In this coffee blog, Mexican-duo Rebeca (mom) and Diego-Max (son) explore New York coffee shops and cafes. Rebeca rates the coffee and 5 year-old Diego rates the cupcakes, cookies, and pastries.
Need a quiet spot that offers a caffeine boost? Here are 5 Williamsburg & Greenpoint Coffee Shops that are perfect for those wanting some peaceful time to read or chill out alone.
Second Stop Cafe
524 Lorimer St (between Powers St & Ainslie St)
L or G to Metropolitan-Lorimer
gimme coffee!
495 Lorimer St (between Grand St & Powers St)
L or G to Metropolitan-Lorimer
uro cafe
277 Driggs Ave.
(between Eckford St & Leonard St)
G to Nassau Ave.
El Beit Cafe
158 Bedford Ave
(between 8th St & 9th St)
L to Bedford
Variety Cafe
368 Graham Ave
(between Conselyea St & Skillman Ave)
Choice Market is truly one of the best coffee shops in all of New York’s five boroughs.Don’t just ask us; ask everyone in the neighborhood.This weekend we awarded them with the Best Bread Award and you have to check out the YouTube video to see our singing salute.
Choice Market is located in the Clinton Hill Historic District, although many say that it is in Fort Greene. This place is a true gem and we understand why so many people want to claim it to be part of their neighborhood. The food, bread, and coffee is in such high demand that owner Thierry Cabiegos and his team had to create a gourmet grocery two blocks away to get some people to start cooking at home. Choice Greene, the intimate market on Greene Avenue, sellsan ample selection of bread, local and imported cheeses, fresh sausage, fish, as well as high quality fresh produce, coffee, and more. Choice as you will see, loves to give its customers great options. They are currently giving Brooklynites the option to find their food and drink in neighborhoods other than Clinton Hill. We heard they were opening one in Dumbo so we had to ask when. Yes, the awning is officially up at Choice Dumbo on Jay Street and York but they are not yet open. An insider said that it looks like two moreweeks.
Now, back to the bread. The reasons to come here as you can see are many including the fine selection of gourmet food, the slightly sweet intelligensiA coffee, and the energy you get from the happy people crowded at the communal table. The bread, however, is our favorite reason. This place has bread everywhere: brownies from heaven, one dollar madelines, to-die-for red velvet cupcakes, buttery almond croissants and a slew of other fantastic sugary dough delights that will make you break any diet. We are not kidding you. Oh, and they also have fresh bread every morning. Baguettes, biscuits, scones, muffins, croissants, loafs, rolls, breadsticks. You name it and it’s there, that is if you arrive before noon. Someone warned us of this so we quickly grabbed some ciabatta rolls and a raisinpecan loaf.
The crowds at tiny Choice Market do not keep anyone away, not even babies. We have seen on many occasions that parents bring in large strollers even if there is limited room. If you know or see this place you will agree that parents have no choice but to come in right away, there is no time to lose. Moms and dads come in to get a caffeine-kick while the little ones licks crumbs off their fingers. Lots of types sit outside because the wooden patio furniture really makes anyone feel like they are in a garden no matter how much concrete surrounds them.
Diego and I tried an almond croissant, brownie, and three cupcakes (well 2, he did not try the yummy carrot one). Mind-blowing! Do the same; come ready to overindulge without regrets.
Choice Market is located at the corner of Lafayette Ave & Grand at 318 Lafayette Ave. Choice Greene is located two blocks away at 214 Greene Ave. One can arrive by taking the G Train to Classon and walking West or taking the A Train to Clinton-Washington Avenues and walking North towards Gates Ave. Choice DUMBO is located at the corner of Jay & York Street. Choice Market:(718)230-5214 Choice Greene:(718)230-1219 Choice DUMBO: (718)797-1695
This is super cool! If you follow Van Leeuwen on Twitter you can see where the coffee truck is and what they are serving for that day! Today they were on 5th Avenue between 15th & 16th serving Cheddar Dill Scones, Apple Muffins, and more. Follow them at twitter.com/VLAIC. And don't forget thecoffeebeaners are also on Twitter at twitter.com/coffeebeaners.
