artifact coffee: charming for parents

Locally sourced, inventive food + ah-mazing coffee. What could be better?

That’s the premise of Artifact Coffee, the newest brainchild of the brilliant folks behind Woodberry Kitchen. Rustic decor, fresh made-from-scratch food and one of the best cuppas you can get in the city. I was particularly thrilled because it opened up right in our neighborhood {yepp,have to head to Hampden for this gem}.

Pat and I took the Bug there the weekend after it opened. We knew they would still be working out the kinks, but we couldn’t wait to try this coffee-house style Woodberry Kitchen (which happens to be one of our fav restaurants).

The food was delicious. The staff was over-the-top friendly even if a few of them still had the deer-in-the-headlights-look. The atmosphere was everything you would want it to be… for adults.

Bottom line? Definitely go. Bring your friends. Bring your spouse (it’s a perfect morning date place!). But leave the kiddos with grandma or a sitter.

Our first issue was finding something on the menu the Bug could drink. When I asked the barista about kid-friendly options, she suggested ordering the basil creamy — basil syrup, Trickling Springs Cream and spearmint. {Um, yeah, wasn’t sure our preschooler was that adventurous….} I ended up ordering the Bug fresh-squeezed melon juice, which — in theory — should have been great. Except I forgot the kid doesn’t eat honeydew and so she ended up drinking her father’s iced tea. Wish there was a milk or OJ option on the menu. {To be fair, I’m guessing I could have ordered milk off the menu, but it didn’t occur to me at that point.}

In terms of kid-friendly menu items, there were a variety of fresh-made pastries, steel cut oatmeal, toast with jam, and fruit cup on the menu. We ordered a nectarine danish and a summer fruit cup (blackberries, apricots and more melon) for the Bug. Pat and I each ordered a sausage, egg and cheese on a english muffin. We were handed our pastry and headed over to the table to wait for our food.

The nectarine danish was amazing. Definitely Bug-approved.  She devoured it. Quickly.

Then we waited.

And waited some more. For 40 minutes for the rest of our food.

Now, had we not had a preschooler with us, this wouldn’t have been so much of an issue. Both Pat and I recognized that a five-days-new restaurant has kinks to work out. Explaining that reasoning to a three-year-old? Yeah. You get the idea.

However, when the food finally arrived? Best sausage, egg and cheese sandwich in the city. Hands down. What really makes it? The homemade sage sausage. It’s like nothing you’ve ever tasted. Apologies that the photo doesn’t do it justice. Even the Bug took a few bites of sausage and a fair share of eggs.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to enjoy it as leisurely as we may have liked. But we’ll definitely be back.

For a little adult chat and nosh.

{Particularly looking forward to trying their lunch options. Anyone want to go out for tomato bread soup?}

_ _ _ _
Artifact Coffee
Hours: M-F, 7 AM – 5 PM; S-S 9 AM – 5 PM
1500 Union Ave, Baltimore, MD 21211

GETTING THERE: Artifact Coffee is located in the Union Mill complex in Hampden. Tons of free parking, although you may have to park in the top parking lot.

COST: A regular latte is $4. Our sausage-egg-cheese sandwiches were $5.50 a piece. The whole bill came to about $30 for a decaf latte, iced tea, melon juice, danish, fruit salad and two sandwiches.

FAMILY ACCESSIBILITY: Artifact Coffee is part of the Union Mill complex and uses shared facility space. There are lots of sidewalks although no readily available changing station. Your stroller will fit through their wide front door (after you hop a step), but we recommend leaving it at home. There isn’t a whole lot of maneuverable space for a stroller once you’re inside the restaurant.

KEEP THEM HAPPY: Err, leave the kiddos with a sitter and make it a date mini-escape. Or hey, leave the kiddos with the spouse and take the book you’re long overdue to read.

Editor’s Note: We have heard from friends who recently tried Artifact Coffee that their food was delivered to their table piping hot and fairly quickly. Our guess is that our experience may have been a result of their ironing out their Saturday morning rush kinks!

Author Description

heather

Heather is editor-in-chief of (cool) progeny. When not scouting the best in everything kid and family, you'll probably find her running The Weisse Group or adventuring around town with her daughter (the Bug) and husband. Can be won over with a good glass of wine or something homemade. Addicted to Pinterest. Only pretends to know what she's doing with her SLR, even though she's got a fantastic lens on it. Thankful it does most of the work for her.