henryjunior

yep, the restaurant i mentioned really is asking well past the "proper" price for an espresso. i personally think it's greedy. sure, it's quite good but not worth that kinda loot -- they take advantage imho. to be fair, i once had my uncle ask me to buy him a coffee at a hotel bar in nyc while he ran up to his room to retrieve something. when he came down i handed him what was a $10 coffee -- so i suppose that really was my first incident of coffee bean related cardiac arrest. if u wanna find a good deal on beans in nyc checkout puerto rico trading company. they have a few spots around town. unrelated, i noticed they also served as a background set for a gov. pataki commercial -- not surprising, it's been in biz for over 100 years -- quite the successful NYC biz.

The last thing I wanna do is recommend an Illy product (not my favorite) but heck this is interesting. According to my recent issue of Food Arts on Thurs, Sept 15 Illy is opening some boutique outlet in SoHo for a bit to teach chefs, etc more about coffee and espresso. more info here: http://www.illyusa.com/galleria/pr/galleria_illy.htm they are also selling this machine for a "deal" geared at offices: http://illyusa.com/illyofficeespresso/ but i read here that the above machine is a piece of crappola (figures): http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/espresso/general/151470

'here-here' so far i have to say that ninth street espresso (between ave C and ave D) is the best espresso i've had in the city, by far. and it's consistantly good. and the prices are great. and the staff is friendly. it's where it is, the east-east village. so it's outta the way and has a distinct crowd. quite frankly though, it's much more in line with the spirit of an espresso bar than anything i've seen on the island. definitely give this place a try, it's well worth the trip. nice article on 'where to find' decent brews: http://www.nydailynews.com/city_life/story...6p-280918c.html still haven't made it out to gimme but i am told it's the real deal. can't wait to go. now, joe -- that place is just super over hyped. they have a press machine spewing out noise but i can tell you it ain't worth the attention it gets. sure, it's above average but you'd think it was the best cup in the city. it's not. ninth street espresso is the best i've found. if i'm mistaken, someone please enlighten me. i'm always down to try a new spot.

sure it's on arthur ave, and as such probably has a legacy to live up to (which it didn't for me.) it looks like something that would popup in a touristy part of italy. just about the nicest thing i could say is that it doesn't suck so that was an apt description. on 4 separate occasions i was totally unimpressed. felt cool being there but the drink wasn't special to me.

I thoroughly enjoyed my espresso *but* was a bit shocked that my bill came to $15. granted, i should have been paying attention to the prices. i got a triple followed by a double and nearly had a quadruple. nice smooth cup but inconsistant. excessively, attractive establishment. a great place to grab an expen$ive espresso when you find yourself on the upper east side (near the park.) the food looked pretty nice. bready/doughy croisants a la southern italian style.

unfortunately, i find the place too bitter. it has some of the most bitter coffee, employees and regulars. cute place, otherwise, with a nice choice of delivered pastries. the food is grossly overpriced. in general, irving place is probably one of the most beautiful streets, err places, in the city. however, irving 71 is overrated.