Birch Cafe

This low-key, Third Wave cafe with dark wood and copper accents subscribes to a tractor-to-table ethos, manually roasting its single-original coffees in small batches in Long Island City, Queens. There's no wi-fi, so you drink to the soothing buzz of conversation, not keyboards clicking. It even offers its own conversation starter cards for the tongue-tied known as the 'Ignition Initiative.'