bike and coffee shops in new york (part 2)

(part 1 of the tour is here)

This is part 2 of my brooklyn bike and coffee tour.

My next stop after Blue Bottle was Oslo coffee (133 Roebling St, Brooklyn).

I took some shots  along the way:

williamsburg pasteup
GATS gets around

I couldn’t handle much more caffeine by the time I got to Oslo, so I skipped another espresso and had a cookie instead.

oslo coffee: storefront
eddie at oslo coffee

I told Eddie about the bike and coffee tour idea and he recommended a few places to check out in Manhattan.  I was surprised that it was empty there, but I think it was mid-afternoon at this point, which isn’t exactly a prime coffee hour.

I visited NYCbikes (spokes and strings? 140 Havemeyer St. Brooklyn, NY) next.

nycbikes (spokes & strings): storefront
nycbikes (spokes & strings): interior

I continued rolling around Williamsburg to Gimme! Coffee (495 Lorimer St, Brooklyn, NY)

gimme! coffee: storefront

It was pretty packed in here with quite a few people working on their laptops and it looked like some of the after-work crowd was coming in for a buzz.  Friendly baristas.

gimme! coffee: transaction

I didn’t remember to take a picture of the espresso shot until I was almost done:

gimme! coffee: espresso, mostly finished.

affinity cycles (616 Grand Street Brooklyn, NY) was right around the corner.

affinity cycles: storefront

The guys in the shop were pretty busy with repairs and they were doing some renovations to the interior:

affinity cycles: interior

onward.  Grand St. was being resurfaced but the fatty cruiser tires didn’t really care.

probably on grand st @ bushwick ave

I rode down to velo brooklyn (bushwick bike shop). (342 Dekalb Avenue, Brooklyn, NY) This shop wasn’t part of my originally-scheduled tour, but I happened to be riding by, so…

velo brooklyn (bushwick bike shop)

super-friendly and laid back people here.  One guy recommeded that I check out the biker cafe, boneshakers – but alas, I didn’t have time this trip.  maybe next time.  I browsed through their cycling cap selection and was surprised to see that they carried hats by local lady alloneword.  She had graciously donated caps to my girlfriend and friends who are doing AIDS lifecycle this year.

velo brooklyn (bushwick bike shop): shop talk
velo brooklyn (bushwick bike shop): pretty sweet walls

I headed towards Lit fuse cyclery (409 Willoughby Avenue, Brooklyn, NY) next.

dekalb ave
dekalb ave: cruisin bed-stuy
lit fuse cyclery: entrance
lit fuse cyclery: interior, with klein

I was taking interior shots at every shop, but I had to get one from this angle because I have a soft spot for kleins.  this Klein Rascal had the mission control integrated handlebars.   (Side note: I’m happy someone put together www.oldklein.com – the official klein page is just a product registration form.  boo trek.)

lit fuse cyclery: interior, alternate view

that’s a lot of photos.  next post is the ride back to recycle a bicycle to return the bike.

from the archives: ritual bike cart

a friend sent me this new york times post about kickstand, who have a mobile, bike-transported iced coffee and single-serve drip setup.

I’ve only seen the ritual bike in the bay area:

Ritual coffee bike cart

This guy was selling iced coffee at sunday streets in the mission last july.

ritual coffee bike cart at eat real in oakland

and these two were selling ritual coffee at oakland’s wonderful eat real festival last august.

bike and coffee shops in new york (part 1)

I was in New York for work a couple of weeks ago and decided to take some time off to wander in the city.  I embarked on a self-guided tour of bike shops and coffee shops in brooklyn and manhattan (with the much-appreciated help of Anita from Brooklyn by Bike who led me to the New York Times Interactive Coffee Map) and took a bunch of pictures.  whenever possible, images were shot at ISO 50 and wide open, just because.

front counter of recycle a bicycle

I asked about bike rentals and bikesnobnyc was kind enough to suggest that I check out recycle a bicycle.  I went to their DUMBO location (Recycle A Bicycle, 35 Pearl St, Brooklyn)  They had only two bikes available and this is the one I got:

cruiser from recycle a bicycle

Chris from the shop hooked me up with the free official NYC cycling map.

