Aroma comes to Manhattan from Tel Aviv

Aroma_1Aroma espresso bar from Israel opened their first U.S. store last week on Houston St near Wooster.

In a first time for this blog, I'm posting in real time on location.  Personally,
I never thought their coffee or simple salads/sandwiches were anything special.
Their frozen blended drink - Ice Aroma - is
okay, but I would have been content
saving these for special occasions while visiting Israel.  What makes Aroma nice

  • in addition to the red leather swivel chairs, euro-style tunes and sleek
    modern design - is the Israeli clientele.  There are more people speaking
    Hebrew in here right now than English.  Looking around, I feel like I’m in
    Tel Aviv (not a bad thing). I have a
    feeling this place could be serving fried dirt and still be packed.  They
    also offer free wi-fi, which makes it a more attractive place to…well,
    blog. During my visit, the lights
    inexplicably dimmed and brightened several times, something burned in the oven
    filling the space with a strong odor and some guy walked in insisting on practicing
    his Hebrew with the man behind the counter (unfortunately, the guy taking his
    order was Asian, one of the few non-Israelis working) – only strengthening the
    Israeli feel. And while probably not a
    design feature, I think JDate may have some stiff new competition.