The best way to make Mexican hot chocolate is not with chocolate chips! You only need two ingredients to make it an unforgettable one: milk and Ibarra Authentic Mexican hot chocolate bars. If you like things spicy, you will need chili power.
You can buy Autentico Chocolate Mexicano Para Mesa at any Mexican grocery or deli. If you are in New York City you can find Ibarra at Don Paco Lopez Panaderia at 4703 4th Avenue in Sunset Park or Saragosa Mexican Deli Grocery on Avenue A between 13th & 14th. If you are not in the city, find a Mexican neighborhood near you and there you will find a grocery store that carries it. I always recommend supporting a neighborhood business before buying anything on Ebay or Amazon.
Cut one triangle chunk of chocolate per 1 cup of milk. Place both chocolate chunk and milk in a small pan and begin boiling. Stir until all the tiny clumps have dissolved. If you like your drink spicy then add a pinch of chili powder. Wait until the hot chocolate is at your desired temperature. Serve, drink, and disfruta (enjoy).
On Sunday I told Timothy, my husband, to join The Coffee Beaners for a blog outing. He said, “yes!” and we all jumped in the car and drove over to a place in Bed-Stuy named Tiny Cup. I had driven by Tiny Cup several times because I used to work at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum and would sometimes pass it on the way there.
I wanted to know the exact address so I asked Tim to look it up on yelp. He said, “Jackie S said that she really enjoyed her afternoon there - but once she stepped out, she wanted to go right back inside because the neighborhood was scary”. How funny that the creator of Nightmare, New York’s Haunted House, would be reading this particular comment? Scary? Are you serious Jackie? People that live here, in New York City, still get scared when a neighborhood doesn’t look like their own? Oh goodness, please do not let Starbucks or Duane Reade feel that they are right and that they should be on every other corner so that you always feel like you are in a safe place. Ay, ay, ay.
To this day, I am grateful that my dad drove me two hours or longer to visit the neighborhoods of Tijuana, Baja California when I was a kid. Without any words or any explanation from my parents, I somehow figured out that worlds were different from mine and that was ok. It was a great thing that they made me explore different places that weren’t like my own Orange County bubble.
I adore taking Diego to different coffee shops but not only so that we can go in and escape with delectable treats. It is also so that we can explore the surrounding communities and observing how cultures and languages change. New York is made of 65% immigrants, or children of immigrants and there is new New Yorkers everyday! Sometimes I go out of my way to drive thru a different neighborhood that he hasn’t seen. I realize that he actually does take in what I have showed him when he screams, “look mama, that bus has words like the ones on the dreidel”, when he notices Hebrew on buses in South Williamsburg or “look mama over there-some Chinese characters”, when we are in Sunset Park. Did you know that there is over 120 languages spoken in Brooklyn alone? Isn’t that absolutely amazing?
Listen, Tiny Cup is a little haven for the community and it is packed with locals and Bed-Stuy artists. It is really in the right place and it should not be anywhere else, because then it wouldn’t be special. For decades, Bed-Stuy has been a cultural center for Brooklyn's black population. This neighborhood and coffee place is here for all those looking for art, food, culture, and a warm comfy couch. The food selection is super and the atmosphere relaxed. There are lunchtable-style benches for bigger groups and semi-private back rooms for those needing to work individually. And, they even have little dog treats for those who have to wait outside.
Grab your metrocard and hop on the G Train to Tiny Cup. See the world around you. And if you do, please check out the colorful mural one block up on the corner of Nostrand and Greene. It salutes the lives and work of women who have been catalysts for change.
Tiny Cup is located at 279 Nostrand Ave. (between Clifton Pl & Lafayette Ave.) in Bedford-Stuyvesant. You can arrive by taking the G Train to Bedford-Nostrand and walking one block south. Click Here To See Slideshow of The Coffee Beaners At Tiny Cup
