Favorite Coffee Shop?

[3Bros]

What is everyone's favorite coffee shop in the Twin Cities? I've found some great ones, but I've yet to really find one I truly love. My ideal coffee shop is kind of dark, cozy, with huge puffy chairs and a strong cup of joe. I usually hang out at The NE Coffee Shop and Maeve's in NE, Overflow on University and sometimes make the trek for the glorious cuppa joe over at Peace Coffee. Any other suggestions?

[shoo bee doo]

J. Arthur's on Rice and Co. Rd. B2 has been my favorite place lately. It's in an odd place, but I love their breve cortado and it's a quiet place to take my laptop and work.

http://jarthurscoffee.com/

[astadtler]

The Best Coffee Shop is Quixotic because they have a knowledgable staff and a some of the best rotating specialty coffee roasters. Micah at Quixotic is seasoned and knows what he is doing they have many very good baristas and the fact that every 6 weeks I can try and buy coffee from many of the top speciality roasters in the country without paying shipping. Baked goods from Patisserie 46 only solidify this.

My second favorite would be Angry Catfish they server Intelligentsia (still probably the best coffee in the United States imo) and also a very knowledgeable staff. The only problem is that they are a bike shop first and have limited seating for coffee drinkers.

Honorable Mention:
Kopplins
Blue Ox Coffee Co (counter culture)
Dogwood
Urban Bean (dogwood)

[astadtler]

Update:
Since Urban Bean - Lyndale has been open this is my new favorite spot. There has also been a recent exodus of good baristas from Quixotic though they continue to do the rotating roasters (currently Handsome) which I think really sets them apart.

[BatMan]

Just happened to see this city pages:
http://blogs.citypages.com/food/2011/...

[soupkitten]

in NE i really like diamond's on central, tho the vibe is cheery and retro rather than dark and cozy. there is a fun (more european cycle and scooter than harley-wanker type) motorcycle culture thing going on there, especially in summer.

when i read the op i thought 3Bros might love anodyne, in south minneapolis, or caffetto, in uptown. caffetto would have a little bit of a grungy edge, also a titch better coffee.

wilde roast has moved a few blocks to st anthony main (note that the wiki place marker is now wrong, and the op should go off of the marker for aster), and to my shame i have not visited the new location yet. it was a fave of mine for the comfy chairs/sofas, in their old location though. a few doors down in st anthony main is aster cafe, which has good coffee/espresso, a full bar, fresh squeezed juices, and food too. very nice patio in summer.

in st paul, kopplins is the reigning coffee snob hangout. i also really like j&s bean factory. in lowertown, black dog cafe is good and sometimes has interesting art displayed. the staff can be a little flaky, i have had orders forgotten about and double-charges on credit/debit here. i am not sure what is up with that.

i also have to mention hard times. though it is not really "comfy-cozy," it's certainly dark. . . and grungy and they serve coffee in small cups for a good reason-- it's probably the strongest in town. if the op doesn't mind a place w a bit of an edge to it, hard times has great coffee, good greasy-spoon vegetarian and vegan eats, and people-watching galore.

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Anodyne At 43rd
4301 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55409

Hard Times Cafe
1821 Cedar Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN

Aster
125 Main St SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414

Caffetto Alibara's Coffee House
708 W 22nd St, Minneapolis, MN 55405

J & S Bean Factory
1518 Randolph Ave, Saint Paul, MN 55105

Black Dog Cafe
308 Prince St Ste 100, Saint Paul, MN 55101

[The Dairy Queen]

sk--does anodyne have a children's play area? or other particularly child-friendly elements as far as you can tell? I have the urge to hop in the car and find out myself, but we have to find out how this here Vikings game comes out.

~TDQ

[bob s]

I would not call Anodyne especially kid-friendly (although it's right next door to Leonardo's Basement). There are a few couches and, IIRC, a few kids books and games. But nothing expressly for younger kids.

Sovereign Grounds is sorta in that neck of the woods (48th and Chicago) and is much more young-kid-friendly.

[The Dairy Queen]

Thanks for saving me the drive. Sovereign Grounds is a little closer anyway. :)

~TDQ

[LiaM]

Bordertown Coffee (16th Ave. and 4th St. SE) has some big comfy chairs, good coffee and baked goods, very friendly staff (I think it's run by some sort of student group that lives in the upper part of the building). Part of why I like it is that it's close to my work, but it also fits my standard mental image of what a coffee shop is supposed to look like. Worth checking out.

[MSPD]

I like Bordertown as well, partly for the nostalgia. The coffee counter is literally where my bedroom was when I went to the U of M, although they've reconfigured the walls. If the patrons only knew.......mwa-ha-ha-ha.....(OK, truth be told, nothing really exciting happened aside from me meeting my future wife at the front door of that house).

Another bit of trivia -- Hai Truong of Ngon Bistro fame lived in that house then too.

Anyhoo....Cafe Bene' on Cleveland Ave adjacent to University of St. Thomas also has that vibe, although I don't think the coffee is anything unique.

[run2eat]

my two favorites are Kopplins on Marshall and Quixotic on Cleveland.
Both have amazing coffee.
Based on your descriptions you would like Wilde Roast in NE Mpls too.

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Wilde Roast Cafe
518 E Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55414