Located at 227 Smith Street in the
Cobble Hill neighborhood of
Brooklyn, NY -
Halcyon is the
hippest coffeeshop you'll ever get the
opportunity to see.
So a few months back there's me and yossarian and ideath prancing about my neighborhood... I'm recommending a beer at my neighborhood pub, but that doesn't sit well with the other two, so coffee is proposed.
Now, this is relatively late at night. Close to midnight. You might think New York is the city that never sleeps, but let me tell you - Carroll Gardens sleeps hard and fast. If it's past 11:30 or so - the only thing open is the bars. You're nearest options are to walk to the McDonalds in Red Hook, or an all night deli in Cobble Hill. Neither of these places is all that far - Carroll Gardens is itty-bitty when compared to say, the Upper West Side or Cleveland - but it's out of the neighborhood, and that doesn't always cross my mind...
But I say, "Hell, we can always walk up Smith Street and see what happens..." And they agree.
Now about 6 blocks into the walk, Yossarian suddenly brightens up. He does this thing with his face and eyes that looks like revelation.
"Oh wait," he says, "I've been here before - there's a coffeeshop where a friend of mine spins right down the road!"
This is one of those things that only happens in New York, by the way.
And he tells me the name (Halcyon), and the name is familiar, but I had no idea what I was in store for.
I'd walked by Halcyon more than a few times - I always thought it was a bar, and I always thought it was waaaay too hip for the likes of me. And if it wasn't a bar, I was very skeptical it would be open this late.
But guess what: it ain't a bar, and not only was it open, it was hopping.
I think Halcyon is the only place I've watched retro-raver-stlyin' kids grovin about with a double mocha in one hand. Vinyl couches and muted glass lamps abound. Indeed, someone was spinning, but it wasn't Yossarian's friend. There's a record store towards the back, and everything inside is for sale - furniture and all.
...And the tunes were good.
Even more to my surprise was the back porch - smoker friendly and with even more furniture for sale, including a couch I fell in love with - but had unfortunately been ruined by the elements. So there we were, and there it is.
Worth a visit.