Amy S.
Yelp
The closest coffee shop to my home was Dunkin Donuts until Der Pioneer came into my life. It is EVERYTHING I want and need in a local, independent cafe -- as a freelancer, a foodie, a coffee junkie, a health nut (at times), and a sweet tooth (those other times). This is what I value and what Der Pioneer provides:
1. Freelancer amenities: Great WiFi, electrical outlets for laptops, and about 50% to 75% of the seating allotted for laptop users, with the back for those who come for conversation or the traditional cafe experience. No one makes you feel unwelcome even if you spend hours and hours here working on your laptop (after ordering something, of course). But there is a request that you not talk on your cell phone, which is a bit inconvenient for me in my line of work, but totally understandable. People can be jerks when they talk loudly on their phones in public. I get it. Boundaries.
2. Food: One of my biggest complaints about other freelancer-friendly cafes is that there are no food options besides baked goods. I don't care how good the pastries are. Actually, I wish they were worse. I spend my whole time there trying not to order them. But Der Pioneer has a full breakfast and lunch menu (and pop-up dinners) with fresh vegetables, animal proteins, and cheese. I adore the chicken Parmesan with broccoli rabe. It's a sandwich, but I get it without bread. The broccoli rabe is the best. It's tender, yet crunchy and sprinkled with Parmesan and slivered almonds. The chorizo egg burrito is another favorite. Today I had the vegetable mozzarella omelet with side salad, and it was so fluffy, packed with good vegetables and oozing with stringy cheese. The salad had good spring mix greens and the sweet tangy punch of thin green apple slices and flavor spike of radish.
3. If you're going to go the bread and pastry route, this is the place to do it. At least one of the owners is an official pastry chef, and it shows in the product. The French sweets are above and beyond. The baked goods are creative and varied. Everything is crafted fresh and in-house, and you can watch the owner-chefs and staff create their culinary magic in the glassed-in kitchen.
4. Ambiance: It's very important to me that the atmosphere is chic. Otherwise, I might as well get my drink and/or food to go, right? At Der Pioneer, the tables are live-edge wood, which I adore. The light fixtures and general style here is understated rustic-modern chic. The bathroom is huge, clean and has great wallpaper.
5. Staff and service: My favorite barista is this one friendly young woman; I forget her name, but she has dark hair and a nose ring sometimes. She's sweet. If you come somewhat regularly, the owners will notice and talk to you more often, while they're working. They're friendly to newcomers too, so that's cool.
6. Coffee/Drinks: This is my least favorite part of Der Pioneer, which is funny because it's a coffee shop. (But also bistro-cafe-bakery-patisserie.) I like that it's a local brand, Brooklyn Roasting Company; I just don't like the taste of BRC's coffees, any blend. My favorite is Counter Culture, which is actually from North Carolina, but it's smoother and fruitier. Oh well. I still drink it. It's way better than many other brands, and if you get anything other than simple brewed coffee (what I order), then it's probably great.
Oh, order the cannelle pastry whenever it's there. There's a reason it's the center of Der Pioneer's logo. Seriously.
That's it. ;-)