Showing posts with label new orleans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new orleans. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Hivolt



Subject: Hivolt
Location: New Orleans, LA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Getting a quality meal and a good cup of coffee at the same time used to be a rare occurrence. Fortunately the days have grown brighter and coffee is no longer an afterthought. Specifically in the past decade, things have greatly improved in the food world so that brunch spots and fine dinner establishments now purvey quality coffee from excellent roasters instead of capsuled espresso or cooked coffee from an urn long overdue for a cleaning.

Friday, June 12, 2020

French Truck Coffee



Subject: French Truck Coffee
Location Visited: Magazine St, New Orleans, LA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

When I use the word "french" in relation to coffee, my mind tends to wander to older times. When I think of french roasts, I think of bitter, charcoal-heavy brews that gained traction in the nineteenth century when over-roasted coffee hid the defects of the low quality beans. When I hear of french-style coffee, my mind zips to thoughts of chicory and cafe au laits, drinks made popular four score ago in the French Market of NOLA that, while appetizing in their own way, don't usually call to mind high-quality coffee.

Friday, May 29, 2020

Mojo Coffee Roasters



Subject: Mojo Coffee Roasters
Location Visited: Freret St, New Orleans, LA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Some of my favorite memories have happened on evening coffee dates. Sadly, over the years such opportunities have dwindled for many reasons (kids, quarantine and coffee shops with early hours to name a few), but when I can find a good coffee shop open late, I scribble down eminent plans to visit.

Thursday, May 07, 2020

Cherry Coffee Roasters



Subject: Cherry Coffee Roasters
Location Visited: Magazine St, New Orleans, LA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

The sun was hot and the streets were buzzing with activity as I made the most of my free time in New Orleans. Finding myself walking around Magazine Street, I wove in and out of the many businesses lining both sides, ranging from boutiques to fantastic eateries. Looking for a good cup of coffee, I set my sights on a location of Cherry Coffee Roasters, a local shop and roaster that had been gaining reputation for quality coffee. Since their second outpost proved convenient to my geography (their primary location is on Laurel), it made for a welcome treat to my morning adventure.

Friday, April 17, 2020

Arrow Cafe



Subject: Arrow Cafe
Location: New Orleans, LA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Riding a street car down N Rampart Street stands as one of my favorite memories of New Orleans. The car was relatively empty and the day was not yet a few hours old, but the car was a nice relief from the already stifling air of the city and the route had few passengers. Sadly the ride was not long, and the destination was the French Quarter, as my wife and I had a nice morning of sight-seeing and walking the old streets planned out. It was then as we made our way down N Rampart St that we first passed Arrow Cafe.

Wednesday, April 01, 2020

Coffee Science



Subject: Coffee Science
Location: New Orleans, LA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 5+ [see key]

The more one radiates out from the French Quarter, the more facets New Orleans presents. Sure the bulk of tourism is right near the Quarter but there's a lot of gems off the beaten path that are worth seeking out. If coffee is high on that gem list, then one of them is Coffee Science.

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

HEY! Cafe / HEY Coffee Co



Subject: HEY Coffee Co / Hey! Cafe 
Location visited: New Orleans, LA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Were I to pick the most colorful city I have visited, it would likely be New Orleans. Full of vibrantly painted houses and Mardi Gras parades, NOLA sports a wide variety of palettes.

Monday, February 03, 2020

The Elysian Bar




Subject: The Elysian Bar, at Hotel Peter & Paul
Location: New Orleans, LA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

When I was looking for a good hotel in New Orleans for my wife and I to celebrate our ten year anniversary, it definitely proved difficult to narrow down my options. Half of my associates warned me to avoid the French Quarter, while the other half advised that the best spots aren't far from Bourbon Street. In the end, I went with a gut instinct as well as a great deal on one spot that seemed to attract a lot of interesting attention: the Hotel Peter and Paul.

Thursday, January 09, 2020

Mammoth Espresso



Subject: Mammoth Espresso
Location: New Orleans, LA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

In my humble opinion, the best-case office location is next to a great lunch counter and abutting a coffee shop of quality. Throughout my entire life, this has never been my lot but everytime I stumble upon a good downtown cafe, I often think of how lucky surrounding workers are to be so close.

Friday, December 06, 2019

Congregation Coffee



Subject: Congregation Coffee
Location visited: Algiers Point, New Orleans, LA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

While the French Quarter is great, exploring the greater NOLA area really rounded out and more fully illustrated the majesty of the crescent city. One such stop off the beaten path involved heading acrosst river to Algiers Point, a charming neighborhood full of colorful homes and a coffeehouse that has long been on my list to visit.

Thursday, November 07, 2019

Spitfire Coffee



Subject: Spitfire Coffee
Location visited: New Orleans, LA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

The French Quarter remains one of the most unique and iconic urban neighborhoods on the North American continent. For hundreds of years it has thrived, known for its jazz, flooding issues and its unique cuisine. Yet for all of its gastro-attractions, until recently the area stood fairly bereft of quality coffee. One place that helped change that is Spitfire.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Solo Espresso




Subject: Solo Espresso
Location: New Orleans, LA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

When I first planned out a recent trip to New Orleans, one of the first Airbnb spots my wife spied sat adjacent to a coffeehouse. Never being too hopeful that such convenience can result in great coffee, I got my hopes appropriately low and googled the shop. Little did I know that said cafe would soon become one of my favorite coffee shops in the city.

Sunday, July 24, 2016

Revelator Coffee Company




Subject: Revelator Coffee Company
Location Visited: Birmingham, AL
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

When one looks for great coffee in the southeast US, there's more and more great coffee popping up all over the place, with individual cafes blooming in most major urban centers. Yet one coffee company that has established numerous outposts all over the south is a roaster called Revelator. With shops now in five major southeast cities and plans for further expansion, this relatively new juggernaut has blessed the south with gorgeous shops and delicious coffee.