Chocolate Moose Coffee

Whenever I am in Beckley, West Virginia, I have to stop at Chocolate Moose Coffee. This independent coffee shop is tucked into an unassuming building right off Harper Road, one of the main drags through Beckley. Its friendly moose-head sign has welcomed me on many a frosty December morning on my annual drive home for the holidays.

Kevin, the owner, who lives in a house next door, has run this business in various incarnations since 1989. Chocolate Moose Coffee is just part of this property, also home to Mountain State Miniature Golf and the Outside-In Climbing Gym. In addition to coffee, the spot offers ice cream and smoothies, so it's your haven in both warm weather and cold, whether you prefer caffeine or sugar. 

The interior decor alters in small ways from year to year. This visit, I spent some time admiring the mural on the back wall and poking through the board games. Up in the front of the store is a small fireplace and two chairs. There is also, of course, a stuffed moose head on the wall.

When I stopped by this time, the resident cat, Mr. Feeny, happened to be on the premises, collecting admiring coos and petting from customers. He comes and goes as he pleases. If you're lucky, you'll catch him when you stop by. 

The Chocolate Moose Facebook page, filled with reviews from pleased customers and photos of the tight-knit staff, suggests the shop also hosts the occasional live music event.

The coffee itself is very good, and possibly made even better by the mere fact that you will not likely see another local coffee shop in a 50-mile radius. It's so much better than stopping at the Starbucks at the next travel plaza. I set off for the rest of my long drive extremely happy with my Americano in its jaunty illustrated sleeve.

Coffee: ★★★★ Great, freshly ground coffee that has been consistent in quality in my stops here over the past several years.

Food: ★★ There are a few bagels and muffins to be had, if you look for them, but the real non-coffee treats here are the ice cream and smoothies.

Ambience: ★★★ Appealing enough to stay and sip your coffee, pet the cat, or play a game with a friend.

Service: ★★★★ The owner has always been the one behind the counter when I stop through, and he is always friendly.

Falling Rock Cafe: Fuel for the Upper Peninsula

I was badly in need of caffeine. The day before, I'd flown to Detroit and driven six and a half hours to Munising, Michigan. This town is the southern gateway to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Lake Superior, and summer is their high season for tourism. I needed some fuel before my morning tour boat ride, and had already Googled local coffee shops, so I knew exactly where to find the Falling Rock Cafe and Bookstore.

On the main street of Munising, you can find a spot to park right next to the cafe, underneath its mural of outdoor adventures particular to the U.P. Inside, you'll find a refrigerator case of soda, baked goods and sandwiches, across from the main counter for ordering coffee, food, or ice cream. In the back of this room is a display of local writing and Michigan-themed children's books, as well as the typical souvenirs.

I ordered a breakfast sandwich and a coffee and found a table in the large room adjacent. An assortment of tables make up the center of the room, while walls of books surround them. You can browse everything from vintage titles to maritime history, and the children's section has its own books and toys. At the far end of the room, you can find a small gift shop with pottery, wood crafts and greeting cards.

I wasn't extremely impressed by the drip coffee, which was neither as strong nor as flavorful as I am spoiled to expect in a place like northern Virginia. But it had caffeine, and you get free refills as long as you are staying on the premises. The breakfast sandwich was hot and fresh, not microwaved as you'd find in some coffee shops.

The following morning, I came back for a bagel and cream cheese, and this time, I selected the Michigan Cherry coffee. That one was a winner, and definitely merited a refill. In addition, a young woman at the counter recommended their very rich brownie as one you would need to cover in stages. She was right. It was like eating a fresh no-bake cookie cranked to 11. I took two-thirds of it in the car with me for my drive back, and it lasted another full day.

Coffee: ★★ It's not amazing coffee. But you are in the Upper Peninsula. Suck it up and go out on the lake.

Food: ★★★ A surprisingly large selection and quick table service.

Ambience: ★★★ It's fairly busy, but there are plenty of tables, and you have so many books to look at.

Service: ★★★ The counter staff were as friendly as you could possibly expect in August from people ground down by the seasonal influx of tourists.

Happy Creek Coffee and Tea: Refreshment for Hikers

Happy Creek Coffee and Tea appeared a block off of Front Royal's main historic street a few years ago. That this small street could support two coffee shops and a tea shop is improbable, but it seems to be working. 

Front Royal, Virginia, is a "trail town" about an hour west of Washington, D.C., and adjacent to the north entrance of Shenandoah National Park. It sees a lot of hikers, including Appalachian Trail thru-hikers, as well as locals and D.C. tourists on day trips.

At just about the time I was falling in love with the new phenomenon of pour-over coffee, I discovered Happy Creek. For a couple of years now, it's been a routine to stop there in my sweaty hiking clothes after visiting Shenandoah to take advantage of their wide selection of coffee.

They offer a menu of gluten-free baked goods and smoothies, in addition to their coffee. I'm partial to their large, cinnamon-tinged chocolate chip cookies. You have several whole-bean options from which to choose your pour-over, and be warned that you might be tempted to buy a locally made pottery item from the basket near the register. 

Carrying your order into the seating area, you find a friendly-looking room repurposed from an old barn. Dotted with rustic tables and local art, it's quiet and appealing, the kind of place that's cozy in both the summer and winter. Light shines in from the garage door windows on sunny days, but if it's overcast, the Edison bulbs still illuminate the room with all the exposed filaments a hipster heart could desire.

There is also an eclectic selection of magazines to read, as well as the stack of board games that has become de rigueur for coffeehouses. I browsed a climbing magazine while sipping my coffee, giving thanks that there are people brave enough to scale Half Dome so that I can read their tips for an adventurous life while staying safely on the ground.

