From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

The best coffee shops not named Starbucks

Sick of navigating a litany of ventes and grandes just to get a cup of coffee? Check out these five alternatives.

by Bob Weinberg

May 18 2005

Certified coffee addicts will gratefully slurp down just about any boiled brown brew, no matter how vile, as long as it provides a caffeinated kick. But coffee cravers don't have to get their jolt on with subpar java or resort to the ubiquitous Starbucks, with its pretentious lingo of ventes and grandes -- though the chain does indeed serve a mighty cup of joe, guaranteed to snap your eyes wide open. Here are a few of our favorite spots for a coffee fix.

Two Street Coffee Garage
209 S.W. Second Ave., Fort Lauderdale, 954/523-7191
The warm, wooden and wonderful-smelling Two Street offers a caffeinated oasis in the heart of Himmarshee. Settle into a comfortable armchair or shimmy into the upholstered booth and sip a cup of rich, flavorful coffee or frothy cappuccino, which can be accompanied by a tempting assortment of cookies and pastries. The laid-back ambiance and java-infused aroma make for the perfect coffee break, though you may be a bit late getting back to the office. Of course, you can always bring your laptop and work the Wi-Fi.

Offerdahl's Café Grill
Nine South Florida locations www.offerdahls.com
The casual eatery of former Miami Dolphins linebacker John Offerdahl offers a variety of regular and flavored coffees to accompany your sandwich, salad, rice bowl or dessert. A mellow mix of beans from Colombia, Sumatra and Costa Rica makes the house blend the most consistently delicious cup of joe around. The Madera blend, a Colombian dark roast, is also highly recommended, while French vanilla and hazelnut cream coffees appeal to the sweet tooth.

Joe Picasso's Interactive Studio and Café
888 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, 954/462-2551, www.joepicassos.com
While the gimmick of Pamela Huizenga Alexander's café is that customers can pick out and paint their own pottery in the spacious studio next door, the place also offers a globe-spanning variety of bean juice to spark your creativity. Supplied and roasted by Equator Estate Coffees and Teas, selections hail from some of the richest coffee-growing nations on earth. A mild Brazilian blend with a finish of black cherries leaves us smacking our chops.

Java Boys
2230 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors, 954/564-8828, www.javaboys.net
If the rainbow flags and locale in a strip mall that also houses a clothing shop called Tops and Bottoms didn't already tip you off, don't come to this Wilton Manors hot spot looking for women. We found only one on a recent visit, and she was working behind the counter. However, do stop by for coffee and a snack, and bring your laptop to make use of their Wi-Fi. Check out the coffee of the day; we enjoyed a light, smooth Kenyan blend but could have gone with a cup of butterscotch toffee. Instead, we sated our sweet tooth with a slice of white-chocolate Key lime raspberry cheesecake and also stabbed a fork in a slice of Florida orange sunshine cake, both of which were fresh, gooey and studded with white-chocolate chips. Other coffee choices include lattes, mochas and macchiatos, served iced or steaming-hot, like the photos of buff, nude bods lining the walls.

Dunkin' Donuts
Various locations, www.dunkindonuts.com
You can buy this coffee by the pound and make it at home -- we do, every damn morning -- but nothing compares with the experience of ordering a hot, fresh cup straight from the mother ship. A friend swears it's the heat of the coffee as served at the store that makes it so special and that an individual Mr. Coffee can't quite raise the temperature to that scalding, glasses-fogging level. We, however, think it's the aroma of dozens of doughnuts smacking you right upside the olfactory lobes that sweetens the deal. Dunkin' makes its coffee with 100 percent arabica beans grown in South and Central America and blends it the same way it has since 1950. Why mess with success?