Open Thread: Brooklyn Heights Best Coffee

By on December 7, 2007 10:54 am in Uncategorized

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The weather is cold and a warm cuppa joe is sounding really good right now.  Who makes the best coffee in the nabe? Discuss below!

Photo by rocksinablender via Flickr

42 Responses to Open Thread: Brooklyn Heights Best Coffee

  1. Shaky December 7, 2007 at 11:15 am #

    Starbucks still rules over all. I know, the truth hurts.

  2. Henry-ette December 7, 2007 at 11:19 am #

    Noooo! I can’t stand that burnt taste of Starbucks coffee. My vote goes to Tazza.

  3. bongo December 7, 2007 at 11:27 am #

    I do, obviously. Finest Kenyan coffee, from The Open Pantry, in the East Village. Hmmmmmmm.
    Leave that Starbucks floor sweeping well alone!

  4. embee December 7, 2007 at 11:48 am #

    OK, not exactly in the nabe, but Almondine in Dumbo has coffee that’s worth the walk. (Not to mention the other treats)

  5. BH resident December 7, 2007 at 11:54 am #

    I gotta say I like Tazza as well. Dunkin Donuts is the next best.

  6. Arthur December 7, 2007 at 12:23 pm #

    Busy Chef and the pastries are yummy. Chef is a master baker!

  7. Jim December 7, 2007 at 12:59 pm #

    Siggys has the best coffee in the hood, hands down. I only go to Starbucks for my fix on Tuesdays when Siggys is closed.

  8. Evan December 7, 2007 at 2:12 pm #

    Honest opinion? Dunkin Donuts.

  9. LD December 7, 2007 at 2:35 pm #

    Clark’s Restaurant has the best diner coffee I’ve ever had. And the best part — free refills!

  10. nazimova December 7, 2007 at 3:10 pm #

    Park Plaza.. old school Diner coffee AND free refills!!
    If you like it strong (real strong!!!) it’s definately Bubbys in Dumbo (altho I haven’t been there in about 6 mos)..

  11. Daniel December 7, 2007 at 3:22 pm #

    Tazza makes a pretty good cup! Their espresso drinks are ok, certainly better than Starbucks, but they need a better machine for their espresso and machiatto if Bk Heights is going to have a great coffee shop. Tazza’s food is surprisingly good.

    When I really need some good stuff, I jump on the B61 and head down to Baked in Red Hook.

  12. Michael December 7, 2007 at 4:35 pm #

    Lassen & Hennings brews a fine to-go cup if I’m near Montague (it needn’t be said how superior it is to the Starbucks next door), but agreed: Tazza wins it.

  13. Heights97 December 7, 2007 at 10:09 pm #

    Another vote for Siggy’s. Not crazy about anything else there, but the coffee is excellent.

  14. joe December 8, 2007 at 1:29 am #

    Nothing great around here but I guess I would vote L&H or Tazza. If I ventured a little further, Almondine is ok and the starbucks in dumbo is surprisingly good and loads better than the other locations (and I don’t even like starbucks coffee). . Baked has really great coffee and every time I go to fairway I stop by for coffee and some treats.

  15. 5w30 December 8, 2007 at 11:24 am #

    Lassen + Hennigs for consistently good and fresh coffee.
    Just one of the best old-school delis around. The vibe is perfect, and the butter cookies are the best.
    Both BH Starbucks are low on the scale [Montague next to L+H, Court across from Boro Hall]

  16. mona December 8, 2007 at 6:57 pm #

    Lassen and Hennigs sucks. Starbucks sucks. Tazza is good. Almondine is great, but it’s in Dumbo so perhaps it can’t be included.

  17. BHBabe December 9, 2007 at 10:00 am #

    The only good thing about Lassen is ….. wait, now that Abdul & other regular employees are gone, I can’t think of anything! It’s the same food for 20 years already, the guys behind the counter are always preparing phone orders instead of helping the people in front of them, the lines at lunch are ridiculous. If it wasn’t for Julie’s awesome baked goods, there’d be no reason to go there… between Tazza, Montague Bagels & Connecticut Muffin everything is available elsewhere!

  18. BHBabe December 9, 2007 at 10:07 am #

    Not about coffee … but did anyone else notice that the sign on the old Green’s restaurant now says Vietnamese Grill?? Only it doesn’t — it says Virtnamese Grill. Whatever.

  19. GHB December 9, 2007 at 3:18 pm #

    Yeah…so? They serve food from Virtnam…

  20. Cranky December 10, 2007 at 10:23 am #

    Dunkin Donuts coffee is my favorite. They have a new flavor – Vanilla Spice…yum. I like the little DD on Court Street. You always have to wait but I find it entertaining to watch the Indian lady (manager) yell stuff at the staff in a foreign language. (weird sense of humor – oh well).

