Last Wednesday was one of those days when I knew no matter how hard I worked I was not leaving the office until late, so what did I do with my busy afternoon? In true Manhattan Roasts style, I took 45 minutes out of the middle of the day and walked down to Grand Central to stop by Joe The Art of Coffee to get an espresso. When I got there and asked the barista if they make their shots ristretto I was not the least bit surprised when she looked back at me evincing a state of confusion. I’ve seen this many a time, and every one of those times I have had to explain to / plead with the barista “Please just make me two shots, but only pull half as much water through each.” It usually comes out okay, though invariably scorching hot and usually still a little bitter.
This time, however, the look was for a different reason. The barista was standing there with this look of confusion on her face thinking “Who is this joker? Of COURSE we make our shots ristretto!” Very refreshing. And very delicious!
Read the rest of this review after the jump.
The Coffee: Joe’s espresso was very tasty though just a little bit bitter. It was a thick double espresso pulled ristretto, which counteracted some of the bean’s bitterness by making the shot nice and sweet.* On top of the espresso was a thick delicious crema that made any defect in the liquid just melt away.
I also had a latte at Joe, which was meticulously constructed, beautiful, and very sweet. I only wish it had been a large so I could enjoy it for my whole walk back to the office after finishing the espresso.
The Atmosphere: Not much to say about this one. The shop in Grand Central is just a small walk-up shop, but it does have a standing bar area off to the side where you can enjoy a coffee or espresso in porcelain.
* Ristretto means that although it may be 2 shots, each shot is pulled very short so as to only extract the sweetest, least bitter parts of the coffee.
Wonderful, ristretto is the only way to go. Although recently, I have been going “cortado” (espresso con letche, like the French, noisette). Takes the edge off… I am sure when life takes a turn for the hectic hills, I will skip milk and revel in the delight tartness of straight-up espresso.