In DC, "the coffee is meh,"
or so says Jennifer Steinhauer of the New York Times, and so said I to Jon for months after we moved here. But alas, (and what a happy 'alas' it is!) in our year here we've discovered that this just isn't true. DC's just a coffee tease: you have to work a bit to find the good spots.
Here's where we had coffee last week:
Big Bear Cafe has a beautiful garden outside, huge picture windows looking out to the garden, and really neat little listening spots set up along the walls where you can sample new artists. Papa and Lyon hung out together here while I did some freelance design work.
The Wydown is back! The first time we visited they were just a pop-up during construction of their permanent place. We finally got to visit their new shop this week, and it was slick.
Misha's Coffee is technically in Old Town Alexandria, VA, but still close enough to count. We stop here on our way to Jon's weekly Alexandria show.
(Do you see the magnetic alphabet menu board and the Pee-wee Herman dolls?! They have a great quirky style.)
How fun! And I'm totally jealous... our one and only coffee shop closed about 2 1/2 years ago. We now have 2 drive thru coffee stands, but that's it. Small town problems. ;)
ReplyDeleteHeard! the small town problems. We're taking full advantage as long as we live in DC. :)
Delete:) Although I haven't spent much time in the states I would looooove to hit DC and plan to do so someday. That Big Bear cafe looks fantastic! Totally my jam.
ReplyDeletebig bear cafe *is* great, glad you found it because it truely is a hidden gem. have you been to northside social in clarendon (also VA but still counts, i think)
ReplyDeleteI have been there! But I'll confess, I got a really strong "coffee snob" vibe there. A little of the vibe makes for a good coffee shop, I think, but some places around have too much. I can always tell if I'm going to like a place based on the face they make when I ask if they have vanilla lattes. :) But the coffee I got that day WAS delicious.
DeleteWe are getting ready to move to Alexandria in the next couple months so I can't wait to try Misha's!
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