Coffee Break: Plenty Cafe
This cozy coffee shop opened in 2011 in the middle of East Passyunk Avenues thriving restaurant scene.
Where: 1710 E. Passyunk Ave.
The lowdown: This cozy coffee shop opened in 2011 in the middle of East Passyunk Avenue's thriving restaurant scene. It's a hit among longtime South Philly residents, newcomers to the area and passersby who just need a good cup of Joe and a bite to eat.
Backstory: Co-owned by brothers Anthony and Damon Mascieri, Plenty is big on using natural, organic products from local farms. (They opened a second Plenty at 1602 Spruce St. last fall.) The sandwich and salad menu is surprisingly eclectic. And the pastries - good God, the pastries! - are from the nearby Artisan Boulanger Patissier.
The beans: Lovers of local coffee roasters will be in heaven. Plenty offers coffee from Rival Bros., La Colombe Torrefaction and ReAnimator.
Ambience: The shop is a narrow, quiet room with a smattering of small tables and chairs. You can duck into a corner table with your laptop and get some work done while polishing off a piece of pound cake, or be the guy who wears a scarf and thoughtfully nurses a latte while eyeing the foot traffic through the wide front window.
Beyond the beans: Plenty has you covered for breakfast, with bagels, steel-cut oatmeal ($3.50) and Greek yogurt parfait ($6). There's an array of egg sandwiches, including the out-of-this-world Pancetta Hash (organic fried eggs, fontina and cured pancetta hash on a French roll, $6.75). Lunch options have a decidedly international flair, including the Istanbul (roasted eggplant, Middle Eastern spices, sauteed mushrooms and onions on toasted ciabatta, $9.75), the Oslo (cold smoked salmon, horseradish-caper-dill cream and roasted potatoes on multigrain bread, $10.50) and the Chicken Pesto Panino (roasted red peppers, shaved pecorino and house almond pesto on a French roll, $9.75).
Prices: Espresso or Americano, $2.25; tea, $2.25; cappuccino, $3; chai latte or Vietnamese iced coffee, $3.50.
Hours: Weekdays, 7 a.m.-8 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sunday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Social stuff: @plentyphilly on Twitter; plentyphila on Instagram; Plenty Cafe on Facebook; or plentyphiladelphia.com.