Muddy Waters back from the dead??!!??

rhodamine

Subject: a lil too trolly for me

putz wrote: ok, but go back, so you have more stories to tell!!!

i like reading the horror stories here, but frankly, i probably speak for most of us when i say i have better things to do than to purposefully seek out drama so i can talk about it online. though i guess i get your point.

if i want drama with my coffee, ill just nudge my sleeping wife at 5am and ask her to make me some :P

putz

i've actually never had any drama. order my coffee, mind my business*, enjoy.

*well, when she first "renovated" a couple of years ago, replacing mixed upholstered furniture with all the metal stuff, i mentioned that i missed the couches - and a couple of weeks later couches appeared!

carnivore

Daveb, what do you think? I read about your love of encounters with the less mentally stable among us on your blog (the thing about how that guy on the train made your day). Does the lady at MW meet your criteria? I know she's not homeless, but...

dailyheights

Hmm... Interesting point by putz. Rude service can be a drag... but overly-chipper Starbucks drones are 100 times more annoying. I'll take "memorable rudeness" over "unbearable politeness" any day.

daveb

Carnivore wrote: Daveb, what do you think? I read about your love of encounters with the less mentally stable among us on your blog (the thing about how that guy on the train made your day). Does the lady at MW meet your criteria? I know she's not homeless, but...

Well, she's more of a bitch than she is crazy, but I do enjoy her. If she was a little bit crazier, like peeing her pants in public or something, I'd be more inclined to spend money there to get some decent camera shots. Bottom line is, I'd rather have her than not, just so i have something to bitch about. The shootings, hit and runs and robberies get a little blah after a while.

anonymous

Subject: Uh no....

I am for the wacky seinfeldian charactor that makes the neighborhood unique and fun, but this chick is just rude. I WANTED muddy waters to be cool, i would have hung out regularly there with its wi-fi and endless amounts of coffee, but the attitude was just too much. It wasn't a friendly joking enviorment. It was just rude and uncomfortable. I get enough attitude in my day with out going to an angry coffee shop.

maybe if she was hot... 8)

bluedove

You know, I went to Muddy Waters several times, and I'm not even sure I ever saw this famed lady...I think we always happened to get staff. But even so, the environment was just...unfriendly. It definitely didn't make me want to hang out, even with the couches and the decent drinks. We'd walk all the way over to Ozzie's on Seventh to get coffee and chat sometimes, just because Muddy Waters felt...uncomfortable. I guess her spirit sort of infused the place. Too bad, because when I moved to the neighborhood I was PSYCHED to see it there.

anonymous

putz you are POTZ

putz

lili wrote: putz you are POTZ

huh? is this good or bad?

anonymous

putz wrote: sorta just being a devil's advocate here, as she has annoyed me too, but...

why can't those of you who have been scared away realize that dealing with crazy people once in a while is part of the pleasure of living in NYC, and embrace this lady in all her glorious freakiness?? we should think of ourselves as lucky to have such a character right in our neighborhood - does it take a role in a seinfeld episode (soup nazi) to appreciate her with some humor? if you want a predictable coffee experience, go to starbucks! better yet, move to japan, where you will get bowed to with every coffee, but may die of boredom. if you want to enjoy the constant suprises NYC offers, go to muddy waters! i am quite serious.

she causes no harm, the coffee isnt that bad, the muffins are great, and the location is perfect - i want muddy waters to stay. and she actually can be quite nice, if you are careful. a couple of times when she hasnt had change, she has happily let me pay next time, even though i'm not there all that often.

This is kind of ridiculous. The woman is not a glorious freak. She is not cool. She is in-your-face insulting and rude. She certainly has not earned any kind of break. The choice is not a simple binary one between Muddy Waters and Starbucks. It's between Muddy Waters, Prospect Perk, Gorilla, Ozzie's, Heights, etc. She loses. I don't really see how she is an asset to the neighborhood at all -- the neighborhood will be truly lucky when she packs her bags and leaves for good. Amen.

anonymous

Subject: cafe con leche to die for

Here's a tip for coffee fans in the neighborhood who have pledged to avoid Muddy Waters or are just too afraid to go in there:

The cafe con leche at the Dominican restaurant (El Jagua...) on the corner of Carlton and Park Place is fabulous!

When I ask for "cafe con leche", the folks there always say, "You mean cappucino?" Which I guess is their sweet way of telling me I can't pronounce even this simple Spanish phrase correctly. But it's the real thing. And the price is right too.

carnivore

Subject: Re: cafe con leche to die for

St Marks wrote: Here's a tip for coffee fans in the neighborhood who have pledged to avoid Muddy Waters or are just too afraid to go in there:

The cafe con leche at the Dominican restaurant (El Jagua...) on the corner of Carlton and Park Place is fabulous!

When I ask for "cafe con leche", the folks there always say, "You mean cappucino?" Which I guess is their sweet way of telling me I can't pronounce even this simple Spanish phrase correctly. But it's the real thing. And the price is right too.

I totally agree (I think I even posted this idea before on a different thread).

daveb

Subject: Re: cafe con leche to die for

St Marks wrote: Here's a tip for coffee fans in the neighborhood who have pledged to avoid Muddy Waters or are just too afraid to go in there:

The cafe con leche at the Dominican restaurant (El Jagua...) on the corner of Carlton and Park Place is fabulous!

When I ask for "cafe con leche", the folks there always say, "You mean cappucino?" Which I guess is their sweet way of telling me I can't pronounce even this simple Spanish phrase correctly. But it's the real thing. And the price is right too.

