Welcome to Season 2 of Beacon’s Bites, where I, Kathryn, and my colleagues at The Beacon review various restaurants and food stands around NYC.
This month, my colleague, Elizabeth, and I set out to two different cafes in Forest Hills: Azal Coffee and La Boulangerie de François, recommended by a student of FHHS and Ms. McDermott, ELA and the advisor of The Beacon, respectively. In this article, we will be reviewing our visit to Azal Coffee.
To remind our readers, we at Beacon’s Bites review our foodie adventures using a five-star system, which has been broken down into 4 components:
Quality: The caliber of the food itself
Affordability: How much does the food cost?
Service: Was the service good?
Aesthetic: The vibes! Is the food presented well? Can you bring somebody on a date there? Is it a classy establishment?
The goal is to assess these cafes under this rubric and decide whether they are date-worthy for Valentine’s Day or not.
Traveling to either cafe from FHHS, you can take a 20 to 25 minute walk or a 12 to 16 minute bus ride via the Q23. If you were to take a train, the Forest Hills – 71st Avenue train station is right across the street from Azal Coffee.
Elizabeth: I ordered a Pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant) and a small hot chocolate. The total cost for my meal was $12.50, with the chocolate croissant costing $5.99 and the hot chocolate costing $5.49. The pastry was enriched with flaky, golden brown layers and oozing warm chocolate. It wasn’t too sweet, but I would say it was a little oily. My drink seems to have been made with dark chocolate instead of milk, giving it that rich, bitter flavor that Azal Coffee is known for. The place filled up pretty quickly, but most people didn’t stay long, which is what makes this place an ideal cafe. It is a perfect stop-in, grab a drink or a treat, and go on about your day type of place. Since the wait was a bit long and the total cost was a bit pricey for me, I would give this establishment a rating of 3.8/5, but I do recommend this location for a Valentine’s Day date.
Kathryn: I ordered a Peppermint Mocha Latte and a slice of Strawberry Cheesecake, for a total cost of about $17-18, which was, personally, a bit pricey. The latte came with a very cute, yet simple, design on top and tasted really good. There was a slight bitter taste, which I suspect was from the coffee and possibly from the mocha. However, I believe I made a mistake by not mixing my drink beforehand because I only started tasting the peppermint once I reached the bottom of the cup. As for the cheesecake, I would say it was 75% cream, 15% strawberry, 10% crust, and 100% delicious. The flavors weren’t too overpowering, and they created a perfect combination for people with a sweet tooth, such as myself. The crust itself seemed a bit hard, but that may have been due to the cheesecake being refrigerated and the plastic forks given (the forks were very flimsy and kept bending every which way). The cafe itself was very nice and well-kept. I had originally expected a small, typical cafe, but it was actually a pretty decently sized building. Overall, I would give Azal Coffee a 3.6/5 and would recommend this location for a Valentine’s Day date.
The results are in! Beacon’s Bites gives Azal Coffee a…
Quality – 3.8/5: Azal Coffee is laid out very nicely, in our opinion. All their chairs are super soft and comfy, and there are nice white and pink flowers randomly dispersed outside and within the building. Food is served on a nice wooden tray, drinks come in real glass mugs instead of paper or plastic cups, and the place is kept fairly clean (save for a few crumbs on the tables here and there). On the other hand, the fact that the forks, spoons, and knives were all plastic made eating brittle and crumbly pastries pretty messy since the utensils are frail and aren’t sharp enough. Other than that, the place itself seems to be well-organized, looks fresh, and sells even fresher items.
Affordability – 2.9/5: In general, the prices here are pricey, considering that many high school students do not have a job and typically carry only $5-15 on them. Other than that, if a student is planning to spend a little money on their loved one, the prices are reasonable.
Service – 3.8/5: The overall service was really nice. The staff was very patient, respectful, friendly, and clearly put effort into making the art design on top of the drinks. The only reason why our rating is not a 5/5 is that the wait time was a bit long, but also a little understandable because the place was a bit full, and utensils were not provided with the food. Utensils could be found in a separate area near the cashier, but we feel like it would be much easier to also give utensils with the food when the food is ready.
Aesthetic – 4.3/5: As soon as we walked into Azal Coffee, a wave of cleanliness and a visually aesthetic atmosphere hit us. The rich, dark blue and gold color scheme the entire coffee shop takes on is elegant, and a sense of “new” can be felt. Upon entering, two kiosks are available, but most people order the traditional way. The pastries are displayed on a clear glass shelf (fully stocked when we came in, which was around 2-3 PM). Additionally, the music in the background is timeless hip hop classics, played at a good volume level. However, the music type does not give cafe vibes, and studying here would probably be difficult, unless you brought your own headphones. For this article, though, we are not looking for good cafes to study in; we are looking for cafes ideal for a Valentine’s date. So, another thing to mention is that most of the tables were in groups of 4 (although the window seats were single seats), which may not be the best for a two-person date.
Overall, we give Azal Coffee a 3.7/5!
If you enjoyed this review, be sure to check out our other review for Valentine’s Day, as well!
