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Where to get great coffee

Linda Perney

September 6, 2006

A cup of coffee with cream, and a croissant served in a traditional cafe.

Asking about where to get the best coffee is a little like asking about where to get the city's best pizza. Everybody's got an opinion. With a nod to our readers, who recommended coffee places from Brooklyn to Staten Island, here are some of our favorite places for a cup of coffee, a pot of tea, and a quick snack.

IN MANHATTAN

Blaue Gans. A terrific bet in Tribeca for a coffee and pastry (till 3 pm), Blaue Gans -- otherwise known as the Blue Goose -- is the closest you come in the neighborhood to an old-fashioned European cafe. (139 Duane Street; 212-571-8880)

Café Sabarsky. Another old-style European place, owned, like Blaue Gans, by Kurt Gutenbrunner -- this one is at the Neue Galerie, at the other end of Manhattan. Go for the Viennese pastries, the coffee, and, uh, the art. (1048 Fifth Avenue, 212-288-0665)

Joe. The capuccino gets raves, not to mention the pastries. (141 Waverly Place, 212-924-6750)

Grey Dog. Great coffee, plus tasty sandwiches. What more do you need in a neighborhood cafe? Oatmeal or French toast for breakfast? They've got it. Burgers and salads at lunch? Got that, too. Now, if they'd just turn the music down. (33 Carmine Street; 212-462-0041)

Caffe Dante. They've been around forever. But that doesn't mean this old-style Village cafe doesn't serve up a fine cup of coffee. The capuccino is the star. (79 Macdougal St reet; 212-982-5275)

Sophie. The Cuban cooking is just fine -- and the price is right. But make sure to get the cafe con leche at this mini-chain. (96 Chambers Street; 212-608-9900. 179 Madison Avenue; 212 679-3500)

Tavalon Tea Bar. Given a propensity to forget things, the "Genius" tea, said to "boost brain activity," might be just the thing. Tavalon is looking to push tea beyond the ladylike-tea-in-the-afternoon-image it tends to be stuck with. So, that's why the've got a DJ and a tea sommelier. Oh, yes. And pastries from Balthazar Bakery. (22 East 14th Street; 212-807-7027)

Tea and Sympathy. This Greenwich Avenue mainstay serves up classic English teas, with finger sandwiches, scones, and cake. You want something more substantial, there are sandwiches, salads and soups, even a touch of the exotic. Scotch eggs, anyone? (108 Greenwich Avenue; 212-989-9735)

IN BROOKLYN

Gorilla Coffee. One of park Slope's dueling cafes. This is the newcomer (or at least the newer one), which serves house-roasted free-trade coffee. The locals love the espresso. (97 Fifth Avenue; 718-230-3244)

Ozzie's. This is the oldtimer, founded in 1993. Good coffee, plus sandwiches and pastry in an uncrowded storefront. (57 Seventh Avenue; 718-398-6695)

The Read Cafe. Fabulous iced coffee, and shelves of books. You can settle in here forever with a sandwich or scone on a rainy afternoon (158 Bedford Avenue; 718-599-3032)