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DC Coffee Shops: Peregrine Espresso

Part of the Coffee Adventure, where I review area coffee shops based on totally random factors while I study for the bar.

Food & Drink. Typically I've started my reviews with "location" and while Peregrine's location is quite nice, the coffee is where it's at. Since I started my coffee shop tour, I've been to Peregrine Espresso twice. But I'd been there one other time. During my holiday break after fall exams Mr. Moggie and I spent a day wandering around the city. It was one of those unseasonably warm December days, and we started the morning in Eastern Market. We popped into Peregrine for some coffee. I ordered a vanilla latte but then got distracted by cute t-shirts and bacon chocolate. Yes, bacon chocolate. I'd heard the coffee at Peregrine was serious; Counter Culture is their roaster, I think I read that the owners had been affiliated with Murky Coffee, and I knew that they didn't stock traditional coffee syrups. The only flavor they'd add to a drink was a vanilla syrup they'd infused themselves. I'd say that's pretty serious. But, like I said, there were t-shirts. So when I took that first sip of vanilla latte while looking for a cute tee in my size, I wasn't really paying attention. Until the coffee hit my mouth. And blew my mind. Hands down, it was the best coffee drink I'd ever had. Fast forward several months and I still remembered thinking the coffee was the best ever, but couldn't exactly remember the taste. That's a tough situation because my expectations were really high, but I was worried they were unrealistic. Not to worry. My second vanilla latte from Peregrine (this one iced), following the first by about 7 months, did not disappoint. The third time I visited Mr. Moggie and I shared a large, tasty cinnamon bun. Peregrine gets their offered food (predominantly sweets) from a few different area bakeries. But you won't care. Because you will drink their coffee and it will change your life.

Location: Peregrine is in the old Murky Coffee space in Eastern Market. It is mere steps from the Eastern Market Metro stop and if you are there for the market, you will walk right by Peregrine. Except, after reading the above review of the coffee, you will not walk by. You will walk in and buy a coffee. And a t shirt. It's a wonderful neighborhood. I've found some great finds at the Market. Like my favorite winter hat. And the pearls I wore in my wedding. And the cute handmade bags I gave as bridesmaid's gifts. Another favorite in the neighborhood is Capitol Hill Books. On our wander-y winter day, Mr. Moggie and I spent hours in the used book store. I was looking for cool old map books; he was looking for cool old cookbooks. The Market Lunch in the market building is perfect for a greasy breakfast. And I hear someone sells old letterpress type in the neighborhood, but it's still a mystery to me.

Decor and Seating: When I was at Peregrine the Friday of the Independence Day holiday weekend, I sat at the back counter and worked on some multiple choice questions and flash cards. The seat was comfy, and others around me were having friendly conversations or working from their laptops. The shop was bustling but lots of people just stopped in for coffee to go. I was totally comfortable spending a couple hours studying away while sipping coffee and eating pastries. The next time I visited, I sat at a table near the front window. I longed to be outside since it was a beautiful day (and Peregrine has outdoor seating), but I knew I wouldn't get any studying done out there, so I just enjoyed the view. I used my laptop to work on some outlines for studying and monitored my email with the free wifi. It's a pretty good place to study. I'd shy away from taking up a table for too long on the weekend since it seems pretty busy, but on a quiet week day, it seemed fine. It can get a little chilly, so bring an extra layer if you plan to stay for a bit.

Music: Anecdote - I've been listening to Passion Pit a lot lately. After I'd been studying at Peregrine for a while, I got it in my head that I had to hear PP's Seaweed Song RIGHT THEN. So I pulled out my earbuds to listen to it on my computer, but before I had a chance to set it up, the song came on over the speakers in the shop. Not kidding. It was perfect.  So yeah, the music is good, if not a little eery.

One more story: One day last spring, I wore my Peregrine Espresso shirt to class. After class I walked over to Murky Coffee* for some evening studying. I'd forgotten what I was wearing until the barista chided me for wearing the Peregrine shirt to a different coffee shop. I think he was kidding but he had an awfully convincing poker face and I offered feebly, "I can zip up my hoodie if you'll let me stay."
 
