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Coffee tango

  • Writer: l2egallagher
    l2egallagher
  • Oct 11, 2017
  • 5 min read

Updated: Jul 24, 2022

I used to dance a lot of Argentine Tango. {pause} That was a brilliant, but foolhardy time in my life. If you are a tango dancer, you understand the inane rapture of staying up well after your bedtime to dance another tanda with the 'best' dancer or your 'favorite' partner. On the following day at work, you convinced yourself that you were being productive despite being sleep deprived, albeit happily so. Coffee is a tango dancer's best friend. The dark circles under your eyes would give away your late night secret to anyone who was part of this madcap tango world. You would make a promise to yourself at 1:43 AM while waiting on a dirty New York City subway platform for the N or R trains, which "never" or "rarely" came, that the next time you went to X milonga or Y practica, you would go home sooner. But when the next time came and you were about to slip out of your Neotango heels, Haris Alexiou's "Gia Ena Tango" would play and so you couldn't leave until after you danced that song. Before you knew it, you would stay out just as late. The difficulty is that milongas don't get 'good' until after midnight. But I have already spoken too much on tango, when this is supposed to be about coffee. There is a link, I promise.

So one of my favorite tango partners was an Australian (love the accent) and he was a brilliant lead. He is still a favorite and a great lead, but I am semi-retired from tango (i.e. I put away my 3-inch heels sometime ago). The Aussie's style was a mix of traditional tango and tango nuevo which I loved. With my ballet background, I am a certified bunhead since age 9, I loved the athleticism in the nuevo style and this Aussie could throw me around like a doll - it was brilliant! Anyway, he said that he loved New York City, but hated the coffee, and went on to declare that Australians have the best coffee. I knew that New York City diner coffee/cart coffee was not on par with an Italian espresso, but the Australians having the BEST, was unbeknownst to me. Badly done on my father's part to have left that detail out in the retelling of his life spent in Melbourne. In fairness to Dad, he was a tea drinker when he lived there. However, I became convinced of the veracity of said Aussie's claim when my other favorite partner, a Romanian physicist, confirmed that Australia has brilliant coffee.

Happily and with nearly identical timing, Oliver Strand wrote an article, "101 Places to Find Great Coffee in New York," for The New York Times (May 6, 2014) that spoke of the advent of great tasting coffee in New York City. The article was accompanied by a map of the coffee places and I ventured to taste some of these recommendations to see if agreed with the coffee report. Since then, the number of "serious coffee places" in New York City has multiplied and in the end, I am not sure if I am even what is considered a true coffee aficionado. I just know what I like and look for in a good coffee. Unfortunately, sometimes the places with the best coffee are not the nicest cafes. For me, the setting of the cafe, quiet with sleek, but welcoming decor, and the conversation with my fellow coffee mates are essential to brilliant coffee outings as they enhance the taste. Some of my best associations with coffee are sipping a Bialetti-made espresso sitting on a fire escape in Astoria Skyping with my sister who lived up the road in L.I.C. As it has been the passage of some time since this hunt for brilliant New York City coffee, I have decided not to go into all of the details, but share some highlights.

Back in 2014, there was only once place in New York City to get a Stumptown coffee, at the Ace Hotel. While not my go-to coffee drink, I loved their mocha or rather I loved the way the jail-bait-barista made the drink - with whipped cream, of course. For a while, I did Sunday service at the Knave at Le Parker Meridien. The high ceilings and pews were a perfect place to sit and read the Sunday edition of The New York Times. Please note that you will find being devout is easier if your church mate gets the hot chocolate so that you can steal a sip. The Knave's brew at that time was Intelligentsia and quite lovely.

I discovered Blue Bottle on a trip to San Francisco (home of Tartine!) and that remains for me one of the best coffee experiences. I was staying in the Embarcadero section of San Francisco which lacked charm save for the Ferry Building Marketplace. No matter how long the line was, the baristas would not rush their coffee art, which were true masterpieces. Eventually Blue Bottle arrived in New York City and coincidentally, their Chelsea location is across the street from my old Saturday tango haunt. What I love about the Blue Bottle Chelsea location is that it reminds me of Reykjavik's Mokka Kaffi, which in my mind is the model of the perfect cafe. It is important to note, that I visited Mokka Kaffi before Iceland became trendy, and while it had no serious competition, I think that there were 2 other so called cafes/bakeries for coffee, I loved the place. It was quiet with minimalist decor. It is a tad quirkier than my normal taste, but it felt unpretentious and very authentic to itself. Seems like an odd adjective to use to describe a cafe, but Reykjavik had an aloof vibe, whereas, Mokka Kaffi felt grounded and real. On that visit, Mokka Kaffi had a simple menu of maybe 4 coffee drink options. I can't remember if tea was an option and for eats, there was waffles with jam and whipped cream. There were no croissants, nor cronuts, nor donuts with or without cream; sadly, not even baguettes, but the coffee was perfectly delicious.

So the aforementioned claim of brilliant Australian coffee is true. I had my first Flat White at Culture Espresso and that was beautiful drink. But my go to Australian coffee place in the City is Bluestone Lane; I usually get the Piccolo and the taste and texture of its coffee is simply gorgeous.

While I love venturing out for coffee, there is nothing like having great coffee in your own Rosenthal Brilliance Fleurs Savages porcelain. On a trip to beloved Barcelona, I discovered the merits of having a Nespresso machine. I had a love/hate relationship with my Bialetti stovetop coffee maker and using a French press was another uneven love affair. More importantly, I used to think that I liked strong coffee, but I have since discovered that I do not. I prefer a subtler brew and love a simple black coffee, woody with a hint of chocolate which translates to Equator's Bouchon Blend for Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakeries. So when I'm not making a Nespresso Ristretto, my go-to coffee drink is a large Bouchon coffee, black, with just a spot of milk.


2022 Bouchon Bakery has since closed in New York City, but true, brilliant coffee is to be found at Zibetto's and one day I should write about the Sunday barista - he makes the best macchiato.

 
 
 

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