Coffee: ★★★★ Consistently excellent pour-overs and cold brews.

Food: ★★★ They offer several tasty items, but they also sell out early.

Ambience: ★★★★ Quiet and homey.

Service: ★★★★ The barista is always friendly, quick, and willing to offer advice on coffee choices.

Cafe du Monde: Classic New Orleans

Everything you've heard is true. Cafe du Monde, nestled near the river in the French Quarter, is an essential item on your to-do list for a trip to New Orleans.

No other spot is quite like it. Besides milk and orange juice, it serves two signature items: the crispy, pillow-shaped pastries known as beignets, and a rich coffee and chicory blend. 

Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the cafe dates to 1862, and its retro French styling is part of its appeal. It's a bustling place, with wait staff veering among the closely set tables, but no one ever seems to drop a tray.

If you go on a nice day during the tourist season, expect to have to wait a few minutes for a table. But it's worth it. When your tray arrives, you'll have a pile of three square, piping-hot doughnuts covered in piles of powdered sugar. The chicory adds a strong, almost licorice flavor to the coffee. I liked it so much, I brought a can to take back home. It's good black, but I recommend the cafe au lait version.

A word to the wise: You're going to go through a lot of napkins with these beignets, and if you wear light-colored clothes, you'll thank me. At least a little of that powdered sugar is guaranteed to end up on them.

On my very first visit to New Orleans, I stopped by Cafe du Monde on an uncharacteristically cold, rainy day. That only made the hot, crisp beignets and strong coffee seem even more miraculously life-giving. As I walked back to my hotel, still eating them from a carry-out bag, I felt as if I had found America's best county fair food in the nation's most elegant old city.

Coffee: ★★★★ Chicory coffee is distinctive and rich.

Food: ★★★★ A plate of beignets, not an apple, is actually what Eve offered Adam. Again, totally worth it.

Ambience: ★★★ Like most of the French Quarter, it's alluring and seasoned, attractively worn around the edges.

Service: ★★★ Waiters are quick to deliver your order, but there isn't a lot of checking in once you've been served.

Swings Coffee: Cuppings for the Ultra-Cool

Swings Coffee used to be closed on Sundays. Going here after church in Del Ray was therefore never an option. But hallelujah, one day it was revealed that Swings had decided to open on Sundays, thus allowing many Alexandria residents access to fabulous coffee on their day of rest. Because in the Washington area, “rest” does not preclude caffeination.

Located in an Art Deco-styled storefront on East Monroe Avenue in Alexandria, which was actually designed in the 1950s, Swings Coffee is everything that a new coffee shop should be: amazing pour-overs, repurposed wood communal tables, vintage light fixtures and a stark industrial feel.

I’m not sure which pour-over I ordered that day, but whatever it was, it had adjectives attached to it that would impress a wine connoisseur. I feel certain that “bright” and “chocolate” were among them. A cup of coffee here is truly an experience for the palate, and I savored it over an issue of Ranger Rick magazine that was on the communal table.

I wish I could give the same praise to the baked goods, but there was a small selection, and the items did not seem to have been baked on site, or even recently. If you need carbs to accompany your caffeine, they are serviceable, but nothing beyond that.

The free cupping is a great reason to go to this establishment. At 10 a.m. on Fridays, Swings shares its process in choosing single-origin coffees and invites visitors to take part in the ritual. You can swirl, smell and taste a series of roasting contenders and try to guess which one made the cut for Swings sales to the public.

Coffee: ★★★★ A pour-over here is a guaranteed experience of subtlety and color.

Food: ★ The baked goods did not seem fresh, and their presence was perfunctory.

Ambience: ★★★ The dream coffee shop for an adaptive-reuse enthusiast or reclaimed-wood-loving hipster.

Service: ★★ Baristas are a bit snooty here. 

Buzz Bakeshop and Battleship

On rainy days, especially those of early January, a coffee shop is a welcome sanctuary. The Buzz Bakeshop on Slaters Lane in Alexandria turned out to be a quiet, cozy spot with surprisingly great coffee.

The perky Buzz logo made it easy to find from the roadway, on the corner of a small shopping center a couple of blocks off the George Washington Parkway and Route 1.

The freshness and display appeal of the many baked goods and savory items they offer made deciding on a late breakfast difficult. My boyfriend and I each chose a piece of their quiche Lorraine, and I added a chocolate chip cookie—my requisite accompaniment to coffee.

While my boyfriend sampled a Cortado, I chose the drip coffee they had brewed that day. It was flavorful and strong, the perfect complement to the cookie and a game of Battleship—the bakery keeps a shelf of travel-sized board games by the counter. Who doesn’t love games that remind them of being eight years old? 

The day we were there, several people were camped out with their laptops at the small tables and at the window-front bar, and a group of ladies was meeting at one end of the communal table, but it still wasn’t so dense with customers that we were unable to find a place to sit.

It was peaceful, yet not so quiet that you were afraid to speak above a whisper. I am not a fan of coffee shops jammed with so many laptop users that no one can actually find a chair, so I was happy.

A children’s area presented several colorful toys, including a pretend stove, possibly for baking imaginary quiche Lorraines. Depending on your taste, the large conglomeration of china plates on the wall is either creative or strange, but as they say in the theater world, “it’s a choice.”

Coffee: ★★★★ Unusually flavorful house-brewed coffee.

Food: ★★★★ Freshly baked, tasty, and there was quite a variety available.

Ambience: ★★★ One part industrial chic, one part cozy.

Service: ★★★ Staff were friendly and put up with my boyfriend’s bad jokes.