"No corporate coffee, no matching silverware."
This description is probably what Tryst, an Adams Morgan coffeehouse/bar/lounge, best prides itself on. As its Web site, trystdc.com, proclaims, "We don't have 75 different kinds of trademarked, pre-made caramel-nilla-frapp-a-ccino-supremas." Instead, try a select choice of quality coffees and teas brewed with extra care and attention. Drinks like cappuccinos, espressos, and black and scented teas are served in bowl-like mugs with animal crackers on the side. And the unmatching silverware? Even more to add to the quirk factor of this popular D.C. hangout.
While Tryst may be a place where Starbucks and its worshippers are not be invited, the staff is so warm and welcoming that it'll let them in anyway. Seat yourself on one of its worn, plush couches, wooden benches or colorful chairs on a Friday afternoon - or any afternoon for that matter - and in mere minutes you'll be casually greeted with a "Would you like a menu?" or "What would you like today?" After scanning the menu, you'll find that Tryst does not only serve coffee and tea, but also breakfast foods (its waffles are labeled "definitely recommend"), pastries, sandwiches and desserts.
The pastries are baked fresh every day, and the sandwiches have lovely names like "Portia," "Tessa" and "Caroline." Oh, and don't forget "Sal" and "Oscar." Tryst desserts are rich but too hard to resist. After all, with names like "Caramel Napoleon" and "Choc! Choc! Cake," the sweets menu screams "orgasm in your mouth." In a place that's often fully packed by the afternoon, it is pleasantly surprising how promptly the food and drinks arrive on the table.
The atmosphere inside Tryst is noteworthy. People-watchers behold: This is your heaven. Though the majority of the crowd tends to run college-aged to thirty-something, the eclectic mix of characters is enough to distract you from that final you should be studying for. Artsy types, intellectuals, yuppies, bookworms, struggling grad students and everything in between can be found quietly sipping a cup of coffee, reading the newspaper or typing away on laptops (while wearing iPod earbuds, of course). In fact, network connections of the "Hey, maybe you can hook me up with an internship or job..." variety have been known to arise within Tryst's walls.
To sweeten the deal, Tryst also provides free wireless Internet access, ideal for writing papers, checking e-mails and away messages, or poking attractive people you haven't met on Facebook.
Easygoing. No stuffiness. No air of pretension. Tryst is not the kind of place you go to be seen. It's the kind of place you go to sink into a couch, read, people-watch, have a quality cup of java, or just plain be.
Tryst 2459 18th St. NW 202-232-5500 Metro: Red line, Woodley Park/Adams Morgan
