Ms. Dahlia's Cafe in Bed-Stuy near Brooklyn Children's Museum

Ms. Dahlia’s Café is an intimate coffee shop that everyone wants to be bigger.  Thank goodness it isn’t, it would lose much of its’ character. Owners Daphnee Surpris and Ms. Margo Lewis use every space possible to make room for more seats but it will not be enough room if word really spreads about this place.  Simply put, the place makes you smile and want to return.

Coffee shops that have a tough time keeping afloat eventually try to transform and work with a new model trying to resemble a restaurant or wine bar.  Well, Ms. Dahlia’s started with a great model right from the start and anyone who comes to drink a coffee will always find a reason to eat lunch early or take an extra something for later.  Here you can find Belgian waffles, daily soups served with super soft Balthazar bread, smoothies, a slew of tasty sandwiches, cake, and almost every sweet thing you have ever tried-except candy and ice cream. If you like sugar then promise us that you will NOT LEAVE HERE WITHOUT TRYING THE CUCUMBER LEMONADE-oh my!  The food options are many and you can come morning or night, sometimes they are open until 8pm.  

Nice little surprises about this place are the storefront…it feels like you just stepped into someone’s front yard and the pots full of bare trees remind everyone that we all want the snow to stop.  The pink ceiling is delicious and the seating options, though limited, are super crafty.  You can rest upon bright orange pillows at the adorable office style banquets, sit tall in white country style seats at steel tables, or plop down on wicker style box chairs.  No matter what you are going to enjoy coming here and seeing all the locals that support this place.

Ms. Dahlia’s Café is located at 449 Nostrand Ave between Halsey and Hancock. Take the A/C Train to Nostrand Avenue and walk a few blocks North. www.dahliascafe.com 

This last image is of Diego at The Brooklyn Children's Museum.  We stopped by the "Green" museum after Ms. Dahlia's! It's only a few blocks away. www.brooklynkids.org

Atmosphere-5 Stars

Pastries-4 Stars

Coffee-3.5 Stars (Cucumber Lemonade-5 Stars)

Service-Lovely

Price-$$

Cocoabeaner for the Weekend in Hershey Town, Pennsylvania

Diego was a cocoabeaner this weekend in Hershey Town, Pennsylvania, where he found  streets that looked like Hershey bars ate chocolate pizza, and drank cocoa tea. Here he talks about his trip as he prepares his morning hot chocolate. 

Cafe Royal in Greenpoint

Exciting news!  Cody Utzman, owner of Papacitos & the Brooklyn Standard said that Cafe Royal, in Greenpoint, should be opening March 1st.   "If it's not ready by then, [then] maybe mid-March".  This is the most recent photo of the upcoming coffee shop/winebar.  In the meantime, you can pick up coffee to-go from polish bakeries surrounding the area or one block away at his "new bodega": Brooklyn Standard serves Stumptown Coffee, a delightful selection of Mexican hot chocolate, s'mores and much much more.

www.brooklynstandarddeli.com

Variety on Driggs in WIlliamsburg

Lucky Shot in what feels like Greenpoint but is actually East Williamsburg, changed its' awning about a month ago.  Variety communicated that no other changes were made.

Blackbird Parlour in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Blackbird Parlour in Williamsburg is so popular amongst the hipsters, anyone who comes here will see why.  The place has a relaxed euro-feel to it; it’s inviting both day and night. Breakfast is served all day and the place reminds us of why coffee shops were originally created - for people to drink and gather for long amounts of time.

Come here without kids on a day for yourself and enjoy feeling like you are not being rushed out.   Sit at the rustic community table and read a book that you have been dying to read alone.  Don’t bring a laptop, it just feels wrong at a place like this.  They have a “no laptop” policy after 6pm but many laptoppers do crash the place in the daytime. 

Petite tables, mismatched chairs, and hard covered books neatly organized in shelves help you feel at home away from home.   At the back of the parlour there is a rainbow shaped counter with 70’s swivel chairs that make you feel like you are in your own personal diner. 

If you do come with children, come early in the morning for breakfast and sit at the window bar facing the street.  The community table in the center of the café became Diego’s favorite when we brought his Chinese Chess.  

