Aroma 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.