Store of the Day: The Mug Cafe, it's not Starbucks, it's better..

For a long time I have complained about the fact there is no Starbucks in Sunset Park. One was going to come here five years ago or so and then Starbucks went into a recession mode and scrapped it's plans to open one here. Enter The Mug Cafe located on 4th Avenue between 58th and 59th streets. The place offers free internet and is open from 6AM to 10PM Monday through Saturday and Sundays until 4PM. The hours are equivalent to the Starbucks in Bay ridge on 75th street. For a road warrior like me who needs to do stuff on my laptop and access to wifi it fits the bill rather nicely. The price also happens to be right, $1 for a cup of Colombian coffee and reasonably priced pastries to go along with it. AND they also serve pizza. This is no hole in the wall either. The place is nicely laid out and spacious with plenty of tables and outlets to plug your laptop in so you can keep your battery charged while working, just like that "other place". So, if you're looking for an alternative to that "other" place that won't break your wallet and even serves pizza besides the traditional fare, this is the place to go. If we don't patronize our local businesses they won't last. So if you're in the neighborhood I urge you all to try it out. Oh, and did I also mention they make deli sandwiches as well. How cool is that? Try getting a deli sandwich at that "other" place. They also have  joined the cybermall on our website. If you want to check out their menu, by all means drop in and check it out. If you drop in on the place and patronize it, please tell them you saw it here and I sent you..

 

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Openings: Tin Cup Cafe

With the closest Starbucks to Sunset Park being the one in Bay Ridge at 75th street and 3rd Avenue. It's always good news when an alternative opens in the neighborhood. A few years back Starbucks was going to open a location in our neighborhood but due to financial problems it instead closed a few Brooklyn locations and plans to expand here were scrapped. So when I stumbled on the Tin Cup Cafe and the fact they offered free Wi Fi it was rather welcome. On the downside is the fact they close rather early around 7 whereas most Starbucks are open till 10 or thereabouts. That being said the price is right and the location convenient if you need a spot to sit down with your laptop and you need to do some work. They have been open a relatively short time. Part of a wave of new cafes in the Greenwood Heights neck of the Sunset Park woods. They are located at 719 4th Avenue near 24th street. Go check them out and tell them I sent you.

I will be posting on some of the other cafes in the area as well.

Store of the Day: Dragon Bay Bakery

One thing that 8th avenue has a lot of is chinese style coffee shops. In many ways I think they are superior to Starbucks. However, they don't have the much needed wifi that some of us crave. These places are fast moving and it's a get in have your coffee and get out kind of place. Dragon Bay is a a chain and has at least four of these places along 8th Avenue. I am not familiar if they have any others in other chinatowns. They do have some pastries that beat anything Starbucks carries by a mile. My favorites are French Toast, the fillet of Chicken and cream coconut bread. Their coffee is not bad either. This one is located on 8th and 58th. The tables are stainless steel, but if you're thinking of hanging out there while sipping a coffee, this isn't the place. Drop in and give them a try anyway, you may like some of their stuff.


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Store of the Day: Love My Bagels

This is a new feature we are trying. As we run across many interesting places in our travels in the neighborhood we decided to add some of them to the blog. Pictured above is a relatively new Cafe and Bagel place that could give Starbuck's a run for it's money. It doesn't have WI FI at the moment but I bet that if you go in and ask for it maybe the owners will get the hint and install it. Who knows, it could become a new watering hole for those of us with laptops that hate having to go to MacDonald's or trekking over to Starbuck's in Bay Ridge. Drop in and visit them. They are located on 4th Avenue near 58th street. Let's patronize our local businesses.


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A new kind of Bakery in Sunset Park

In what I hope is a new trend in the neighborhood is the opening of La Boulangerie Lopez in the Greenwood Heights section of the neighborhood. Hopefully the concept will spread. We are sadly deficient in good coffee establishments that serve good baked goods and internet as well. The only free wifi zones so far to have opened in the neighborhood are the free service offered by McDonald's and that offered by the Public Library. Though somewhat similar to a Starbucks, something we don't have in our neck of the woods, La Boulangerie boasts fresh baked goods baked right on the premises with a far wider variety than the fare at Starbucks. One thing that is lacking in the neighborhood is wifi access for those of us who are on the road and need to connect while we are out. La boulangerie is I hope the start of a good trend in the neighborhood. While we do have a goodly number of Internet cafe's in the area, especially on 8th Avenue. They do not have wifi access and you must use their computers. Out of luck if you lug a laptop as I do. The baked goods at La Boulangerie and the Cafe varieties should make Starbucks blush. The place already has acquired a rather strong local following and clientele. Perhaps now that some in the southern part of the hood are aware of it, they too will partake of the experience. Support your local businesses and drop by.

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