NYC v. Austin #1: Coffee

This is our fifth month in Austin. We both miss NYC, me more so, but we both prefer Austin. I am constantly bugging Sofia with “oh, I miss Brooklyn” because of this and because of that. Most of that is probably just reminiscing or the whole grass is always greener thing. Because of this I thought a series comparing the two cities would be apt. In this first episode we will explore one of our favorite things: Coffee.

First off let me say I love coffee, good coffee. I tolerate bad coffee. I don't really enjoy Starbucks, will drink it if it's the only thing available, but would much rather throw my money down some other hole. I don't drink lattes, cappuccinos (well sometimes, rarely though), frappucinotype drinks, etc. My coffee of choice is black American style coffee. I also drink espresso and americanos (espresso with hot water) occasionally. I don't really do the whole coffee-shoppe thing, probably because I am married (Although I used to work for Barnie’s Coffee and Tea in the West Oaks Mall, RIP). Though, upon moving here to Austin we would visit several around the neighborhood to use free WiFi.

New York:
You couldn’t drink coffee on the subway, well you could but it is really annoying when you’re carrying a bag and messing about with your ipod. During the summer coffee would just make you sweat more and during the winter it was just to cumbersome with your ten layers and aforementioned items. Plus, many times the F train was packed to the gills, making it difficult to sip some sweet java. My first few months in NYC I would try to take coffee, but soon learned it was a bad idea.

The coffee is not good in NY, but it's cheap. You can find good coffee, but near my work...forget about it. In our office we had a little newsstand that always had hot coffee for under a buck. It was disgusting, but it worked.

The coffee we brewed at the apt was the bomb from Porto Rico, a micro chain in NYC.

Austin:
Commuting with coffee here is a breeze. One, you bring your own home brewed coffee in your own travel mug. Two, that travel mug fits perfectly in your car’s cup holder.

No good coffee really, of course there are exceptions. You can find fairly cheap coffee as well, but it is not usually within walking distance.

The coffee we brew at the apt is the bomb from Andersons, a local roaster here in Austin. I love going to Andersons to restock.

THE WINNER:
Austin, by a hair. Both places are not stellar for coffee, except what’s brewing at home. Austin wins on the commuting issue.


Sidenote:
Why is coffee so good in Italy? Seriously. On our trip we had cofee in the morning in Annecy, France and later in the evening in Bergamo, Italy. France, ok coffee, slightly better than good stuff you can get here. But Italy, the stuff will blow you away. It really is amazing. I may seem to be exaggerating and playing upon the whole Italian Coffee stereotype, but it's no lie. Leaving Italy and going back into France and Spain, we were so sad because the coffee was like dirty water after our week in Italy. Oh yeah, also, even the coffee you get from the train station coffee vending machines in Italy is better than any coffee you can get here or anywhere else I've been.