On returning to Cambridge from D.C., where
Murky Coffee makes the best espresso you’ll
probably ever have, I was sad to find that the
1369 just wasn’t as good as I remembered.
The coffee now tasted burned. And the staff didn’t seem nearly as interested in putting out a quality product
as the Murky people were — or, for that matter, as interested as the
Simon’s
people were. Simon’s and Murky are part of a fledgling little world of artisanal espresso shops. 1369 is part of an earlier
generation of coffeeshops — of which there are still many — that exist to provide atmosphere rather than coffee. There’s
a place for both types. Sometimes you just want to read a book in the presence of other people, even if you’ve got your iPod
turned on and you couldn’t care less who the other people are. For that kind of scene, there’s the 1369. For people who are looking
for the best conceivable coffee, there’s Simon’s.
Yet Simon’s is also not in a very good location. It’s a 15-minute walk north of Harvard Square on Mass. Ave., or a 5-minute walk
south of the Porter T station. From my place to Simon’s is maybe half an hour; I’ve tried going there before work on a few occasions; that
doesn’t really work.
If you find yourself in the vicinity of Central Square, I’d like to recommend my recent espresso discovery:
Toscanini’s. Tosci
is better known for its ice cream (which is certainly the best ice cream I’ve ever had). Turns out their espresso is great, too.
They share one very important trait with Simon’s: they use
George Howell’s Terroir beans. I’m coming to think
that coffee made with Terroir just can’t get very bad. Terroir is insurance against bad baristas. Though the Tosci baristas may be very good;
I’m not sure. All I know is that I’ve swung by Toscanini’s on the way to and from work many times now, and have not yet had a bad
espresso. Fair warning, though: they made me an exceptionally poor cappuccino once. I think that was because they made it with
blue water skim milk.
I’m told I should check out
Cafe Pamplona
(which has its own Wikipedia entry; I’m amazed, though I shouldn’t be). I’ve now shocked a few people by professing ignorance of this
place. Maybe I’ll stop by for an after-work espresso tomorrow.
While I’m at it, I should mention a few Boston espresso destinations:
Trident Booksellers and Café, just over the River and a few doors down Newbury Street. Their espresso is nothing special, but their cappuccino is solid and the food in the café is the best in the genre. Plus the bookstore is great. This may be the only bookstore/café I’ve been to where both halves get equal stature.
FlatBlack Coffee Company, near the financial district downtown. I’ve only been once. Their drip coffee is solid and rich.
Velouria, in Jamaica Plain. Again the beans are George Howell, and the proprietor shares Howell’s love for Kenyan beans. I’ll be honest: my palate is not yet refined enough to tell the difference between one nation’s coffee beans and another’s. Someday … someday.
Flour Bakery and Café. Last, but definitely not least. This is Adam‘s and my traditional morning-coffee haunt. I love their cappuccino; their espresso is rich without being bitter, and the foam is perfect. Flour is right around the corner from the Children’s Museum. You’re forgiven for not noticing it if you happen to be standing right in front of it; they’ve apparently had a competition with themselves for the last year or so to see just how hidden they can be. There’s always a steady stream of people in there between 7:45 and 8:30 a.m., though, so presumably their reputation is keeping them afloat. I probably give them more business than even my love of their product would justify: I want to see them succeed, and I just can’t imagine that such a hidden outpost would be raking in the cash.
(Thanks go to Jeremy Angoff, by the way, for introducing me to the South End’s Flour well before there was one on the Waterfront.)