Cupcakes are blotting out civilization.
To backtrack: When Nick Cho announced April 1 that he was closing Clarendon landmark Murky Coffee, we immediately chalked it up to a cruel April Fool's Day prank. Until we called and discovered the sad, sad truth.
Yeah, we didn't enjoy stumbling over potholes in the sinking concrete floor, but it was still a good scene. Now the crumbling converted house sits boarded up as the owners of nearby Liberty Tavern slowly turn it into a posh bakery (and/or yet another cupcakery -- they're not talkin' yet). But, as promised, Cho is back on the scene with Chinatown Coffee Co., which opened last week at 475 H St. N.W.
And yes, it has been stealthily alleged that the joint has cupcakes. That-all is total hearsay, though, people. Don't believe everything you read. Not even this.
Meanwhile, many of the same baristas from the Murky era are still stirring and steaming at the new establishment, so you can expect a similar vibe, quasi-extravagant prices ($2 for a small regular coffee, for starters) and those fancy-schmancy little designs in the foam of your fancy-schmancy hot beverage.
And if there's one thing we know about Nick Cho, it's that Coffee Is Serious Business. There is nothing FUNNY about COFFEE, people. Whether it's hand-poured or French-pressed, you bet your beans it'll be free-trade, not iced (or Cho will smack you down), and NOT about the pastries.
"The dirty little secret of most independent coffee shops is that they don't know how or don't care to serve high-quality coffee," wrote Cho in Sunday's Post. "They believe that furnishing their shops with comfy chairs and knowing the names of their customers' dogs is all that matters."
And don't even get us started on the issue of cupcakes.
Mon.-Sat. 7 a.m.-8 p.m.
Sun. 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
