Wassi Cafe -- 28th Ave and 37th St

Wassi Café falls into the “Maybe-not-a-Greek-Café” category, and since the visit fell on a day when we updated our long Cafes To Do List, we couldn’t help but wonder if we really had to go here. This isn’t to say that it was a pleasant place to waste a bit of a summer evening, just that the evening in question did not involve any frothy Nescafe goodness.

Wassi is little and seems pretty new to the neighborhood. It gives off a very cute coffee-shop vibe with décor that is a little plain but comfy. There’s some nice artwork on the walls and they have cushy looking black leather(ette?) couches inside. They also offer wireless internet access (a first for an Astoria café!). The outdoor seating area is tiny, just four very welcoming tables; and since summer has finally begun we were very happy to snag one. It may be a sign that wedding overload has put us in a scary homemaking frame of mind but we also noticed that Wassi has two different very adorable types of sugar dispensers.

Since there were no frappes to be found we both ordered iced skim milk cappuccinos ($3.75) (all accusation that we are yuppie slime have just been proven). The drinks came with a sprinkling of cinnamon which we couldn’t quite decide if we liked, it looked pretty and in general we like cinnamon but it had a bit an eggnog vibe which was off putting in June (Bri is a very seasonal eater).

Wassi claims to have sandwiches and wraps but when we asked about them we were told that they were all out of food except for pastries. Amy ordered a croissant ($2.00) and Brianna 2 small danishes ($2.50 for one raspberry and one cheese). The waitress warmed up the croissant and it was delicious in a way only French pastries made with tons of butter can be. The danishes were ok… a little dry, probably because they’d been waiting around since morning to be eaten.

The absolute best thing about Wassi is that after the food is taken away, but before the waitress brings your check, she brings you free cookies! The small wafer cookies in chocolate sauce were a yummy surprise, though they might have been more complimentary (excuse the unintentional pun) with our coffees, as opposed to afterwards. However, as seen in earlier entries, we don’t diss the free. We’ve even been considering buying matching neighborhoodies with our slogan on the back (“Please buy us off!”).

Awesome Astoria Activities:

Rapture:

Right down the street is a very cute-looking bar, with apparently free viewings of independent films on Wednesday evenings. However, and according to the review on the door there are often fights. So it might be a trade off…

Food: 2.5 (though we should perhaps reconsider after visiting at a time when food is available…)
Service: 3.5
Ambiance: 3
Average Attractiveness of Staff: 3.5
Average Attractiveness of Patrons: 4