Kopi Kopi

Coffee tends to be a grab-and-go phenomenon here in Manhattan – the coffee break does not generally get its due respect. Here to change that completely, Stumptown’s 8th Street location elevates the coffee shop experience to a level unseen by most caffeine-addicted New Yorkers. I only know this because Jared, a member of the Manhattan Sideways team, is one of them. The double-height ceilings, large windows, and carved wood façade of the corner store actually used to house the historic 8th Street Books. The interior of the building has been meticulously and beautifully renovated to include an enormous wooden bar, coffered ceiling, warm herringbone floors, exposed brick walls and numerous small clusters of tables, chairs and benches. The store is divided between the intimate café area and a brew bar - a coffee exposition/educational space where baristas can engage customers in learning about different methods of making coffee and the various types of coffee beans. The brew bar has at least five different types of machines and manual brewers running at the same time with a lovely, knowledgable staff orchestrating all of it. Stumptown endeavors to build a community out of our many, rushed coffee drinkers, creating a perfect setting for relaxing and reading, or for someone to simply become better educated about coffee.

The Coppola Cafe took over a space previously run by Juice Generation back in 2019. When we popped by on a weekday lunchtime the light, bright store was busy serving sandwiches and coffee. We spoke to Rezi, the coffee shop manager, who told us that Coppola was named after the Italian word for a "cloth cap" as a nod to its Italian heritage (there were a few examples on display near the window). Though the pandemic was tough, Rezi says the cafe survived and business is thriving once again. She notes that The Coppola Cafe is particularly known for the "best espresso in New York City. " When asked where in Italy the espresso beans were from, she responded proudly that "it's from Sicily. "For an authentic taste of Italy in the West Village, The Coppola Cafe is a cozy community staple.

Built in 1900 as a single room occupancy hotel, Marlton Hotel housed many artists who were in search of work in New York City. In 1987, The New School converted the hotel into a dormitory, but it recently opened its doors again returning to its roots as a high-end hotel. In the modern, yet classically elegant lobby is the Marlton Espresso Bar. This hip space serves up Ferndell Coffee (the only New York spot brewing it), considered the oldest known coffee brand in America, dating to 1862. The Espresso Bar also brews a signature raw almond cappuccino crafted from raw almond milk that they make in-house. In addition to coffee, they offer MarieBelle hot chocolate, a New York artisanal chocolatier, and Bellocq Tea, also a New York-based company featuring handcrafted blends. It is not only the hotel guests who are enjoying the new neighborhood addition – multiple rooms and large, sprawling furniture make this place enticing to locals and travelers alike. We visited again and there is no question that word spread rapidly about this establishment on 8th Street. From the small coffee bar set up on the far right, to the lounge area and tables set up in the back where the new Margaux Restaurant spreads itself... there were people scattered everywhere, engaged in conversation and sharing drinks, coffee, or a meal. The Marlton Hotel and all that it encompasses is definitely a place to check out. We headed even further back into the quieter section of the restaurant where we dined with friends and enjoyed brightly colored, crisp vegetables, including watermelon radishes and a mint tahini for dipping. The appetizers that we ordered to share were both inventive and delicious. Grilled artichokes were served upside down, dipped in whipped burrata with pomegranates and mint, and an assortment of quinoa tabouli, kale harissa, smashed sweet potato, avocado hummus and beets were all part of the The Farmers Board that came on a wooden board with buckwheat crackers for dipping. The fresh kale salad with lemon, chilies and pumpkin seeds was exactly what I craved, wanting to keep my meal simple and light. Others tried the mushroom risotto, a hamburger, and the scallops. Each entree was well-received and then we shared one dessert that was certainly rich enough for the four of us: the chocolate budino with chocolate crumble, olive oil, and sea salt was beyond decadent.

Reed Adelson, owner of the American restaurant Virginia’s, was trained by the best in the industry. He learned about wine at Bern’s Steak House in Tampa, interned at Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago, then returned to his Manhattan roots to work under Jean-Georges to open the Mark Hotel, and finally worked at Locanda Verde. Riding in a car with industry legends Daniel Boulud and Thomas Keller, he was presented with the answer to his doubts about working in the restaurant business, "If this is what you’re passionate about, there is nothing else you can do. It’s more of a vocation than a job choice. "Reed brought all of this expertise to open his first restaurant in 2015. Named for his mom, Virginia’s has become known for its burger, with bone marrow aioli, cabot cheddar, and house-made pickles, but there are more sophisticated dishes that deserve equal praise including the wild king salmon with red cabbage slaw and golden beet puree. Reed focuses on consistency for his menu, with a few seasonal dishes, such as the corn ravioli with fontina cheese and crispy shallots. With his eye on the future, Reed is contemplating moving a little closer to the city’s center, while admitting, "there’s something romantic about the side streets. "

Kenkeleba Garden, named for an African healing plant, is simply magical. We followed the densely forested greenery around to the back, arriving at a clearing that transported us to another world far from the hustle and bustle of Manhattan. We were completely surprised when we landed in front of the sculpture garden, which is only visible from 3rd Street. From large African sculptures to collections of scraps or bricolage, a specialty of the Lower East Side art scene, we could not help but linger before doubling back and re-emerging onto the concrete sidewalks of 2nd Street. It was not until many months later, when we had the pleasure of meeting Joe Overstreet and his wife, Corinne Jennings, that we learned that this is affiliated with their gallery next door, Kenkeleba House. It is their life-long dream to someday use these grounds to build a museum that would house their massive collection of African-American art. It has an entrance on both 2nd Street and 3rd,

Book Club isn’t just for the suburbs anymore — as a new bookshop, bar and coffeehouse gives East Village denizens and beyond a new place to pore over and pour over their favorite reads. Married proprietors Erin Neary and Nat Esten, East Village residents themselves, had longed for an independent bookstore to serve the Alphabet City area, they told the Manhattan Sideways team when we popped in to see dozens of happy customers enjoying a read and a latte one sunny Friday morning. “We always thought that the neighborhood needed another bookstore, ” said Erin, “and we also kept wondering, ‘Wouldn't it be so cool if you could drink wine while you were shopping for books? ’” They decided not only to open a bookstore and bar, but to additionally add in the day-to-night-element of coffee into the mix. While both Erin and Nat had worked in hospitality before, bookselling was new to them. “I started doing research in 2017 and worked with the American Booksellers Association’s consulting program to help new bookstores get off the ground, ” said Erin. “I met with them as well as other bar owners and bookstore owners in the neighborhood and did as much research as I could without actually doing it. ” The duo launched Book Club in November 2019, enjoying an enthusiastic community reception until COVID-19 forced them to pivot. “Nate started doing bike deliveries — as many as 20 miles a day! ” Erin told us. “He’d go out to Harlem to drop off books and then all the way out to Bushwick — so a lot of people learned about the store that way. ”Once they were able to reopen to the public, Book Club forged full steam ahead in engaging the community in “book club”-esque events — from author talks to poetry readings to creative writing workshops, with additional unique offerings like an adult spelling bee and a “drink and draw” sketching class. They’ve also recently received their full liquor license, and plan to roll out literary-themed cocktails like an In Cold Bloody Mary or the Murder on the Orient Espresso Martini, Erin told us. More than anything, she added, she enjoyed having customers back in the store to guide them toward their next favorite book. “Our staff are not just really good baristas, but they’re avid readers as well. So between myself and the rest of the team, we have a really good handle on the books here — it’s fun to be able to curate not just what we stock, but to get the right book into someone’s hands. ”