Bogged down with a 15 lb. bag of plaster from Pearl, a shopping bag from Benjamin Lovell, and the uncomfortable need to pee, I skimmed the South St. shops for hope of a finer and friendlier establishment than a local pizza joint to take a load off. No such luck. To make matters worse, South St. on a Saturday afternoon, I should have remembered is bad news: insanely crowded with hipsters. I'll walk back to my car, I thought. Maybe I'll see something on south 4th St.
Past fabric shop after fabric shop (the need to pee kept me from wandering in and browsing paisley and brocade prints), I finally spotted that new little coffee shop I saw earlier. It looks inviting and I can always snag a coffee for the ride home.
I walked inside, out of the cold, and felt immediately relaxed. Only a few folks sat sipping their beverages at tables. The Smiths were playing in the background - hello?
That's surely a sign of a good place - the exposed brick touted local art and best of all? Even the oil polished hardwood floors were spotless. I struggled between ordering a smoothie or a frappe and then decided on the latter since it had been a good many years since I had a frappe. I excused myself to the ladies room which like the rest of the place was spacious and clean. Wow. I went back to the counter, paid for my drink, while chuckling to myself about the low key pirate theme all around (again, a sign?), struck up conversation with a local resident about the fabulous sale at Ben Lovell and sat my tired ass down in a plush 19th century inspired chair.
What's the name of this oasis? It's called Red Hook Coffee & Tea. It's at the corner of 4th and Catherine Streets in Queen Village. Here's a run down of what makes this place kick even more ass:
A fun name and cool use of appropriate props to convey a pirate theme.
Independently owned.
Sell fair-trade organic coffee and espresso.
Use local ingredients and support local bakers and local economy.
Showcase local art talent and have 4th on 4th Street - monthly art openings the fourth Friday of the month.
Terrific affordable selection of food and drinks.
Friendly staff - and customers.
It's off South Street and seems to cater more toward the residents with an occasional weary South St. straggler like myself stumbling in once in a while.
Low key, not super crowded (at least not 30 min. before they closed), one is also likely to find parking in a 2-3 block vicinity - good for a Delco resident like me.
As I mentioned - clean, including a spacious clean bathroom.
Are dog friendly (I saw two cute doggies there during my 15 min. stay).
And I love this - you can rent the space after 6 p.m. for a small fee. I'm telling you, this space is super cute and cool. I would so have a party there.
Can you tell I'm a marketing gal?! Of course I'd have a ball doing marketing work for this establishment.
Red Hook Coffee - my newest discovery and new favorite coffee joint.
Not too much for me to say...not much of a baseball fan but we did take the little fella to a game back in September (dollar dog night!) and I know enough to impress the occasional guy. This is a true team...not one diva...just a hang on the edge of your seat several games (in the cold and rain and in Philly, yes it can do unprecedented things like be suspended). But it's what sports is all about.
