Best Cafes And Coffeehouses In America: A Random City Guide

I like to create lists of useful food-related information. Foodies will surely want to consult my list of America's Best Restaurants before hitting the road.  So here, as a result of mildly exhaustive research, is my fully un-guaranteed but still incredibly useful list of some great (or really good) American coffeeshops.  I haven't been to almost any of these places, but hey - neither have you - and I'm certain that you'll have a better experience here than in your hotel lobby.  Look.  I'm pretty darn good at this sort of aggregation...so I suspect that most of these shops will actually be mighty fine!   I am stone certain there are other superb cafes I've missed and  I encourage alternative suggestions in the comments.

I've excluded the solid national chains - Starbucks, Peets, and the like - on the theory that you oughta be able to figure those out for yourself.  I've included a few local chains.  And I've tried to emphasize cities where good coffee is likely to be a bit more obscure.  After all, if you want good coffee in Seattle or San Francicso...GO OUTSIDE! 

The list (updated with help from commenters) is after the jump...

Akron - Nervous Dog Coffee Bar

Atlanta - Joe's East Atlanta Coffee Shop

Baltimore - 'Spro Coffee

Birmingham - Lucy's Coffee and Tea and (debatably) O'Henry's

Boston - True Grounds

Charlotte - Jackson's Java

Chicago - Metropolis Coffee Company and Bourgeois Pig Cafe

Cleveland - Phoenix Coffee (a local chain)

Dallas - Opening Bell and Murray Street Coffee Shop

Iowa City - Java House

Kansas City - Broadway Cafe and Roastery

Milwaukee - Alterra Coffee

Philadelphia - La Colombe and The Flying Saucer (plus High Point Cafe, home of unbelievably delicious scones)

Phoenix - Copper Star Coffee

Pittsburgh - 21st Street Coffee and Tea and Enrico's Tazza D'Oro plus Mike Madison's fave,  Aldo Coffee

Sacramento - Temple Fine Coffee and Tea but also Miriam's choices of Tupelo and Old Soul

Salt Lake City - Cocoa Cafe and Salt Lake Roasting Company

San Diego - Rebecca's

St. Louis - Northwest Coffee Roasting Co.

Comments

[Alfred]

Hey, hey, hey, this is the faculty lounge. What about the best coffee shops in College towns? Where's your list of the best coffee shops in Chapel Hill, Madison, Bloomington, Athens, Tuscaloosa, Gainesville, Norman, Cambridge, Charlottesville, Ann Arbor, and Berkeley .... Heck, I might even want to know the best coffee shop in New Haven.

[Mike Madison]

Here in Pittsburgh, Al, we do think of ourselves as a college town. ;-) Meanwhile, the next time you're visiting our end of the Commonwealth, Dan, I'll buy you a cup at Aldo Coffee, which is in fact the best coffee in these parts. 21st Street and Tazza d'Oro are friendly rivals.

[Miriam A. Cherry]

Dan,
Birmingham - has it been so long that you have forsaken good old O'Henry's in downtown homewood? Sacrilege!
Also, Sacramentans (or at least this Sacramentan) would choose Tupelo, Naked Coffee, and Old Soul.
Cheers,
Miriam

[William Myhill]

Ahh, I long for the Java House in Iowa City, truly a wonderful law school, college town, and coffee house where they'll brew every cup you drink individually, just for you. Visit:
http://www.thejavahouse.com/

[Matt Lister]

In Philadelphia you should at the High Point Cafe in Mt. Airy. It's on the corner of Greene St. and Carpenter Lane in the Mt. Airy neighborhood, across from the Weaver's Way Co-op. It has _the best_ coffee I've ever had (even better than La Colombe, I think) and some of the very best pastries, crepes, quiche, etc. I've ever had. It's worth the trip to Mt. Airy. The staff, lead by the owner, Meg, are also great- experts but w/o being obnoxious.

On La Colombe, it is very good coffee, but to my mind the one in center city is better than the one in Manayunk, but I don't know why. The coffee just tastes better- maybe it's the water or the people making it, but the center city one is better.

[Leslie Friedman]

In Philadelphia I would also recommend to folks the Green Line Cafe (actually, cafes, since there are now three of them). Independently owned, serving delicious organic fair trade certified coffees and buying most of their other goods locally. Check out their webpage at: http://www.greenlinecafe.com/

[Jeff Yates]

To help on answering Alfred's question on college towns, I can add two:

Athens, GA = Jittery Joe's

Ithaca, NY = Gimmee Coffee

[Bill Burge]

Kaldi's in St. Louis is overwhelmingly better than Northwest. There are many shops better than NW.

[Ann Bartow]

In Columbia, South Carolina it's "Cool Beans," at 1217 College St, although "Immaculate Consumption" at 933 Main St is pretty good too, and somewhat closer to the law school!

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