  21. Jen December 10, 2007 at 10:53 am #

    The guys at Connecticut Muffin aren’t the nicest to me (and I can’t figure out why) but they do serve some good coffee.

  22. JGirl December 10, 2007 at 11:12 am #

    Arthur –

    You’re kidding…right?

  23. Arthur December 10, 2007 at 11:20 am #

    No, the Busy Chef is a blessing to the neighborhood. May it be there for 1000 years!

  24. ABC December 10, 2007 at 12:06 pm #

    why are the guys at CT Muffin so mean?

  25. GHB December 10, 2007 at 12:26 pm #

    ABC, you’re right! That little guy is so nasty. He’ll actually disparage a customer as a result of misunderstanding something the customer said in English. I’ve had to repeat things to him and he gets so %$#in’ testy

  26. coffee snob December 10, 2007 at 3:48 pm #

    The only good coffee in the neighborhood is the cart guy outside rite-aid until 11 am on weekdays. Everything else is horrible and makes me want to cry. But that’s what you get when there are no real coffee shops in the entire neighborhood.

  27. HDEB December 10, 2007 at 4:54 pm #

    Uncommon grounds on the corner of Henry st and Cranberry had yummy coffee for the short time it was open. Maybe they’ll serve the same coffee if the renovation (which looks nice btw) is ever done. B’klyn Heights needs a local coffee shop!

  28. Arthur December 10, 2007 at 5:10 pm #

    HDEB – Let’s hope the new UCG rocks the BH!

  29. cranberry December 10, 2007 at 6:34 pm #

    honestly arthur, if you’re being sarcastic about busy chef and “UCG” then you are funny, if you’re serious, then you work there.

  30. Arthur December 10, 2007 at 8:00 pm #

    I fail to see why everyone is so negative about the BC and the UCG here. Maybe it’s because you can’t be a master baker or wine expert like the Chef is. Too bad. You’re missing out on some delicious food.

  31. Liz December 10, 2007 at 8:04 pm #

    The Connecticut Muffin guys are one of the reasons I love the Heights – it’s weird to hear that they’re mean because they are so friendly to me and my boyfriend. The muffins themselves, not so great, but the coffee is my fave.

  32. duh December 10, 2007 at 11:44 pm #

    CONNECTICUT MUFFIN!
    hello??!?!?

  33. Jamie December 11, 2007 at 1:05 am #

    cranberrys coffee people!

    the best in NYC

  34. BHBabe December 11, 2007 at 10:41 am #

    Arthur — unless you completely adore every morsel of your food tasting like pepper, Busy Chef is gross. They even put pepper on the kids meals, guaranteeing that no one eats anything! Their chef may be a decent guy, I don’t know him, never met him, but dang … he’s got a thing for overseasoning his food!

  35. Arthur December 11, 2007 at 11:30 am #

    The Chef is very talented as exhibited by his work at South Restaurant in Boston, which was critically acclaimed. We are lucky to have someone of his talent here in Brooklyn Heights.

  36. UWSNYCFEM December 11, 2007 at 1:18 pm #

    Ok I have held-out on commenting until now…I know the people behind UCG and BC and Oven (including the chef, Dan) personally. And I know rather unfavorable details about them (one in particular). I have tasted their food as well, and have rarely eaten something I enjoyed or would recommend. Based on my experiences at their establishments and my relationship with a couple of them, I can’t see how anyone would find them favorable.
    Arthur – are you, in fact, Dan posting in disguise? Do you have money invested in these restaurants? What makes you so in favor of them and so adamant about it being the best thing in BH since sliced bread? Trust me, if you only knew…

  37. nabeguy December 11, 2007 at 1:38 pm #

    Uh, Da…oops, I mean Arthur. Given the acclaim, has it ever occured to why he’s not in Boston anymore?

  38. squashi December 11, 2007 at 10:59 pm #

    Arthur is very clearly a plant/owner of those restaurants. Busy Chef is TOTALLY AND IRREDEEMABLY VILE. I have it on high authority that some of their “home cooked meals” are Stouffers and the like, sliced up and served at quadruple the price. Also all the beverages are awful– literally the WORST coffee i’ve had in BH.

    The only solution I’ve come up with for the BH coffee conundrum is to make my own…

  39. brooklynbee December 12, 2007 at 9:52 am #

    Best coffee? Get beans from Sahadi’s, make your own at home.

  40. UWSNYCFEM December 12, 2007 at 10:47 am #

    squashi –

    i couldn’t have said it better myself.

  41. OrangeGirl December 12, 2007 at 2:45 pm #

    BOTH times i ate food from BC i got horribly ill. i woudn’t even trust their coffee at this point. perhaps they will be doomed as the others before them, and then Cranberry’s can open a sit-down cafe. sigh.

  42. Katy January 3, 2008 at 2:10 am #

    Regarding Ct Muffin: the muffins suck, the guys who work there are a-holes, the coffee’s middling. They’re only in business due to Starbucks’ overflow.