The Grey Dog near Union Square

By Bilal Mohammad

I love New York City mornings because of the special energy that is in the air as people are rushing to work, class, and wherever else they are going. What I don’t love is when you’re running late and you don’t have time to get a coffee on your way. This morning I was walking through Washington Square Park with only five minutes until class so I decided to defer getting my morning caffeine fix until after class. To make up for the self-inflicted delayed gratification, I decided to go to The Grey Dog, a quaint coffeehouse situated on University Place that I’d been meaning to try for a few weeks now.

Grey Dog more closely resembles a quirky Austin, TX coffee haunt than it does the other chichi coffee shops that densely populate downtown Manhattan. The distressed, wooden, sea foam blue furniture and the lowered vintage ceiling fans add a special charm to the place.

I ordered a hazelnut iced coffee with fat-free milk and asked the barista to pick his favorite muffin for me. He chose the vegan pumpkin muffin made with soy milk. My eating habits are nowhere near macrobiotic, and so this would not have been my natural choice. But this was one special muffin.

I could obviously taste the pumpkin, but was surprised by hints of clove, ginger, and cinnamon. And if you’re particular about your coffee, rest assured that hazelnut doesn’t translate to a sweeter house blend. It tastes and smells like the real thing.

Bilal is a new contributor to Beauty and the Feast. He’s currently a first-year pre-med student at NYU, majoring in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies.

Restaurant Info:
The Grey Dog
90 University Place
btw 11th and 12th Streets
New York, NY 10003
(212) 414-4739
Union Square

REPORT CARD
Meal: Mid-morning breakfast
Price: $
(Out of three stars)
Ambiance: ***(Quirky, Different, Definitely an experience)
Food: **
Service: ***
Would I go back?: Yes!

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