Aldo’s

Jay and I have just been to the North Fork of Long Island tasting wine and I have fallen in love with the area. It reminds me of what summer felt like when I was a little girl. When we were at Bedell Cellars I asked John Levenberg, the winemaker, about local restaurants. He mentioned a few that he loves but said we should definitely not miss coffee at Aldo’s. On our way back to the ferry we stopped there.

Aldo’s reminds me of an old Italian coffee shop frequented by hippies in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco. Aldo, an eccentric character with a huge afro of white hair, was behind the counter manning the espresso machine. I ordered a cappuccino and Jay ordered a mocha. A mocha? Jay says he likes the caffeine buzz but the acid is hard on his stomach so the chocolate kind of smoothes things out. At least he didn’t ask for a frappe and get us thrown out.

My cappuccino came in a classic brown cup and saucer, not a paper cup, with just the right proportion of coffee to milk unlike most coffee bars where they load you up with too much milk. The coffee was strong and the cappuccino was the perfect temperature. I have to say this was the best cappuccino I’ve had in a long, long time. Jay’s mocha, which he found excellent, was made with real chocolate melted in the steamer attachment of Aldo’s machine.

I wanted to blog about this place because I’m still thinking about that cappuccino a day later and wish I could have another. If you find yourself in Greenport, Long Island you must stop by. I can’t wait to get back there to have another cappuccino and visit some of the local restaurants.

Aldo's
103-105 Front street
Greenport, LI
www.aldos.com