The Sensuous Bean. Is that a name or is that a name? This shop sells coffee beans and three types of coffee for your paper to go cup. There’s the Sensuous Blend, and then there are two other flavors, which vary. I’ll tell you right now that those two flavors have been anything from pumpkin to orange in my experience. The flavors are subtle and extraordinary and you will find yourself walking around the Upper West Side with a smile on your face. My favorite thing about the Sensuous Bean – which has been in business 25 years – is that when I go in, they remember me. In fact, the last time I went in, the guy who helped me said “Are you sure last time you got a quarter pound of coconut and a quarter pound of Tip of Andes?” I said yes, but as soon as I left the store, I realized, he was right; it had been a quarter pound of Vienna Roast and a quarter pound of Coconut last time.

Oh and, if you’re reading this and you happen to be the person who swiped my awesome, brown Sensuous Bean t-shirt from the gym, please  give me  a shout out. I want it back…

What? A Pharmacy, you say?? Well this is because, in my very lovely neighborhood we are as deprived as the British of good coffee. At the top of a hill on Fort Washington Avenue (yes, there are hills in New York City if you know where to look), there sits the Hilltop Pharmacy, where I have bought anything from toilet paper to greeting cards to a wooden salad bowl, and yes, a cup of coffee.  The Hilltop brews Green Mountain Coffee, which is quite delicious and reminds me of my days in New England. And you’ll get to check out the very happening (for this area) 187th street, which is home to a small strip of decent restaurants.

The Coffee Pot takes me back to my first year in the City. This is where actors and wannabes meet up to read scenes or memorize lines, or catch up with old friends. You’ll hear “You look GREAT!” “So do you!” a lot at The Pot, so be prepared.  There’s also an alcove where construction workers might come to nap – but no worries, they’re perfectly harmless.  Although management has changed in recent years and they’ve become a bit more corporate-looking, The Coffee Pot still offers great coffee drinks and snacks, all of which you can comfortably refer to as “small” “medium” and “large”.  I used to stop at Petland Discounts a block away with my cup of coffee to check out the baby rabbits, birds, fish and other critters for sale there…until I started buying them. But that’s a different story for another guide!

Where do I begin? I stumbled on Chez Le Chef on my way down to Gramercy Park. Since I was early for an appointment, I decided to get myself a better-than-a-bagel breakfast. I spied a wooden (I think it’s wooden) cutout of a chef with a ridiculous mustache on the sidewalk, and took a quick look at the menu. I would venture inside the very cluttered authentically Euro-feeling bistro for a crepe and a coffee to go.  Well, what I discovered inside was nothing short of amazing; the man who greeted me at the register looked exactly like the cut out on the sidewalk. Chef Frederic asked me what I would like, and after I was able to reconcile in my mind that this man was not a figment of my imagination, I did. He steamed the half and half in my coffee, and I proceeded to a small table by the entrance. Since this is a bistro, best not to insult Le Chef, and stick to coffee and a pastry on the lower level. Worth a trip to Murray Hill just for this place!

Residents who’ve lived in Hell’s Kitchen for a pretty long time know and love Amy’s Bread. Europans are sprouting up all over and they’ll have none of it. As one who has often strolled down ninth avenue over the years, I’ve succumbed to the sweetness of their orange glazed cookies and red velvet cupcakes on many an afternoon. They also brew the kind of coffee that puts Pierce Brosnan hair on your chest, and that’s exactly what I need my coffee to do.  I will say this about Amy’s Bread: I’m not sure if their cashiers rise and shine as early as Amy, but they always seem either tired or just downright angry. In any event, worth the momentary eye-roll for a darn good cup of coffee.

I just get lost every time I go to the Lower East Side. I’m off the grid and, I don’t know…I just feel like I’m in another country. So the Pink Pony has been a familiar beacon in the sea of swanky lounges, lofts, and shabby-chic wanderers time and time again.  Since Starbuck’s isn’t an every-other-block proposition down in the southern tip of Manhattan, locals and visitors alike have many more options. The Pink Pony is a great place to go for coffee and desert or if you feel like coffee and your friend feels like having wine. It’s also bright and well-decorated, which makes me feel more at home. (At least until I get lost again on my way back to the subway.)

If you’re planning on attending The Metropolitan Opera or Symphony Orchestra’s free concerts on the Great Lawn in Central Park, and need a bit of a perk to get you in the right mood for sitting and staying awake and attentive, do yourself a little favor and grab a coffee at The Columbus Cafe. The place is pretty unremarkable otherwise, but the coffee is “wow”.  I’m a big fan of hazelnut coffee, and they have the best hazelnut I’ve ever had, fresh all day long. Their regular coffee is also well above average and beats Starbucks – just a block south – any day.  If you happen to talk to a regular there , an older gentleman by the name of Alan, please tell him Aubree says hello and hopes you haven’t experienced any more alien abductions.