Cafe Grumpy

Cafe Grumpy, originally uploaded by jamieshelman.

Miss the cafe au laits from Grumpys coffee shop, 3 blocks from the Chelsea Hotel, the service was indifferent, we were charged random prices and were served in big American mugs (guess there's something chic about going in the face of tradition or maybe cafe au lait is too declasse for the uber crowd* ), despite all this the coffee was excellent and well prepared, the foam lasting all the way to the bottom (contrary to the indifferent "Misto" received at Starbucks- the words cafe au lait can't be spoken there, in other words cafe au lait "ist verbotten"!). All of Grumpys "hunt for nuances" coffees fail to be as dark roast as French Roast coffees, even adding milk can mask their complexity, and if adding one of the sugary pastries to your breakfast you would need a bloodhound to find the treasures hidden within, again so uber. Still somewhat of a treasure when considering the alternatives offered in NYC.

*on a side note we went to City Bakery where they were clueless as to the contents of a cafe au lait so it could be worse...