If you come in the afternoon definitely come with something for your child to do like Checkers or cards because the place is not inviting to roaming kids. 

The pastries and desserts are a mix of Greek and vegan options.   The shortbread cookies they offer are too dry for our taste but try the coconut cake.  It is moist, delicious, and you will never believe that it is really vegan.  All teas are served nicely and you can choose from a selection of black, green, chai and herbal options.  They serve Danesi coffee and at night there is a fine selection of draft beers, bottled beer and wine.

Blackbird is located at 197 Bedford at the West corner of North 6^th Street.  Take the L Train to Bedford Avenue and walk one block South.  Visit: www.blackbirdbrooklyn.com

Atmosphere-5 Stars
Pastries-3 Stars

Coffee- 4 Stars 

Service- Warm in the day.  Distant but not rude at night.

Price-$$$

Don Paco Lopez Panaderia in Sunset Park

Don Paco Lopez Panaderia is a deli/bakery/taco shop in Sunset Park.  It is just one of the many magnificent Mexican businesses celebrating culture on 4^th Avenue.  Don Paco's has recently expanded (¡orale!) and they now have plenty of seating to enjoy whatever Mexican treats you love to drool over.  

Here the coffeebeaners make an attempt to teach you some Spanish and show you the scrumptious pan dulce. 

Atmosphere-3.5 Stars

Pastries-4 Stars
Coffee- 2.5 Stars (Hot Chocolate-5 Super Stars)

Service-Amazingly warm
Price-$

Greenpoint Coffee House in Greenpoint, Brooklyn

Chris Ruen writes on behalf of the GPCH Staff about the closing 
of the Greenpoint Coffee House. 
Greenpoint Coffee House Closed

New Yorkers Coffee Survey

The coffeebeaners need your HELP!  We need to know about those that drink coffee in New York City for an upcoming project.  Can you take two minutes to take this coffee survey?  Thank you. 
How Much Do New Yorkers Like Independent Coffee?

Urocafe in Greenpoint

On a winter afternoon (before thecoffeebeaners) Diego and I went to urocafé to get the tasty white mocha that I was addicted to.  We sipped our chocolate infused drinks and enjoyed the familiar scones as we sat in chairs facing the outside sidewalk.  I started looking for something for us to read and picked out a ski resort magazine, this was odd because I don’t really read this kind of thing at home.   We are not skiers because I was not raised in a skiing household and the gear is just too expensive to even think about trying it. Anyway, I opened the magazine because I had remembered my old directing teacher.  She had once told me to pick magazines that I normally did not read; it was the best way to learn about different communities.  


I opened the magazine and started talking with Diego about what I knew about the skiing world.  We were having one of our first real conversations and I was smiling inside because I was realizing Diego had finally become my friend.  After three years he was now able to exchange with me in a different way than before.  We chatted about the mountains and the graph that showed the names of the super steep slopes, ones like Black Hole and Darth Vader.  We were laughing hard at these names when I looked up and saw us in the reflection of the window across the street.  I said to D, “hey, look, that’s us”.  We could see our image in the mirror-like glass and we were both smiling.  About a second later I glanced to the left where a mom was crossing the street.  She was with two kids, a baby in a stroller and a walking toddler. She looked cold, in a hurry, and frustrated.  I instantly remembered how hard it was to be a mother in this city and in my head I applauded her because she had the courage to raise multiple children. I still did not know if I had it in me to do it all over again. 
 

That day I decided to take a lot more time to think about Diego and me and whether I wanted another child right away.  Friends and strangers still ask me, “so, when are you having another one?” and I don’t feel guilty saying “not sure”, anymore.  Before I did not want to explain the intimate details of my difficult transition into motherhood and the postpartum depression but now I feel confident because it was all part of a journey.

We continue to come to urocafé not because I had a unique realization here but because this has become a place for us. When we come here we share and we are enjoying this friendship for now.

Atmosphere-3.5 Stars (clean and nice but very small)

Pastries-N/A (due to limited selection)

Coffee-5 Stars

Service-Nice

Price- $$