It's the grittiest, nastiest, grease-caked espresso machine around, but he's right. It's pretty damn tasty.

chippenziedeutch

Subject: Re: cafe con leche to die for

daveb wrote:
It's the grittiest, nastiest, grease-caked espresso machine around, but he's right. It's pretty damn tasty.

I just wish they'd do something about that one air vent that seems solely devoted to their deep fryer. I hate walking around that corner and getting a blast in the face of The Fried Wind....

carnivore

Subject: Re: cafe con leche to die for

chippenziedeutch wrote: I just wish they'd do something about that one air vent that seems solely devoted to their deep fryer. I hate walking around that corner and getting a blast in the face of The Fried Wind....

I love that smell! I sometimes take the Q instead of the 2 just to get to walk by there!

daveb

I suppose it's not so fun for vegetarians, but I find I actually kind of enjoy it.

The mighty, meaty wind...

withachaser

Subject: the greasy gale

i'm a vegetarian

...but i love the meat-wind

secretely, of course.

and, especially

at 730 a.m. on the way back from the gym.

all i need is one deep toke

and i am set for the day.

kinda like when a really hot person/couple leaves the shades open.

ahh, the deliciousness of things we cannot have precisely when we most want them

i suppose i am a voyeur, too.

my dog and my father love the rotisserie and baked chicken. but my dad will eat anything.

bluedove

So Muddy Waters was definitely fully open (with new furniture and everything) this weekend...I went there (glutton for punishment, I suppose). What does the famed owner look like? Is she a thirty-something black lady with a shaved head? That's who served us, and she was perfectly pleasant, but it definitely seemed like it could have been an act (which is fine; god knows I spent many hours smiling through livid rage while working service jobs as a teenager...I'm just wondering if I met the infamous owner or not.)

11238

Oh that was her..... she must have been having a good day....

digital_buffalo

Subject: About Chocolate Monkey

About the Chocolate Monkey - went there a few times when it opened. Originally they were pushing the coffee shop by day/bar and lounge by night bit but I don't think they were doing too well with coffee so it became strictly a bar. The scene really varied. Never had any problems there but didn't feel particularly welcomed either. Their Kareoke nights were good - the local talent was excellent. Was denied entrance one night - they said it was ladies only - some sort of lesbian party. There definitley was a noticeable gay element to the place. Overall it wasn't the kind of bar I really ever got excited about going to. Which is fine. I know people have good things to say about Sepia but I don't find that a place that really calls me either - (though my not going to Sepia has nothing to do with how I've been treated there - which has always been well - it's just not my speed).

roppongi_girl

Subject: Muddy Waters

After solemnly promising myself three years ago that I'd never again set foot into the place, I broke down this afternoon and purchased three small vanilla monkeys from Ntozake--for $14. Self-betrayal on every level (but , mmmm, those monkeys are goood....)

pensodyssey

Subject: Re: cafe con leche to die for

Carnivore wrote: [quote=chippenziedeutch]I just wish they'd do something about that one air vent that seems solely devoted to their deep fryer. I hate walking around that corner and getting a blast in the face of The Fried Wind....

I love that smell! I sometimes take the Q instead of the 2 just to get to walk by there!


Eucch. I feel like I've been through a full body wash of pork fat every time I go past that place.

carnivore

Subject: Re: cafe con leche to die for

pensodyssey wrote: Eucch. I feel like I've been through a full body wash of pork fat every time I go past that place.

That's exactly the appeal.

anonymous

With regard to "accept her wackiness" argument, I would tend to agree IF her coffee was indisputably delicious and a good value. We can all chalk up a cantankerous character as part of the "package" if we love the product. Reading all this feedback, I don't think anyone (except maybe the person who liked the soy latte) loves the product or think it's worth the money.

I lived on Vanderbilt for two years, and my boyfriend's lived on Washington for three -- and I have never gotten anything but overpriced, burnt coffee at MW. If the coffee was good, I'd have been able to look past her quirks. But bad/expensive coffee + nastiness = no reason whatsoever to go there.

I do recommend Shane's on Washington for consistently good, strong (but not overpowering) coffee. It's only $1 and you get free refills if you drink it at the bar. I also think Little Miss Muffin's coffee can be good, and is very cheap.

pensodyssey

Subject: Re: cafe con leche to die for

Carnivore wrote: [quote=pensodyssey]Eucch. I feel like I've been through a full body wash of pork fat every time I go past that place.

That's exactly the appeal.

Hey, I like my meat as much as every other red-blooded American male. Just not applied as a spritzer to my face.

daveb

Hey, I like my meat as much as every other red-blooded American male. Just not applied as a spritzer to my face.

Meat Spritzer: It's not just a drink anymore.

carnivore

Subject: Re: cafe con leche to die for

pensodyssey wrote: [quote=Carnivore][quote=pensodyssey]Eucch. I feel like I've been through a full body wash of pork fat every time I go past that place.

That's exactly the appeal.

Hey, I like my meat as much as every other red-blooded American male. Just not applied as a spritzer to my face.

Just think of all the money you'd save on moisturizer and pomade if you just walked by there each morning...

:P :P :P 8)

flute

I hate to repeat myself, but I just can't help it ...

Meat Spritzer? eww and more eww ... no value judgment here .. but just think of the potential e-coli !!

(yes, I know it was a joke) ....

carnivore

FLUTE wrote: but just think of the potential e-coli !!

I don't think there's any basis for allegations of fecal contamination.

medusa

Carnivore wrote: [quote=FLUTE] but just think of the potential e-coli !!

I don't think there's any basis for allegations of fecal contamination.

Maybe it's the (unwarranted) association with Dad farts.