how to improve the neighborhood

Chocolate Bar established itself in the West Village, migrated for some reason to the East Village, then returned to its rightful place – well, across the street from it, to be exact – and thereby improved the neighborhood twice. Here you should go for anything in the way of chocolate (highly recommended: the spicy hot chocolate), and also all the usual coffees. There’s no crowd, there are only three or four tables, and it can’t get much better than this, so see for yourself…

Café Grumpy

I’ve mentioned this place before, Café Grumpy on West 20th between 7th and 8th. Here you can see dedicated coffee drinkers from all over squeezed between pressed tin and red brick, delicately extricating jammy espresso from plush thimbles. Here you can hear Japanese and Dutch and New York while deciding between a guest-roasted espresso (which changes every so often) and the roastery’s own Heartbreaker. Go for the Heartbreaker. Right now it’s a blend of two Brasils, a Colombian, and an Ethiopian, and it kicks your ass, with a sort of passionfruit smacker in the jowls that makes you wander off wondering where you left whatever you were carrying. Good luck.