Starbuck's introduced decent coffee to the masses, but good coffee it is not. On a quest for coffee I stumbled upon Saint-Henri micro-torrefacteur near the Atwater market that craft their beans into incredible drinks. The bar seating lining the large bay windows are popular with the laptop toting crowd and several rows of old church pews make for interesting seating at the front of the cafe though your eyes are naturally drawn to the large roaster in back. The seating area gets a ton of natural light and there's free password protected wi-fi so it's nice... most of the time, avoid coming when they are roasting coffee, it's a noisy process.
I tried a cinnamon roll beside the counter, options were limited and it looked like a letdown. Surprised I was. The inside was packed with a sweet cinnamon and sugar mixture and the flaky bread wasn't too dry nor was it soggy. Way exceeded my expectations.
The coffee is what makes this place special. The classic American drip coffee is delightful to enjoy. It was fresh and well roasted. Very smooth with balanced flavors, no bitterness even near the end. Coffee done right. Glancing around a bit more I noticed a variety of coffee machines, well beyond drip, espresso and press. Look closely and you'll see Chemex makers, Aeropress machines and a few other bizarre contraptions.
I get vibes that the crew at Saint-Henri's care about the coffee craft. The coffee is some of the nicest I've experienced in the city so I'll be returning often.