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HowardTaftMD t1_jdoikei wrote

First, would love to hear some of your favorite spots with seating!

Second, yeah I agree there's a lot of great spots that have like just the minimum amount of seating and it's not cozy. But there's certainly plenty I love for their ambience and seating as well! For the most part I won't go if the coffee isn't good too, but here's some of the examples that come to mind:

The Coffee Bar on a nice day is so nice outside. La Colombe in Blagden Alley is lovely. Dolcezza at the Hirshorn lacks real people usually because it's a museum (like it's mostly museum goers, not like the romantic version of a coffee patron) but the setting is cool. I think it's Peregrine at Union Market? But that area has a nice vibe. Sweet Science was pretty cool. Compass Coffees 7th st. Roastery location is great.

One place I desperately miss is this little cafe in Chinatown (might have been called Chinatown cafe?) In a skinny brick building that always felt like what I wanted a downtown cafe to feel like. Rip to that shop.

I spend most of my time in VA these days but I definitely love a lot of DC coffee spots.

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Inevitable_Force_822 t1_jdp8379 wrote

It's in Silver Spring, outside DC itself, but my partner and I love Kaldi's. It has a full breakfast menu, so it may be that it gets around the zoning laws mentioned in an earlier post. It does get crowded on weekends, but there is lots of seating, and we go right when it opens and there's plenty of space.

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HowardTaftMD t1_jdqw2wb wrote

Love this rec! I've had kaldis on my list but haven't made it out there. I'll def check it out.

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SeanTheCyclist t1_jdp4rvl wrote

Would love to hear your favorites in VA too!

For coworking I like Tatte, Three Whistles, or most of the Compass locations.

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HowardTaftMD t1_jdqxqul wrote

Thank you! I've never checked out Three Whistles so I'll add it!

Swings in Del Ray is so nice.

Rare Bird is my favorite. I like the vibe, the coffee is amazing, but also as someone who brews a lot at home they have my favorite selection of beans that are roasted light - medium, with very little in that dark/charred range.

I always shout out Cervantes too because it's kind of funky and tucked away. Nothing near it, so if you go it's because you like coffee.

For traditional coffee house vibes Misha's is also really cool.

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SeanTheCyclist t1_jdrns2z wrote

Oh thanks! I spend a lot of time (and money lol) at Rare Bird. Will have to check out Cervantes!

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HowardTaftMD t1_jdsvxwk wrote

Rare Bird is a gem. Sometimes I feel like a broken record hyping it up but I honestly love the beans they source and roasts they do as much as any place I've ever ordered from. They do a really great job and the shop is such a nice local spot.

Report back how you like Cervantes! It's especially great if you enjoy the occasional sweet drink, their rotating sweet lattes are actually usually pretty creative and taste. Also I don't love coldbrew but they have the one of the few cold brews ive ever had and thought was interesting.

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rigtimmins t1_jdp16aw wrote

Barely in the city, but Lost Sock in Takoma is the best. Seating and fresh tomato pie focaccia on Sundays!

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HowardTaftMD t1_jdqxtlv wrote

I've bought beans from them often but never actually made it out there! I'll have to add it as a spot to check out. Thanks for the rec!

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oftenDubious t1_jdqwgaa wrote

I echo the request for your cafe reviews!

Warning about the Wydown, though: last year its outdoor seating had the highest concentration of mosquitos I’ve ever seen. I would sit inside at the window and watch people sit for 30 sec, get 30 bites, and run away. The air was thick and dark with these swarms…

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HowardTaftMD t1_jdqy0vm wrote

I worked somewhere in DC where this was the case too! A guy came out to spray for us and was like "yeah, they breed in those big vents on the ground. Nothing can be done, you just get eaten."

We would just know that every summer we'd be eaten alive.

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violet-shift t1_jdr58dd wrote

> One place I desperately miss is this little cafe in Chinatown (might have been called Chinatown cafe?) In a skinny brick building that always felt like what I wanted a downtown cafe to feel like. Rip to that shop.

I liked that place (and strong agree about the vibes), but I kind of stopped going after 2 or 3 times in a row of them being unexpectedly closed during the middle of the day. It was just too far of a walk to head down there and then have to turn around and come back.

> Sweet Science was pretty cool.

Sweet science now has a new-ish location in NoMA. They still have all the fancy brewing vessels displayed, but I'm not sure if they actually use them ever.

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HowardTaftMD t1_jdsvkcg wrote

Yeah I only stopped in whenever I was in the area, but really appreciated having it there. Just felt cozier that most of the spots in that area.

And lol I've never seen them use them but I dig the desire to serve good coffee so I return occasionally.

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OctoberCaddis t1_jdrplq1 wrote

Yeah, Chinatown Coffee. That was a great spot, used to hit it almost daily when I lived over there.

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HowardTaftMD t1_jdsw3b1 wrote

Yeah was super cool. Might have even been the first spot I went when I moved back to this area.

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