Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Thumbs up to the Boston Cooler!

Kenji, one of the most distinguishing characteristics of Vernor's is also its ability to make people cough immediately upon drinking it. Also, it's no wonder the woman on the telephone couldn't be straight with you. According to a very beautiful mural adjacent Bill Thomas' Halo Burger (downtown Flint) it's plainly explained that Vernors is made by gnomes with wheelbarrows. Case closed.

kdewitt, it's personal choice on your type of dripper but many prefer the ceramic for its durability, looks, and ease of cleaning. Some are squeamish about plastic near their hot water, too, which makes ceramic a natural choice.

As for filters, bleached always taste better (i.e., taste LESS) than the natural, I'm afraid. Go pick up a pack of bleached #4s, jeromesmom--they're thankfully easy to find in any grocery store.

Simon....Soho/Nolita guide is coming. Sit tight!

I don't think there's any question that a neighborhood as well-heeled as the one in question can sustain a lot of fancy coffee shops. But in terms of a cafe attempting to operate at a serious (hi!) level using a consistently high-quality product prepared by professionals who are thoroughly and thoughtfully trained — and I wish this were the case at restaurants but it very rarely is — they are still few and far between.

And I did say *arguably* underserved — and look! You're arguing for the places you like, which is why we come here in the first place.

Pilar serves locally headquartered Kitten Coffee (and has fantastic food), though Nerodoro offered me up one of the worst cups of food-service-truck, pre-ground, sat-in-the-pot coffee I'd tasted in some time.

Scratchbread does business with Cafe Grumpy already, so hopefully that relationship will be reciprocal when their walk-up gets rolling!

I did go Sunday, so rest assured the staff probably does change clothes daily.

Aeropress crosses the East River! Thanks Mike.

Aeropress all the way (for lightness, packability, and heck of great coffee), Hario Ceramic Slim hand grinder (actually fits in the Aeropress pouch) and whole bean coffee. For circumstances like the wilds of Canadian rail travel, or perhaps finding yourself in a national park, you might throw in as small a kettle as you can bear to bring along, and a bottle of supposedly purified water, too. (BTW Meister, this method goes over just as well in Oklahoma as yours.)