Paris Mitchell
Google
It's taken me a full decade to write this review, so be patient, it's thorough.
I will preface this review by saying, The Red Hook is not a coffee shop I would have frequented if not for my initial experience ten years ago. In 2015 my child attended the same school as the owner(s) child, and while we didn't have a personal relationship, this is important to note. The school our children attended was one deeply entrenched in the ideas of community, support and friendship, ideas which resonated and brought my friends and I to the shop at least twice a week, in support of, regardless of proximity or relationship to. At the time there was a small area for the children to play and read near the window, and the Red Hook became a place where I and a few other moms could retreat and watch our children simply be. It was this beautiful notion of love, peace, being, and coffee.
In its origins The Red Hook created this New York Esque more Brooklyn or Soho than uptown vibe, but it was perfect. I worked on a startup there, I wrote poetry in the corners during the morning lull, I had conversations of dreams, hopes, and disappointments with friends- that was the space. The music, the energy, the coffee, the space itself was a cocoon. It's also where I had my first perfect Chai Latte- which is what prompted my review.
Now, when I say it was New York Esque, more soho and Brooklyn than upper westside I mean you got a really good cup of coffee, a really good Chai Latte, served with the pretention of not being a Starbucks, Tim Hortons, a Bigby and the like. You knew it and Marie, I believe that was her name, the barista of the earlier years, yeah, she knew it. I realized quickly this was not a place where I would become friends with the baristas, I would be forced in the submitting to their whims for they held the coffee wielding power to make or break my morning, and I would dutifully comply, because my God was that Chai worth it.
Flash forward to now, ten years later, The Red Hook has expanded its reach, I've visited each location and perhaps those too will garner a review, but now, I live within walking distance to the place where I would watch my child play while having a coffee with friends, grabbing lattes for my daughter instead of hot chocolates and the change, oh God the change is so bittersweet, in a terrible way, like the dirty oat chai ordered this morning.
One thing I was able to count on in the past while paying top dollar for my cup of coffee was consistency. I didn't care whether the people at the counter were friendly, I cared whether my coffee was made correctly and hundreds of dollars into my residency here in the west village I think my patronage at RH is slowly coming to an end. If you're familiar with the parody mini show on social media of the dystopic Brooklyn coffee shop, that's what I'm reminded of anytime I go now. The thing about a local coffee shop is that it's not a place where you're looking for "fast-paced" sterility. It was the warmth, the careful curation of lattes, the love of coffee that one could share with another. Perhaps it's my own nostalgia or perhaps it's the fact that when ask for extra chai in a reminiscence of what the latte once tasted like I'm handed what is essentially copious amounts of milk with a splash of tea and if I'm particularly lucky the espresso I asked for. However, a real shoutout to Rhys who makes my coffee perfectly every time, a gift from the coffee Gods.
I'll end it here, it stays busy, which I'm actually so supportive of in a sense of seeing a business grow, I love that for Sandy. The RH I'm sure could be one of the next institutions of Detroit. The baked goods go quickly and most are really good, quiche, blueberry lemon loaf, and banana bread are the favorites around here. The Galette would give Sister Pie a run if it had an egg on top. However, for me, I 've had too many ruined mornings with my coffee experience so I'll frequent a little less, which I'm sure I won't be missed, but The Red Hook, in all its memories, of all its perfect moments and lattes will be.