Overall: Go to Peregrine and drink coffee. It will be awesome.

* The Murky folks appear to be opening up a new shop called Chinatown Coffee Company in mere days. I'm pretty excited to check it out! You should be, too.

DC Coffee Shops: Baked & Wired

To continue my DC coffee shop reviews, here's how I feel about Baked & Wired.

Location: B & W is on Thomas Jefferson Street in Georgetown, near Barnes & Noble and Snap (where to get your crepe and bubble tea fix). It's a perfect stop off the beaten path during a shopping day. And it's not far from Paper Source, so I love the excuse to stock up on pretty paper after a cupcake break.

Food and Drink. Cupcakes! Cupcakes! Cupcakes! That's what this place does well. And also coffee. I've been there twice in the last couple weeks, and both times I've eaten a Pretty Bitchin' cupcake. That's what the chocolate cake/peanut butter icing cupcakes are called. DELICIOUS! The cake is moist and springy, the icing tasty and flavorful without being overly sweet. And it's the perfect companion for my signature drink, the iced vanilla latte.  B&W is a place that takes pride in the brew it serves, for sure. Last time I was there, I ordered my latte from a barista-in-training. When I went over to the next room to pay (cupcakes and cashier on one side, coffee on the other), the cashier (manager? baker?) urged me to taste the coffee and give immediate feedback. He wanted to make sure the training coffee was as good as the shop's usual. And it was! I used to work in an office building across the street from B&W, and I'm sad that I didn't appreciate coffee back then, or know the cupcake wonders this place held/holds.

Decor and Seating: The shop is sunny and bakery-cute. Cupcakes and other treats are displayed in glass cake stands and everything is clean, shiny, and bright. They sell coffee beans for home brewing and also pet treats. There are two sitting rooms, one with couches and lounge chairs, the other with a counter, a large table, and a shelf with stools. The first time I visited, my friend and I stayed for a few hours and felt pretty comfortable, but judging from signs I saw there more recently, they'd prefer for guests to sit and sip and eat their sweets and then move on. Which is what I did yesterday. I sat and studied while I ate my cupcake and drank my latte...and then moved on to a new study spot. Bonus: Cute pink bike out front. Bonus bonus: chalk board outside always has something fun.

Music: I heard an awful lot of Michael Jackson music there a couple weeks ago, which doesn't say anything about this particular establishment since I've been hearing MJ tunes everywhere lately! Another time, I think they had some NPR music show (as opposed to talk radio) on, but I was pretty engrossed in whatever I was studying so I can't really be sure. Bottom line: The music isn't offensive, but it didn't stand out. It's all about the cupcakes; who can be bothered with music?!?

Overall: Cupcakes. eat them. love them. enjoy the delicious coffee. and then move along and go get yourself a pretty dress a few blocks away at Anthropologie. Or a sweet tank top from American Apparel across the street.

DC Coffee Shops: Big Bear Cafe

Big Bear Cafe in Bloomingdale.

As part of the Coffee Adventure, on Sunday Mr. Moggie and I visited Big Bear Cafe in Bloomingdale. I felt instantly comfortable when I walked in the door. In fact, this is from my Twitter: checking out big bear cafe...it's only been 2 minutes, but i kind of love it here.

Here's a rundown of some of the shop's features:

Location: 1st and R Streets, NW in the Bloomingdale neighborhood, east of Shaw. We hadn't really ventured out there much before. There's not a whole lot out there except for lots of cute townhouses. We took Metro to Shaw and it was a 6-block walk. Apparently there's a farmers market on the same corner every Sunday morning. The neighborhood boasts lots of community spirit, but there weren't a whole lot of people out and about for a nice Sunday afternoon. We did see a few folks out walking their dogs on our way back to Metro later in the evening.

