Andrea
Austin (Texas)
I usually try to avoid Starbucks at all costs and try to support the local business as much as I can. What are some great coffee shops in Brooklyn?
If you head to DUMBO and Brooklyn Bridge you could try Brooklyn Roasting Company. One Girl Cookies on Main Street and Almondine Bakery on Waters Street are both great.
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Everyone will tell you to go go Café Grumpy and sure the coffee is good but the atmosphere is pretty crap. There's enough good coffee in Brooklyn that you don't need to settle for that :) I dig Hungry Ghost in Fort Greene for the pastrys and the sunny, chill vibe, Devocion in Williamsburg for a freaking STUNNING skylit space (they roast their Colombian beans in house so it also smells amazing).
In Manhattan, check out Saturdays Surf NYC (hot dudes, great coffee, surfboards), La Colombe Torrefaction (a couple locations - all with great design, pastries and one of the most amped up iced coffees around) and Stumptown at the Ace Hotel New York (a perennial fave).
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Andrea
Valerie