I have drank coffee there twice, and was not impressed. Too many questions, too much attitude, too pricey for the taste of the stuff. I felt like I was shopping at a snotty store where the clerks are approving/disapproving of your purchase. Just - give me a coffee a'ready!
I like local coffeeshops; and I also try to buy Canadian if I can. (Mainly I just avoid Wal-marts and the like). Tim Horton's is an absolute obsession in this city, and their coffee is good tasting and a good price. Nice casual atmosphere and friends will agree to meet there. I've waited in a car in the winter for a long time for TH, no problem.
I love coffee and will try it anywhere. There is a little restaurant here, attached to a horrble hotel, which serves fried foods. Very limited menu, cheap prices, and simple table-and-chairs atmosphere. The price of coffee is close to 4.00 for a standard brown diner cup - no refills! - but my god, it is good!! The owner has a special passion for coffee, and once I started oohhing and aaahing and asking questions -well, he was happy to have a pair of ears and to show me his special beans. The restaurant was redeemed in my eyes.
Also, you can get good Italian coffee here. Lots of choice, so why in the world would I choose Starpuke's?
the Greek coffee cup sprang out of nowhere and into every deli, diner, streetwagon and doughnut shop throughout the five boroughs. If you bought coffee to go, it came in a greekcup. It just did. It is rumored that the first episode of NYPD BLUE was re-shot when a sharpeyed pre-release reviewer noted that the cops drinking coffee out of something beside the ironically iconic blue and white containers.