I took a few pictures outside:

shredded paper, DUMBO

and along the way.  It felt weird trying to balance on this bike – it had a coaster brake and I wasn’t used to the way-upright handlebars.   Riding the cruiser kind of made the ride more enjoyable, though, because it allowed me to just kick back at a slower pace and enjoy the ride.

brooklyn BEEF
dalai lama stencil - and of course, a BNE sticker

and then pedaled towards Cafe Grumpy in Greenpoint.

williamsburg st bike lane
kent ave bike lane. I've got to say, I'm really digging the bright green.
this wall is at Kent and Metropolitan

the weather was ridiculously beautiful.

Cafe Grumpy front counter

the espresso at Cafe Grumpy (193 Meserole Avenue, Brooklyn, NY)  was good and the people very friendly.

cafe grumpy (greenpoint) espresso. I couldn't resist and took a sip before taking the picture.
roasting at cafe grumpy

Cafe Grumpy was larger than I expected.  It was relatively crowded with people working on their laptops and they had a beautiful bathroom window:

cafe grumpy bathroom window. it was pretty. I couldn't help it.

I headed towards B’s bike shop (262 Driggs Avenue, Brooklyn, NY) next in Williamsburg.

took a picture along the way:

but hey, what's up with that frame?
B's Bikes: counter

B’s Bikes was a crowded little shop that seemed to be getting a lot of business.  I told the people inside about my plans for the day and they happily mentioned a few neat bike shops in Manhattan to check out.

B's Bikes: repair stand

I rode the cruiser down to King Kog (455 Graham Avenue, Brooklyn, NY) next:

King Kog bike shop
Inside King Kog

There was definitely a different vibe here with more bike-lifestyle items on the shelves including a hilarious “One Less Messenger” t-shirt.

Next stop: Blue Bottle (160 Berry Street, Brooklyn, NY).  I live in Oakland, CA, and wanted to see what Blue Bottle was doing on the East Coast:

Blue Bottle Coffee, Williamsburg

I was really impressed by the size of their space.  The natural light was great.  They roast in the back.  I’ve been to their kiosk in Hayes Valley in SF, the Cafe at Mint Plaza, their Ferry Building location, their old roastery in Emeryville and their farmers market in Temescal.  This space was absolutely huge in comparison.

Blue Bottle Coffee: La Marzocco
Blue Bottle Coffee: oji cold brew array

There were quite a few people hanging outside too, enjoying the coffee and the weather:

Blue Bottle Coffee: hangin outside on Berry st

Part 2 to come.

foggy mt. tam and an affogato

I went for a cold and sometimes wet ride up mount tamalpais today.  It was my first time riding up there and back.  I thought the fog looked great, though I’m sure the view would have been amazing on a clearer day.

mt. tam in the fog.

I treated myself to an affogato when I got home (and a sausage and beer at rosamunde/toronado before that):

affogato

farm:table

went to farm:table this past weekend for a quick breakfast and coffee.  the cereal and yogurt was enjoyble, the latte was pretty, and the ristretto of an espresso, while lacking some crema, was still very satisfying.

latte art from farm:table on post st.

new coffee grinder burrs

Suspecting that worn burrs were preventing me from getting a fine enough grind, I got new burrs from cmc espresso for my la pavoni zip grinder.  Various coffee forums on the internets contain advice that recommend that you replace burrs if you can’t get a fine enough grind with a good grinder.

From my experience so far, that appears to be good advice.  With the finest setting for each set of burrs (as fine as you can go before the motor stalls) I went from pulling a decent espresso shot with 21g (with a triple basket) to having an way overextracted 15g shot.  I still need to do some tweaking, but it wasn’t possible to overextract at all with the old burrs.

Here’s what came in the mail, and here’s how the burrs compared:

top view of the burrs. New burrs on top, old burrs on the bottom.

3/4 view of the burrs. new burrs on top, old burrs on the bottom.

and here’s the direct comparison:

old burrs vs new burrs - closer view.

I recall reading in some forums that you can tell that burrs are dull if the leading edges look shiny.  That appears to be the case in the above image.  Note that on the left side old the old burrs, the leading edge  (top edge) of the flat part of the burr appears to be shiny.

The new burrs themselves look to be lower quaity than the old burrs.  There are lots of little burrs (ha) on some of the edges and the finish on the other parts (due to casting? I am not sure how they’re made) isn’t as nice.  The coffee probably won’t notice though.

actual cafe grand opening

Actual cafe, a bike-themed coffee shop in Oakland had their grand opening party last night.  There was a great turnout, fun music and good people.  Here are some photos from the event.