Welcome back to my Comparative Analysis of food and drink places. This week: coffee, tea, and lox bagels. New Haven is so good at these three things. You will never go hungry and you will never be tired.*
Pros: Both locations automatically recognize Yale wifi, the have delicious and gigantic chocolate chip cookies, and Blue State introduced me to the concept of a “Chaider” (chai latte+cider). Also, as the name implies, politically very woke.
Cons: Um, I don’t really know if this counts as a con, but one location is WAY too close to Silliman and I am always there. I constantly lie to myself that if I get in line 5 minutes before my Spanish class starts, I will make it to Spanish. Despite being thwarted again and again, I persist.
Pros: The weirdest and most variable selection of pastries in New Haven. Want a fruit-filled beignet? They got it. What about a raw flax seed bar? That, too. I just ate one of their seven-layer bars and it blew my mind.
Cons: Really reaching here, but the chairs at the Art Gallery location are TOO SOFT.
Pros: People go on “dates” here. This is because it’s just far enough from campus that it is considered a “cool, alternative” choice. I have never been on a date ever here, but I have heard MANY success stories. They also have something called Honey Lemon Ginger Tea which will cleanse your sinuses and your soul.
Cons: Almost…too warm. Actually, now that I’m writing this, I think Jojo’s is INTENTIONALLY cultivating a sensual ambience because they know they are the date place!!!! Those cheeky folks
The lox at Fussy Coffee!
Pros: Delicious. Amazing. Matcha Latte goes off. A wide variety of foods. Beautiful and massive. Another place I’ve had lox (photo above) and extremely enjoyed it. 10/10
Cons: So far away. Literally Manifest Destiny trying to get out there. I’m on the Oregon Trail, fording streams and taming wild horses. I have never seen a single person I know here, except when my parents came and I saw them. This is a GRAD STUDENT HANG-OUT, which means just being there makes me feel powerful, but you gotta meet new people.
Koffee? (occasionally pronounced “Coffee with a ‘K’)
Pros: Started by a Yale alum, this coffee shop is off the chain. They support local artists and they do a mean banana smoothie and an exquisite (but expensive) lox bagel. Plenty of seating and workspace.
Cons: A barista here once tried to convince me I didn’t know how money worked. Did I do something right before that maybe implied I needed this lesson? Absolutely. Am I still mad about it? Yes.
Pros: Atticus is a bookstore AND a café. Welcome to paradise, hungry bookworms. They also have fresh bread and they make tea so fast.
Cons: Expensive bread.
Pros: Books. Movies. A very good chicken salad sandwich. Expansive outdoor seating. I keep having “meetings” here. If Jojo’s is for dates, Book Trader is for meetings. I had what turned out to be an interview for a secret society here, but I didn’t realize it was an interview. Also, a tea list to rival Jojo’s!
Cons: Expansive outdoor seating is useless in winter.
*this was a lie. You will be tired. Don’t drink coffee to make yourself less tired. Go to sleep. Oh no, now this blog is a letter to myself. Please go to sleep.
