has one of the funkier spaces in NYC, acting as the lobby to a theater company, and high-stool only seating.

The baristas are quite friendly and will explain to help you understand what artisanal espresso is.

And the espresso is fantastic.

It was a cool day.

Cold temperature outside but cool in terms of experiences. It was a day where my son and I had 4 or 5 little things (in the realm of it’s-the-little-things-in-life) happen yesterday.

One of them was Abraço.

Abraço is a new espresso bar in the heart of the East Village.

Unpretentious. Well-designed. Self-aware. Friendly atmosphere and service.

Excellent espresso.

Abraço keeps it simple and does it so well. A pleasure to experience.

The café is tiny with no chairs or tables. Which is perfect for the setting. You can enjoy your espresso at the street-facing window bar or the bench seating out front.

The proprietor also helps create a comfortable and personable ambience to Abraço.

It is another destination café for me. And there are a rare few of those. A destination café is a café where I want to be in the neighborhood just to visit the café.

Do not get me wrong. I love the East Village.

But with Abraço, the EV is brought a little more top of mind.

Address

Abraço – 86 East 7th Street, New York between 1st and 2nd Avenues. 6RW Trains at Astor Place.

Music

Edith Piaf – Milord

It was a deceiving day in New York. Well, after a few winters here, deceiving is not quite the word, as I am now accustomed to it. It looked gorgeous outside. Blue skies and barely a cloud to be seen. But whoooo was it cold. Some of our prettiest days are in the winter, particularly February. But that usually means the coldest as well. And a biting cold when there is no cloud cover for protection.

Thankfully Mud in the East Village is there for some respite.

Mud is incredibly cozy, with its earth tones, the café seems designed for cold nasty days. And as warm as the décor is, the service and resulting atmosphere are even warmer.

The espresso, or ‘mud’, was good. Served in a rustic glass tumbler complimenting the ambience while my son and I listened to the light rock of the café and entertained (bothered? hopefully not) the polite table next to us.

They also have a full blown menu, so for food or café and a neighborhood-y feel, Mud is worth a visit when down in the EV.

Address

Mud – 307 East 9th Street, New York between 1st and 2nd Avenues. 6RW Trains at Astor Place.

Music

Edith Piaf – L’homme à la moto

My son and I were on the lookout for another East Village café serving up a wicked espresso.

Just a couple of blocks down the street from one great espresso we previously visited, lies another at Everyman Espresso.

Everyman Espresso also offers up an entirely different scene than those visited so far, as it is in the lobby of a performing theater company immediately next door. And when my son and I arrived there was a lively theater discussion going on just out front of Everyman’s bench seating.

Inside, it looks like a cross between the lobby and backstage to an off-Broadway production, with a generous dose of space and local theater posters.

And I love the high bar tables, adding to the social and spartan feel of the café.

The espresso was rich, tasty and with a carefully crafted crèma leaf. Served triple ristretto.

Finally, the service was quite friendly. The menu indicated to ask the barista what a ‘triple ristretto’ is. So we did, and the barista gave my son and me a lesson in espresso prep.

Address

Everyman Espresso – 136 East 13th Street, New York between 3rd and 4th Avenues. 456LNQRW Trains at 14th Street – Union Square.

Music

Edith Piaf – Milord

Local. Neighborhood. Friendly.

Do they exist in Manhattan?

If you’re talking about the far East Village, then : Yes!

Baby and I experienced that today.

Largely thanks to the highly touted Ninth Street Espresso.

And they offer an excellent espresso! Living up to their reputation.

We were venturing through the East Village, and you have to in order to finally arrive at Ninth Street Espresso, as it is located on the other side of Tompkins Square Park in Alphabet City.

And it is worth it.

Upon approaching the café, it felt as if I were entering a unique club. The barista greeted the customers on a first name basis. People were casually crunching away on their laptops. Cool jazz was wistfully noted in the background. And the emblematic Ninth Street Espresso logo in black & white cements this impression of experiencing something special.

They serve only triple ristretto in their espressos. And the crema art was a beautiful leaf. Tasty, tasty.

My son got jealous, as he wanted to sit outside and eat, which was fine with me on such a beautiful day.

If Ninth Street Espresso maintains the friendly atmosphere and keeps serving espresso like this, then my son has quite a treat ahead of him when he is old enough to savor it.

Address

Ninth Street Espresso – 700 9th Street, New York at Avenue C. 6 Train at Astor Place. FV Trains at 2nd Avenue.

Music

Serge Gainsbourg – Requiem pour un con

On the ‘it’s the little things in life that count’ scale, there was good news and bad news yesterday.

The bad news first :

My son got hungry (quite hungry) right as my espresso was ready. Thus, our café stay was rather short.

The good news :

We found another great espresso and a vibrant, cool café in the East Village/NYU area.

Joe – The Art of Coffee is another café in New York that puts a lot of TLC into its espresso. The baristas are carefully trained. And it comes through in the taste.

The love is capped off with the heart in the crema. That’s the second in a week we have seen with the heart. Could there be crema art?

Further, the atmosphere is quite lively. Not absurdly loud. A comfortable and close buzz of people. Friendly, unpretentious service. Being just north of NYU there is a definite university feel to it. Not young, student-y per se. Just energetic. People of all ages were there actually.

Almost west coast in its attitude with the New York energy.

When NYU is in session, I imagine it will be quite difficult to get a seat here.

Small tables, well lit, good crowd, excellent espresso. 

Address

Joe the Art of Coffee– 9 East 13th Street, New York between 5th Avenue and University Place. 4,5,6 Trains or L,N,Q,R,W Trains at Union Square. F,L,V Trains at 6th Ave/14th Street.

Music

Serge Gainsbourg - Comic Strip