OC loves its cuppa coffee, and we'll always have a soft spot for our neighbors (anywhere in the world, from the streets of downtown NYC to Tokyo). So the recently opened Noho coffee shop Gasoline Alley, which calls home the oddly-shaped triangular block where Bleecker Street meets Lafayette, seemed 100% appropriate for our latest "Coffee Chronicles" installment.
I chatted with English co-owner and coffee connoisseur Nick Carnevale, who spent a number of years in corporate fashion before ditching it in favor of taking it slow and opening a meticulously designed and curated coffee spot. With its exposed brick, wooden beams, and cycling paraphernalia (like the "Carnevale" vintage bike behind the register––a lucky vintage find that happens to be emblazoned with Nick's last name) as nod to the sport that he and co-owner Neville Ross are passionate about, the airy space is an inviting place to sip your cap' at any time of day. You also can't really beat their menu of really, really, ridiculously good-looking cookies and pastries from Bomb Eyed Bickies, Baking Soda, Ceci Cela, and Dough (though you need to grab 'em before they disappear because they sell out quick!), and––curveball––their fizzy Brooklyn Kombucha on tap.
How do you take your coffee?
I mix it up. At home I do a lot more pour over drip coffee, where you're literally grinding and brewing just for the individual cup. But my go-to is probably a shot of espresso.
When did you first start drinking coffee?
I remember drinking espresso with milk as a three- or four-year-old in Italy; you have it on your cereal. That's breakfast for a child in Italy.
The writer Balzac was so addicted to caffeine that he got to the point of eating straight up coffee grounds. Would you call yourself coffee addict?
Not at all. I like the buzz of coffee, but I certainly don't rely on it. I enjoy the taste, so I don't need it just to keep me going, though I like to appreciate a cup in the morning or afternoon.
Why "Gasoline Alley"?
In the early 70s, these four street blocks housed a number of tire shops and mechanic stations. It used to be referred to as Gasoline Alley. When we heard this from the landlord, we thought, finally! It was the perfect name.
Where do you source your coffee?
We work with Intelligentsia, and they transport coffee by road to us two times a week. We spent a lot of time speaking with the business owners here in New York about what was important to us: quality and consistency. But what really stood out for me was how many people they've actually got on the ground in the countries that we're sourcing from, whether they be Kenya, Nicaragua, Coast Rica, or Brazil. They really spend time with these people to educate them about how they can heighten their price per pound by adhering to certain quality steps, and they do everything to ensure that the quality is high. I don't feel that other coffee roasters value the quality as much as Intelligentsia. I know there are brands out there that do, but Intelligentsia has been doing it for awhile.
Coffee is the most widely used stimulant in the world and caffeine is obviously highly addictive. To your knowledge, has coffee or caffeine ever been banned by legislation like other substances have?
I don't know, but it's such a big industry, and the second biggest commodity in the world after oil. I would imagine it would be very difficult for them to legislate around it, just based on the amount of people it employs and the money that it generates. You
I chatted with English co-owner and coffee connoisseur Nick Carnevale, who spent a number of years in corporate fashion before ditching it in favor of taking it slow and opening a meticulously designed and curated coffee spot. With its exposed brick, wooden beams, and cycling paraphernalia (like the "Carnevale" vintage bike behind the register––a lucky vintage find that happens to be emblazoned with Nick's last name) as nod to the sport that he and co-owner Neville Ross are passionate about, the airy space is an inviting place to sip your cap' at any time of day. You also can't really beat their menu of really, really, ridiculously good-looking cookies and pastries from Bomb Eyed Bickies, Baking Soda, Ceci Cela, and Dough (though you need to grab 'em before they disappear because they sell out quick!), and––curveball––their fizzy Brooklyn Kombucha on tap.
How do you take your coffee?
I mix it up. At home I do a lot more pour over drip coffee, where you're literally grinding and brewing just for the individual cup. But my go-to is probably a shot of espresso.
When did you first start drinking coffee?
I remember drinking espresso with milk as a three- or four-year-old in Italy; you have it on your cereal. That's breakfast for a child in Italy.
The writer Balzac was so addicted to caffeine that he got to the point of eating straight up coffee grounds. Would you call yourself coffee addict?
Not at all. I like the buzz of coffee, but I certainly don't rely on it. I enjoy the taste, so I don't need it just to keep me going, though I like to appreciate a cup in the morning or afternoon.
Why "Gasoline Alley"?
In the early 70s, these four street blocks housed a number of tire shops and mechanic stations. It used to be referred to as Gasoline Alley. When we heard this from the landlord, we thought, finally! It was the perfect name.
Where do you source your coffee?
We work with Intelligentsia, and they transport coffee by road to us two times a week. We spent a lot of time speaking with the business owners here in New York about what was important to us: quality and consistency. But what really stood out for me was how many people they've actually got on the ground in the countries that we're sourcing from, whether they be Kenya, Nicaragua, Coast Rica, or Brazil. They really spend time with these people to educate them about how they can heighten their price per pound by adhering to certain quality steps, and they do everything to ensure that the quality is high. I don't feel that other coffee roasters value the quality as much as Intelligentsia. I know there are brands out there that do, but Intelligentsia has been doing it for awhile.
Coffee is the most widely used stimulant in the world and caffeine is obviously highly addictive. To your knowledge, has coffee or caffeine ever been banned by legislation like other substances have?
I don't know, but it's such a big industry, and the second biggest commodity in the world after oil. I would imagine it would be very difficult for them to legislate around it, just based on the amount of people it employs and the money that it generates. You