Decor and seating: We chose the large table in the middle of the exposed-brick-walled shop that felt like a living room. Several smaller tables lined the perimeter of the room along with a couple of vintage chairs and a comfy-looking couch. Big Bear also has outdoor seating and stools along the counter. There were tons of windows and the doors were wide open. I love ceiling fans and there were several sending a cool breeze throughout the shop. It was easy to spread out and work at the table, which is always great for a Sunday afternoon at a coffee shop. Almost everyone there had a laptop; there was free wifi. Did I mention the ceiling fans? Bliss.

Food and Drink: I had a vanilla latte, my standard coffee drink. I got it iced. It was delicious. Big Bear serves counter culture coffee. The espresso was incredibly tasty and there was no evidence of burnt beans. The vanilla flavor was subtle and not overly sweet. I'm pretty picky about my dairy products, and the milk held up to my standards. All the milk at Big Bear comes from Trickling Springs. We didn't try any of the food, but I'll certainly be back to taste the sandwiches and salads. I have high expectations since the coffee was so good and the owner seems to take similar care with choosing ingredients and preparing food, sourcing the kitchen from the Big Bear Garden, local bakeries, and local farms.

A blurry photo of my delicious iced vanilla latte.

Music: The music was loud. I can't say if it's always like that, but I can say that for the most part the selection was good. They played some new takes on the oldies while we were there, as well as some really enjoyable tunes. I wish I could say more about the music, but I didn't recognize a lot of it; I just liked it. I see this as valuable since if I spend enough time there, I might discover some new bands. If you're looking for a place to study and need absolute quiet, this is not the place for you; I like loud music to drown out other distractions so I was pretty content to study while tapping my foot to the music at Big Bear.

Closing time: This is the only factor I saw as a downside. The shop closes at 6pm every night. I'm pretty productive in the evening to nighttime hours so I like it when coffee shops are open until 9 or 10. However, I think the neighborhood borders on the unsafe after dark, so perhaps the early closing time is for the best.

I am definitely going back. In fact, I think I'd be content to stop my search for the perfect coffee shop here. However, that would be unfair to the other contenders. And how amazing would it be if shop after shop kept blowing my mind?

I leave you with this from the Big Bear website:
Regarding not stocking Splenda [I only noticed honey and raw sugar as sweeteners] - our milk is sweet, and our coffee isn't bitter, so give it a try without the sugar!

Mr. Moggie reading at Big Bear, researching for our trip to Provence in August.

A coffee adventure

I was totally inspired by Elise's Adventure last week. I've fallen behind in my studies for the bar exam and part of the reason is that I've found it hard to get some good study time in on the weekends. With my beloved Murky Coffee closed and my general distaste for the library at my law school on weekends, it's been difficult to sit for many hours and get lots of work done. Both study spots were/are within a few blocks of my apartment.

For the last few years, I've kept a growing list of area coffee shops I've wanted to try. They are scattered in different neighborhoods throughout the city (and surrounding areas) but the one thing they all share is that people in the know report that the best coffee is served at them. With the need for a new study spot, I've got more reason to give them all a try.

For the next few weeks I'll be visiting area coffee shops and reporting back on the blog. I'll definitely write about the quality of the coffee, the availability of work space and free wireless, and the volume and type of music played. I may discuss other factors as they strike me from shop to shop. For example, today I went to Big Bear Cafe, and realized that all good coffee shops should have ceiling fans.

I'll also record my thoughts about the coffee shops in this neat little book I created this weekend. The paper is all from Paper Source - from their in-store 12x12 selection. I cut the sheets down to 10x12 so the pages are 6x10. Then I used some 5x9 cutouts to cover up the white backside of the paper. This the first time I tried sewing a binding. It worked quite nicely, but I covered it up with some tape to be sure. On the outside, I used random strips of a variety of Happy Tape I had on hand and for the middle pages I used a strip of packing tape from Tape Swell. Decorative tape has quickly become one of my favorite products to have at my desk. If you're into that sort of thing, it's definitely worth the purchase - it's inexpensive and super versatile.

I'll post my (glowing) review of Big Bear Cafe tomorrow.