Coffee, Café Reggio, and What the Village is All About

(Reggio's exterior at night. Image from FLIPIX.)

Greenwich Village reached its zenith as an artistic, intellectual and progressive hub decades ago, and has since met the fate common to many urban neighborhoods of similar character. Traces of its onetime bohemia – notably its dingy taverns and cafés, where coffee and beer were cheap, performers made a living off tips, and oddballs and eccentrics chatted uninterrupted far into the morning hours – have largely disappeared, making way for condos and chain stores and high-end retail.

With the Gaslight gone, the White Horse pricey, and Bleecker Street filled with irksome out-of-towners – not to mention a cost of living unaccommodating to most young artist types – a sad void emerged in the area, though some entrepreneurs have tried their hand at filling it. They open new venues and taverns on the spots where Bob Dylan strummed and Dylan Thomas drank. They try to recall the intensely literate 50s, the fiercely left-wing 60s, the gritty 70s.

Frequently they fail, succeeding in only capturing an ersatz forgery of what the Village once was. The prices just seem too high, the patronage too run-of-the-mill, the bohemianism too contrived.

They cannot compare to the few longstanding Village staples left, like Café Reggio, a European-style coffee shop and eatery on MacDougal Street now nearly 85 years old. Amid the cacophony of bar-hopping tourists, Reggio stands out as a quiet haven with pastries, paninis, and late hours, making coffee in a style predating the ubiquitous assembly-line service popularized by Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts.

The goods here hearken to the area’s past as a settlement for Italian immigrants in New York. Not until Mulberry Street can one find cannolis and sfogliatella like these. A cup of the myriad of teas and coffees (not all of which are European) can cost anywhere from $3-$5 – granted, it’s a comparatively steep price for a single serving. But the fresh paninis don’t run much higher than that, and as a heavy tea drinker, I’ve refilled my cup a gratifying number of times from one order. With both food and drink offerings being top-notch, one can find a satisfying meal with a hot beverage for about $10 or less, and spend hours loitering in an unobtrusive environment besides.

Stepping past the sidewalk tables and quiet green storefront into the dim interior feels like stepping through a time warp to the Jazz Age. Busts of philosophers, composers and other historical figures line the walls along with busy Renaissance paintings. Antiques like a mammoth espresso machine, garish benches and a rustic cash register still in use delight even before any food arrives.

And it may take a while before it does. The one factor that some might consider a drawback is that an old-fashioned European café moves at an old-fashioned European pace – tantalizingly slow. But while the waitresses take their time, they also never hurry their customers through anything, be it a daytime meal or midnight cup of tea. The ambiance remains conducive to lengthy socializing or private thought, to group discussion or solitary time with a laptop and book. Don’t come to Reggio seeking a quick bite at lunch. Expect to linger and relax with an accordingly laid-back staff.