One morning at my local, Piccino, I inquired where Jamie was. “He moved to New York,” was the reply. I was dismayed, SF had lost a prodigal barista and a good soul. Fast-forward a year, and by complete chance I walk into this tiny place, Abraço Espresso (7th street @ 1st Ave) and there was my friend! He and his business partners (also San Francisco expats) have brought ristretto perfection to the East Village.

We were greeted like old friends, crowded into the tiny space between the door and the bar; which evoked the Linden kiosk in Hayes Valley with its combination of walnut and fogged plexiglass, stainless steel and the hulking Marzocco.

We stayed for an hour and a half, chatting with Jamie’s business partners, sampling the food (and of course the divine espresso). Took photos and met new friends, got directions to a haberdashery and enjoyed the warmth of the space.

Abraço doesn’t have decaf or soy milk (they make their own almond milk from scratch for the dairy-averse). There’s no wi-fi or MP3s being pumped into the air. The music comes from an LP, the turntable perched atop a cage shelf already crammed into the impossibly tiny, but well-laid out space. Nothing feels out of place, object, patron or otherwise.

The neon sign that’s visible through the window from 1st ave:

In the New York Times today: Steven Pinker writes “The Moral Instinct” and Caitlin Flanagan opines about Juno.

I finally finished watching Amelie. I’m struggling with both loving the film (I’d now consider it a favorite) and being dismayed by the dismantling of a central premise of the story, that Amelie doesn’t need a boy (or love from a boy) to be happy.

Transgenic video for Bloc Party’s latest, Flux:

Oh wait, I’ve seen this before!

RobotsWillKill

Also, I think Banksy friended me on Flickr.

I went looking for an iPhone Subway Map, after having failed to assemble my own (in both PDF and 4K raster) and found this useful bit of kit from Khoi Vinh.

I also found a very pretty, well-designed, legible and enjoyable blog. I suppose you’d expect that from the design director of NYTimes.com. Did I mention the design is great? (Also eerily familiar. He also posted about The Wire this week.)

Adverts for Pakistan Air, blowing smoke, babies and Santa, oh my! (via Gothamist)

I am so <3ing Kayak.com right now. Do want EasyJet support, but that’s a very minor ding.

The Atlantic has a wonderful video of Michael Bierut talking about typography, with The Postal Service providing music.

(via Monoscope + Typographica)

Second link from The Atlantic today: Mark Bowden’s piece “The Angriest Man in Televison” about David Simon, the creator of The Wire.

After watching the first two episodes of season 5, I wondered how he researched/created the subtleties of the newsroom floor. Answer: He was previously under the employ of the Baltimore Sun, the paper he skewers portrays this season.