Upper West Side Cafe Crawl

It’s no secret to those that know us that we like to travel. We met while traveling and we tend to prioritize travel over almost everything when it comes to where we spend our money.  So when we found out Tina’s sister was going to be flying into NYC from Doha to sing at Carnegie Hall we couldn’t miss it.  Our first thought was to consult our NYC Coffee Guidebook and map out some spots to hit. 

Now, we were there during Thanksgiving and the weather was clear but oh so freezing well, technically, it was below freezing.  Negative 6 degrees Celsius is not the kind of weather you want to be hoofing around NYC (or anywhere) in.  Which means we didn’t make it to as many cafes as we would have liked, however, we did hunt down a couple near us that were superb and one we stumbled upon on our way to Times Square. 

1: Birch @ 884 9^th Ave

A teeny tiny hole in the wall café serving up a great cortado and mocha (what we had).  I loved the size of this place with just enough room for 4 people to sit and a few more to stand in line for their order.

2: Rex @ 864 10^th Ave

A little bit bigger than a hole in the wall AND it serves breakfast sandwiches.  Rex was just up the ave from us so we frequented this café quite a bit.  Killer flat whites and yummy sandwiches, what’s not to love?

3: Ground Central @ 888 8^th  Ave

This place instantly caught my eye from across the street and even though I was 2 coffees deep already, I had to try it.  Coffee was on point but almost more noteworthy was the coconut donut I had, holy hell, it was 3 things D-LIC-IOUS!

Like I said, we didn’t get a chance to wonder around like we normally would have.  We were traveling with Tina’s family, making that 7 of us to coordinate and make happy.  We walked the highline and ate at some amazing restaurants, (Shout out to, Cha Pa's, Piacere, and Victor's cafe) although I hear the best restaurants are in Queens and the Bronx because Manhattan has ridiculous rent prices – not surprisingly.  We’d love to hear about your favorite coffee spots or restaurants (we love to eat) in NYC, drop a comment below so we can check them out next time we’re in town.