Parking in Atlanta gives me mad anxiety. I don’t live in the city, so before I even park, I have to drive down the multi-lane, constantly under construction hell world that is I-75. After a half hour of defending myself from some of the craziest driving I’ve ever seen in my life, all I want to find is a cozy parking spot that’s preferably free or, at the very least, pretty cheap.
And this has been my problem with Chrome Yellow for a while now. Every time I pull up, there’s just no parking to be found. Their lot has room for like five cars and every spot is always taken. Street parking is available, but I’ve never been able to find a spot in the three times that I’ve tried to go this year.
Lately however, I’ve found solace in Ponce City Market. It’s become my starting point for Atlanta adventures, strongly due to its huge and inexpensive parking facility. I mean, where else in Atlanta can I get patrolled, covered parking for $2 an hour? And I get to use the Parkmobile app, which is miles ahead of those paid parking stations that never seem to be able to read my credit card correctly.
Still though, taking the adjacent BeltLine from Ponce all the way to Chrome Yellow adds up to almost two miles of walking in the sun just to get a cup of coffee. I mean, there’s three coffee shops at Ponce and at least another two on the path to CY. Why would I even bother to make that long walk after a very tough week at work?
Well, to be completely honest, I had to visit an old friend who just so happens to work at CY. And after saying I’d come to visit for possibly over a year now, I figured it was time to hang.
A Fine Cup Of Coffee
For a coffee shop to truly exceed my expectations, it should have all three of the following: excellent coffee, great food, and a comfortable space. The first one seems mad simple to nail if you’re already running a shop right? But lately, several shops have missed the mark with this. Here’s a quick rundown of my last four shots of espresso I’ve purchased at various Atlanta cafes:
- A cortado that tasted like the milk in it had gone bad, but I was too shy to comment about it to the barista
- An espresso that tasted so sour that it honestly could have just been hot soy sauce dipped in lemon juice
- An espresso that was overly bright and would have probably tasted great with some milk
- A cortado that was refreshingly smooth and delightfully balanced, restoring my faith in Atlanta coffee shops.
That last one was from Chrome Yellow. Yes, you’re right, my friend did make it for me, but there’s no bias here because I know that its balance came from the coffee: Stumptown’s classic Hair Bender. I’ve had it before on drip back when I visited Portland, and what I remember was that it was a full-bodied cup with light orange notes, a mild chocolatey flavor, and a subtle hint of sweetness. As espresso with a little bit of milk, it was just plainly delicious and almost forgettable, but only because my last three shots of espresso at Atlanta coffee shops have been truly dreadful. Like I said above, it was a refreshingly smooth cup of coffee that just made me feel good, and that’s exactly what I want from a coffee shop cortado.
“Food is essential to life, therefore, make it good”
After excellent coffee comes a great food selection. There’s dozens of shops I could go to that serve up deliciously simple muffins or pastries, but what if i’m in the mood for something more filling?
Even then, some shops still don’t hit the mark. Looking back at my visit to Spiller Park, I’m still disappointed at the $7 avocado toast that left me unsatisfied. If you’re going to have a kitchen in your shop, you might as well be serving up something more delicious, right?
Luckily for me, CY had some tasty food coming out of their kitchen. Well, more specifically, they’ve received their arsenal of food from the crew over at Eat Me Speak Me, a semi-permanent pop-up shop serving up locally-sourced food. Since I’m on a bit of a healthy kick lately, I sprung for their roasted vegetable panini which featured a delightful blend of shiitake mushrooms, winter radish, and some greens. I’ll be honest: I wasn’t paying too much attention to what was going into my mouth because I was pretty busy catching up with my friend and because I was mad hungry. But despite my inattention to providing this review with decent words and photos, it was still a tasty sandwich and I think CY really is leading the pack here with a collaboration that makes sense.
Space to Explore
Good food and great coffee add up to be a delicious combination, but what good is it if you can’t share it with plenty of people? Again, Chrome Yellow is providing a top-tier experience.
The shop itself seemed both larger and smaller than all the pictures I had seen of it. The dry goods part of the shop was much smaller than photos suggest, which is good because I didn’t really see anything that I was interested in. They had some Atlanta-themed pennants and apparel which is almost a standard across most boutique Atlanta stores. There was some coffee gear there too, like Fellow’s distinctly styled but grossly overpriced kettles, as well as staples like the Chemex and various mugs.
What seemed larger though was the space itself. There’s tons of seating inside, much more than the outside of the shop would suggest. There were seats at the bar, seats behind the bar facing outside, seats and tables across the bar, plenty of tables outside, and then when I took a peek at the dry goods section, I noticed even more tables in the back of the shop, which seemed much wider than the front of the shop. And it all makes sense to me now, because occasionally, Chrome Yellow hosts after-parties for certain musical acts that perform in the city. Recently, they hosted a DJ set from a personal favorite of mine, Cut Copy, and the whole premise baffled me. How would you fit a crowd of people, a DJ setup, and some big speakers inside of a tiny shop? But there’s just about enough space for that. Maybe they’ll host the next Boiler Room set there!
With every coffee shop that I visit, there’s always some compromise I find. Some shops have excellent coffee without a substantial menu of food outside of muffins and toast, whereas some other shops trade decent coffee for an interior that invites tons of guests into the shop. Chrome Yellow seems to be the only shop I’ve visited in Atlanta so far that doesn’t have any real compromises. Ok, sure, the parking is an issue for me, but that’s just me. If you’re in the city, there’s plenty of alternative modes of transportation you can take to get there. Either way, I think the whole experience of the shop is excellent and it’s an easy recommendation for anyone in the area looking for some solid coffee.
- TL;DR: Chrome Yellow might just have the best café experience in Atlanta, just make sure you can find some parking close by.
- TND-style score: Strong 8 to light 9
- Price range: $11–$15
- Location: 501 Edgewood Ave.
- More info: Instagram, Website
