Hipper than thou: La Colombe, Philly
Posted by Alicia de los Reyes on A Nice Cuppa.
There are lots of coffee shops to make you feel trendy, cool, indie, underground, and otherwise hip. Maybe they have murals on the walls, or local art, or freakishly named coffee flavors. Maybe they do that thing with the steamed milk to make their cappucinos swirly. La Colombe achieves the ultimate in hipness by doing something entirely different; they serve good coffee.
The shop itself is sleek and happenin’. It’s the right size to meet with two or a few people. It leans toward the Eastern European in atmosphere; communal tables are an option. But the best part of the store is its distinctly classy coffee counter. Two or three people stand behind the counter ready to offer you the basics: coffee, cappucino, latte. And there is no glass cooler full of bright and funky pastries–instead, there are, once again, the basics: pain au chocolate, croissant.
You will not be dissappointed with anything you order. Their coffee is excellently brewed–strong, but not too strong, and flavorful without being overpowering. They want you to enjoy your croissant, not use it as a mop for the caffeine coursing through your bloodstream. And enjoy it you will. Their pastry, like their coffee, is simply done right. It doesn’t try to be a double expresso fudge brownie, and you wouldn’t be any happier if it had.
La Colombe is certainly aware of its coolness. The people behind the counter are liable to bark at you if you get on the wrong end of the line. But they will then pass you a mug and plate of delicious something to make you forget their haughtiness. And as you sit sipping and nibbling, you might begin to feel a bit haughty yourself–you’re not in Starbucks, anymore, Dorothy.
