Blacksmith is a chill hang out. If you leave it at this, you will have a good time.
The place nailed the unassuming, Plain Jane exterior that the hipster spots in Brooklyn did first - but has not really been in town down here before in quite this fashion. The inside is unexpectedly clean for a hip spot. The staff make relatively well-scheduled sojourns through the wasteland to clear out used plates and cups from your table. My dining companion's plate was whisked away so quickly it seemed like there was a shortage of plates, forks, and/or his crumbs in the back of the house. My empty cup received slightly less attention so I had something to fidget with elegantly, as I am wont to do.
The menu is on the Westheimer-side wall. I had perused the yelp reviews and the Flat White seemed pretty popular. So I went with that for my coffee needs. The barista was super nice and even more friendly. Which is important in a sort of pretentious coffee spot so you don't feel like uncultured swine because you drink illy and other supermarket (Dunkin Donuts) brands when left to your own devices at your home/office coffee-fixin' contraption, instead of spending all day researching on the googles and bings what type of beans Che Guevara likely would have approved of if his zombie corpse was reanimated and to come to social prominence in the way he is remembered by upper middle class hipsters today, not the way he actually lived with his terrifying and contemporarily frowned-upon views he actually held when he was still alive the first time.
The barista was too innocent-looking and female for my favorite coffeehouse request - to draw Dickbutt with the latte art. Some places oblige (or give it the old College Try) if they are cool kids that spend enough time on the internets to understand the sophisticated nuances of Dickbutt, rather than assuming certain scandalous things about the middle aged man that just requested such a thing. Other coffeehouses will claim they don't know how to draw it, so I get the stupid flower pattern again. This place gives you the flower pattern - standardization probably comes in handy when they get slammed with a long line running out the front door to the street, since even my cute puppy could draw a flower in the latte art if properly motivated. However, considering the rapid gentrification of my neighborhood that turned a hella-gay gay bar of all shapes, sizes, socioeconomic statuses, and ethnicities into a nouveau riche all-white hipster coffee spot, Dickbutt seemed perfectly appropriate under the circumstances to honor the fallen soldier that used to stand tall here.
The Flat White came out at a cooler temperature than I had expected. Since they had filled it to the tippy-top brim nearly spilling over, and you need to pick up at the counter yourself and navigate yourself back to your table in a space that is tightly packed with hipsters, their bags, their beard hair flying every which way, and whatnot - I think they learned about the McDonalds hot coffee lawsuit and they ain't takin' no chances here about some klutz burning themselves on their short trip back to their table through the hipster obstacle course - what you haven't heard about a hipster obstacle course? I guess it is too underground for you, ya know. But I actually prefer taking my coffee at a drinkable heat level, such as Blacksmith delivers. So I don't need to sit there for ten minutes blowing on it like a blasted NES cartridge that isn't working, just so it cools down enough I can drink it without directly consuming the yesterday's twice-warmed-over hellfires of Tina Belcher's Jail-Hell.
The footprint inside is pretty small obviously as you can see from the exterior. Tables are very close to each other. The bookbags, laptop bags, and beard hair flying everywhere definitely makes it feel even cozier inside. It only takes a few loud talkers in there to make it cacophonous to the extent it is unpleasant. With that being said, you time it right and it is a pleasant spot to meet and chat over a nice cup of coffee that gives you change back from a $5, but then you quickly deposit into the tip jar at stage right because it's not even enough to buy a Dr. Pepper with out of a vending machine these days - Thanks Obama. However parking was no issue with various Clumsy Butcher parking options around, as well as street parking so long as you are careful.
The barista you get would likely greatly affect the yelp star rating you affix to your coffee experience. Ours was lovely, personable, and friendly so she helped this place along to a rating of premium foursies. If she becomes more male and draws Dickbutt with the latte art, then y'all are looking at an updated review with an upgrayedd to fabulous five stars.
It is worth a visit whether you are a coffee snob that read about this place in the Weekly or just someone local that needs some caff in the morning to get things going with a cuppa somethin' read more