Wednesday, November 03, 2010

CC: Southside Coffee

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What's does "CC" mean?
Location visited: Brooklyn, NY
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating:
6+ [
see key]



Making it into Brooklyn for coffee is never easy for me. Despite knowing better, I always figure the subway to take a fraction of the actual travel time and when I finally do arrive at my stop, I realize I only have a small bit of time to enjoy my coffee.

So of course, to make sure I have more time for coffee, I briskly walk to my targeted coffeehouse, Southside Coffee on the corner of 19th and 6th. Having caught wind of some local praise and journalistic favor, my unexpected exercise was fueled by high hopes of finding a genuine gem.

Southside sits on a tranquil corner, with outside seating gated off from the sidewalk. Inside, the environment emits a decent coziness amidst orange walls and more tables then usual in a NYC coffeehouse.

Serving up Intelligentsia, I ordered a cup of their House Blend via french press (pre-brewed in a pump pot) as well as an espresso of Black Cat. The House coffee provided sweet honey, a little pear, orange juice, wheat, nutmeg and a bit of almond. The brew had a lot of sweetness to it and despite being a french pressed coffee, it didn't have a lot of sediment. The espresso also proved delicious, with flavors of lemon, peppercorn, cocoa, cane sugar and a touch of Merlot. I did not note the tea.

To put it simply, Southside satisfied my curiosities splendidly. They displayed decent skills along with good coffee to make me one happy camper. I just wish I had given myself more time.

When in South Slope (or nearby), stop by Southside Coffee.

6 comments:

Kopi Luwak said...

Hi Bill,

I have read reviews about Southside Coffee and over all, it is a must-visit-coffeehouse in Brooklyn. That's a guarantee. However, I also read that the coffeehouse tend to play loud music, causing some customers to listen to their own ipod gadgets instead. But for some, they leave and just return to their homes so they can concentrate harder on their work/studies. I'm just wondering if this is true? When you visited, did they play loud music? Cause if that's the case, I don't think they are following the right ambiance of a coffeehouse. A coffeehouse should be a place where one can relax, chill and have their coffee in serenity. Not some place that's like a bar or something.

Bill said...

Kopi,

When I was there, the music was of a normal volume. Might just be one barista?

I agree in most cases that a coffeehouse is usually a place with a chill ambiance. But then again, who knows what the future holds...

Garmin Forerunner 310xt said...

I have been here a handful of times and have never experienced the music issue. I really enjoy their coffee and will go back.

Libby said...

I too have read reviews of the Southside Coffee place, but never made the trek down from my spot in Astoria. This does it justice. As soon as I move back to the city, I am going there!

princessM said...

wow! all coffeehouses must have a look like this. so cool, hope i can visit this one. *sigh

Kopi Luwak said...

Hi Bill, yeah maybe it was just one barista. I was just reading on the review at yelp.com from a certain Michael R. of Brooklyn, NY. He said, and I quote, "My one and only REAL gripe is that the music played, almost always selected by the barista on duty, is absolutely horrid. It is either too "artsy fartsy" indie music or some other intolerable noise. For instance, today we have the pleasure of listening to medium-hard core rap full of profanities and it is rather offensive. I come here to relax, study and work, and "get away" and the music, often too loud, isn't conducive to such an environment. On a few occasions, the music has been so intrusive, I've attempted to put on my iPod and listen to my own music but the volume at which they play theirs, makes listening to my iPod impossible as I hear theirs over mine unless mine is turned up so loud it hurts my ears.".

Oh well, music is not so much of an issue for as long as they serve quality coffee and meet consumer's demands.