Basically I think of this place as a Rubik's cube. But sadly not the original Rubik's cube. Confused yet? Yeah me too. What am I even talking about? Maybe I'm drunk. Maybe I'm delirious. Maybe I'm hallucinating vile images of robot coffee snobs toying with electronic Rubik's cubes. Who knows? Back to the story line... Basically I think of this place as a Rubik's cube. The Rubik's cube was heroic. It was simple but educational; it was fun; it was genius and it can not be replaced. No matter how hard anyone may try. The original is where it's at. The original Rising Star; I like it the best. I did like the new Rising Star, (I had been anticipating it for quite some short while) but I feel like they did such a wonderful job in the first place that the second one must bow before the original's genius.
So about the actual place and its coffee. It is a charming cafe nestled on a quaint little street in Little Italy. Inside it is aglow with warm colors and a warm atmosphere. I can appreciate the way the large bar/work area is right in the middle of everything with seating all around. It is nice. Not gonna disagree with that.
And I would have appreciated it so much more if my macchiato had been better. It looked a bit sad (which I realize is a hard thing not to do) and it tasted a bit bad. Just a bit; it was alright, and the glass of sparkling water fixed my palates.
It is nice. I do like the place and usually the coffee, but apparently they can't improve on perfect. Which is what the original is.
Update: 12/26/15
My next visit, and I realize that I actually like this place quite well; like it thought I was going to in the first place. Hence the upgrade to five stars. (Although I still like the original Rising Star better.)