I've found I'm pretty much the opposite of a creature of habit: if I try to work in the same location every day, I burn out quickly. I'll bounce between home and my office at school (where the maintenance staff looks at me quizzically, because I'm sometimes the only teacher on the grounds), but I tend to focus best at coffee houses, in part because it's harder to take a siesta in the middle of my work.
So my other plan for the summer is to check out a different Baltimore-area coffee spot every day. I feel strongly about the elements that make a good coffee spot. Coffee itself is one of several considerations. Location, atmosphere, food, and service are all factors. For a limited time, my blog (which generally has no theme, other than the disparate topics that appeal to me) will become a quasi-coffee review blog. I'll write quick blurbs about each spot I visit, and rate them in five categories, each worth five points. I should also stipulate that I'm doing this on my own dime, which means that I won't be exhaustively sampling menus. I'll order coffee and maybe a baked good or a sandwich, I'll sit for a half hour or maybe more, I'll soak in the atmosphere, and that will be that.
The writing didn't get off to the greatest start last week, but the coffee-hunting wasn't bad. Here were the stops I made:
ROGGENART
5722-5724 Falls Rd
Baltimore, MD 21209
Location - It's a convenient spot for me, because it's close to work, but man, the location does this place no favors. Falls Road can get super busy, and there's only parallel parking available, which can be kind of a pain. Also, it's a pretty easy spot to miss. (Accidentally drove by it yesterday.) 3/5
Atmosphere - Gives off a pleasant European vibe, although I'm sure part of that is the presence of a European family (Dutch, maybe?) on the day I visited. The owner is a Serbian who grew up in Austria, I'm told, so I'm sure that's part of it, too. Main floor is pleasant enough, with big windows overlooking Falls. Upstairs (which I almost missed because it's well hidden) was marginally more crowded, with some hipsters writing in spiral notebooks, and reading Kant or something. 5/5
Coffee - A smooth, pleasant cup. 5/5
Food - Roggenart is a bakery with an impressive range of flavored croissants. I just had a plain. Other snacks looked good too, although they looked kind of small in relation to their price. 4/5
Service - Perfectly adequate. Ordering is easy and quick. 5/5
22/25
DOVECOTE CAFE
2501 Madison Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21217
Location - On a lovely residential block near Druid Hill Park. Didn't hurt that I went there on a perfect, 74-degree day. It's the only business on the block. Parking is easy, though I feel that most customers are locals who walked there. 5/5
Atmosphere - Feels like all the folks in the neighborhood gather at this one neighbor's house every morning. Decor inside is funky and mismatched. There are a bunch of Adirondack chairs and tables outside. Funk music soundtrack. (Maybe a touch too loud, or I'm just old.) Interesting, diverse crowd. Maybe 60-40 black-white? 5/5
Coffee - Yum. 5/5
Food - I didn't try anything, but there are a bunch of baked goods underneath glass covers in front. (On my visit, an employee knocked over a platter with a bunch of muffins. So that was messy.) I also noticed they have a pretty large menu, including a "crabby patty." Based on not much, the food gets a 4/5.
Service - Quick and efficient. The staff gets extra points for just looking cool. I think some of them are artists, or at least artsy types. Lots of local art on the walls, much of it African of Black-themed. 5/5
24/25
CUPs
1301 North Broadway
Baltimore, MD 21213
It's really hard to rate this place without some context. Aside from serving coffee, its mission is "creating opportunities for local youth and to building community," which is obviously commendable and almost makes me feel bad about offering criticism. But...
Location - Ok, this isn't an great area, which I know is sort of the point. Still... it's one storefront on a block that is otherwise a ghost town. I love that they're trying, but I'm not sure they can single-handedly make this a desirable location. On the plus side, parking is easy. 2/5
Atmosphere - As far as interior design is concerned, these guys have done a really impressive job. The place is pleasant and homey, and I love the Baltimore mural/sculpture thing on the wall. But both times I've been there, it's been empty. Empty of patrons, and very overstaffed. (I counted seven employees ready to bring me a cup of coffee and a wrap.) Again, God love the staff for putting this place together (the woman who founded the place seems particularly amazing). But the atmosphere reminded me of sitting in a mostly-empty school cafeteria (albeit a nicely decorated one). A bunch of kids were joking around with each other and I just sort of felt out of place. 3/5
Coffee - They serve Zeke's. 5/5
Food - I had a decent curry chicken wrap. Generic, but no complaints. 4/5
Service - Again, hard to judge. The girl behind the counter was charming and clueless. ("Don't forget to ask him XYZ..." her manager had to prompt her at least three times during our 60-second interaction.) The kids are learning. It seems mean to dock them points. But... 3/5
17/25
BALTIMORE COFFEE & TEA
9 West Aylesbury Rd.
Lutherville-Timonium, MD 21093
Location - This place has a bunch of locations, but Timonium is the flagship as well as the location of their coffee roasting plant. BC&T has a lot going for it, but the location does it no favors. It's in a weird, industrial part of Timonium, between York Rd. and light rail tracks. I drove around looking for it for a while, because I assumed I was in the wrong place. The actual store is ugly from the outside; it looks like a warehouse. It's part store-part factory, so I guess the look makes sense. Still, if you happened to walk by (which you almost certainly wouldn't anyway, because who would stroll around here?) it would never occur to you that there's a pleasant cafe inside. 2/5
Atmosphere - There is a pleasant cafe inside, though. On a random Monday afternoon, it was full of happy coffee-drinkers, most of them on the older side. The space doesn't have anything particularly interesting or idiosyncratic to offer, but it's clean and well put together, and as you might expect, it smells fantastic. 4/5
Coffee - Ultimately, the variety of coffee (and tea, if you like that sort of thing) is what sets this place apart from almost any other. There are a million varieties, include weird ones like "s'mores," and "cinnamon sticky bun." I bought a pound of beans, and I'm sure I'll do it again. This is cheating, but: 6/5
Food - I didn't try it, but for a place where food clearly isn't the focus, it has a pretty full menu. Based on nothing in particular: 3/5
Service - A small army of young baristas in BC&T shirts was very capable and attentive. 5/5
20/25 (I doubt I'll be stopping by with papers to grade, but chances are I'll be back when my pound of coffee runs out.)
** Note: This week, I also had a cup of coffee at Grand Grounds, inside Johns Hopkins Hospital. It should by no means be considered a proper coffee house. The place is half Hopkins souvenir shop, and you'd never go there unless you had reason to visit the hospital. Just wanted to let the record show that I went there. And incidentally, the coffee is pretty good. **
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