Sweetleaf Cafe - Excellent Coffee in Long Island City

This weekend I was able to catch the penultimate day of Sweetleaf's Free Coffee Week event, and I am kicking myself for not visiting sooner. It is, bar none, the best coffee I've had in the borough, and some of the best coffee I've had in NYC.

They serve the much-lauded Stumptown Coffee, and it is strong and delicious, not to mention fair trade. They offer American coffee ($1.75) and espresso-based coffee drinks ($2.25-$4.00) on the menu, as well as a variety of in-house baked goods (muffins and other treats).  They also sell Nunu Chocolates, which are wonderful - the hand-dipped salted caramel is my favorite so far.

The staff is really nice and accommodating, and owner Rich answered my questions about the store and products, and even passed on some brewing tips (which were a huge help!).  You can also buy Stumptown beans from them - 12 oz bags run from about $12-14, depending on the kind of bean you get.  I bought a bag of the Columbia El Jordan, brewed it this morning, and found it to be one of the smoothest cups of coffee I've had in quite a while.  I can see myself returning again and again for good coffee and fantastic beans for home brewing.  And those chocolates... mmm...

Definitely check them out - you won't regret it!

Sweetleaf Coffee & Tea
10-93 Jackson Ave, LIC
917-832-6726

Hours: Mon to Fri 7:30am–7pm; Sat 8am–7pm; Sun 10am–6pm

The Coffee Bar is Open

The Coffee Bar is finally open! I've been watching this place progress since the sign went up, what, maybe a year ago? Originally it was Zygos Taverna, which served passable, yet uninteresting Cypriot food.

The papers finally came off the windows this weekend, revealing a nice space (I like the wood) with plenty of menu offerings. They serve coffee and tea, bagels (with tofu cream cheese), pasta, sandwiches, salads, smoothies and dessert. They also serve beer! They are in the process of getting wifi, too, so I expect the laptop crowd will soon find this place.

Their hours are 6:30 a.m. to midnight, 7 days a week. I would expect them to do well in part because of their amazingly close proximity to the Ditmars station. Hello, convenience. Walk out the front door and you're pretty much at the steps leading up to the train.

If anyone has tried it, let us know in the comments! I expect I'll check them out very soon.

The Coffee Bar
22-55 31st Street
Astoria, NY 11105
718-728-7070

Cafe Soleil Open!

A new coffee house has opened in Astoria! The Soleil Cafe, on Astoria Blvd South between 37th and 38th Streets, serves coffee (drip and espresso), tea, fresh juices, and baked goods so far. The space is really nice, with lots of comfy furniture, art on the wall, and the color scheme is a mixture of soothing earth tones. WiFi access is unknown at this time. The owner has been in the restaurant business for some time, and his brother is the manager over at Cavo, a well-loved spot in Astoria.

They plan to have music there in the future, too, which is I was happy to hear. The guys running the place are really nice, and very excited about this new venture. The coffee is tasty and the treats there look great (the brownie was yum!). I believe their hours will be between 6am and midnight. I'm looking forward to visiting again. Definitely check them out! And let us know what you think. Pictures below: