I am not sure when I became a coffee person, but, what was once an addiction that I hoped to stymie, has now become a hobby, a passion, an endless quest. I have started to appreciate good coffee. Today I am in Virginia, where it is especially hard to find good coffee. I have purchased cups from three places today and it is only 10:30. So far, none of them were worth finishing. Also, they do not have soy milk in Virginia. It is as though they have never heard of lactose intolerance here. Not that I am lactose sensitive, I just like soy milk better for other reasons, but I worry about the people who can’t drink milk.

In my neighborhood we have a few good places. Full City (aka Roots and Vines) is ok, but occasionally burns the coffee. They claim to have recently changed their house blend (I think to a cheaper one because food prices are so high), but I can’t tell that it is any better or worse. The Roasting Plant is really good, but, although you can buy a cup, it is really a place to buy a pound. They have cookies and the like, but no café to sit in.

Another good place, if you want to venture north of Delancy, is the Falai Panetteria, on the corner of Stanton and Clinton (across from Alias). They have great coffee and pastries, but they are a bit expensive and offer table service. It is a good place to work in the afternoon if you can stand the house music they sometimes play. Flowers, on Grand and Essex, had good coffee for the first week after they opened, but it didn’t last. The food has suffered as well. The owner is a really nice guy, but when he isn’t around to oversee everything, it gets sloppy.