ominated for Krups Best Cup of Espresso Competition 2007. For more details, click here!

You've had coffee and espresso drinks all over town, in our finest eateries. And when you trod through the door of this minuscule storefront, you might have to fight your way past big box-wielding lackeys of coffee connoisseurs. We go, when we can, at a quiet time of day, when the crowd is down to a minimum and we can sit down with a cup of La Marzocco-pumped coffee and admire a work of coffee art before committing the act of desecration. Stars, rosettas, towers, hearts. We love the shapes, the texture, the fantasies spun with froth, so to speak. We do not just sip, but savour.

The bistro offers the usual breakfast fare, but you might want to bump up the works with a soufflé. Why chomp on an omelette when you can go for the Chèvre goat cheese soufflé, or the caciocavallo… or the cheese fontina?

Caffe Art Java gets around the lunch test just fine - its strudels are so good, who needs toppings? We’ve never had one here that wasn’t perfectly baked—the shell just crisp enough, the innards thick and chewy but never gooey in that undercooked- way. We’ve even ventured gingerly outside the pastry; heck, we’ve ordered the La Traîneuse niçoise more than once. Of the various sandwiches, Le Berger is the shining star. Best of all, these beauties are less than ten bucks. - R.L.