Espresso. Ristretto. Con panna, per favore.

This weekend I was in New York and was there long enough to try out a couple of new espresso bars. I’m obsessed, I know. Above is Ninth Street Espresso’s Tompkins Square location. Very, very good. Except that they looked at me funny when I asked for “con panna”.

Yes. CON PANNA, she said. Drop the arrogance, okay? You skinny, snobby barista. Adding a little whip cream to my doppio does not make the espresso unpure. It does not put me in the class of someone who drinks Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts. It’s not going to ruin your magnificently pulled shots. It’s just another form of adding a little milk and sugar.

And it case you don’t know, they serve it this way in Italy, bitches. YES, THEY DO. At every espresso bar I ever went to while I was there. At the epitome of all espresso bars in the world, even: i.e., Sant’Eustachio, right next to the Pantheon in Rome. If it’s good enough for them, it’s damn well good enough for you, coffee boy. Remember, your little shop wouldn’t even be in existence if it weren’t for the Italians perfecting the art of espresso and making all those beautifully-designed machines. 

So go start stocking whip cream in your hipster fridges and stop looking at me funny when I order mine con panna.

The other place I tried, Third Rail Coffee, is in Greenwich Village, right near Washington Square Park and NYU. This place was sooooo good and the guys were really nice; I talked to them for a while about Seattle, good coffee, New York, and starting your own business (they had just opened two days prior). Anyway, they didn’t have whip cream, either. Maybe they’ll read this post and add some to their fridge, too.