Eats and Drinks
Best Coffee Bar
Ze Mean Bean Café
1739 Fleet St., (410) 675-5999
It wasn't so long ago that downtown coffee bars served up a dependably good cup o' joe. Now, it seems, in a frantic pinch to counter creeping coffee prices and make a few extra cents on the general public's most widespread-and once-affordable-daily habit, these old standbys are increasingly undependable, serving up weak coffee and noticeably less bang for our buck. Then there's the sore subject of lousy service. Say you not only want good coffee, but, God forbid, a pleasant place to sit and enjoy it-not an easy find either these days, when surliness seems to be a prerequisite for most server jobs.
Not zo at Ze Mean Bean Café. A humble but wonderful hole in the wall on the east edge of Fells Point, this is the place for a good book or a good chat and good coffee. The brick-walled, hardwood-floored room, crowded with mismatched tables, chairs, full bookshelves, and a sofa, is warm and inviting-none of that straining-to-be-hip coffee-bar pretentiousness. There's cool art, and great things to eat all day long. And most importantly, the coffee, though not quite amazing, is consistently good.
Other Awards for Best Coffee Bar:
Patterson Perk, 9/22/2004
Daily Grind, 9/17/2003
A Common Ground, 9/18/2002
The Coffee Mill, 9/19/2001
A Common Ground, 9/19/2001
Donna's Charles Village, 9/13/2000
Daily Grind, 9/15/1999
City Café, 9/18/1996
The Coffee Mill, 9/18/1996
All Awards for Ze Mean Bean Café:
Best Pierogi, 9/17/2003
Best Brunch, 9/19/2001
