This is a very friendly, nice, down to earth spot in Greenpoint. The fact that the owner as well as the staff are so accommodating to the customers is a godsend. There are many places in Brooklyn that serve specialty coffee. Most of those places are staffed by individuals who - while they might be highly trained professionals - they have very bad customer service skill sets. The staff of Odd Fox - while actually better trained than the staff at other local shops along Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint - are also well versed in customer service and are also highly accommodating to their guests; and always.
The owner is a well trained and highly educated coffee professional who makes sure his staff are always keeping up with their industry training. The espresso and the filter brew (all of which are Roasted by Parlor Coffee) are always correctly dialed-in and target extraction parameters and (TDS - Total dissolved solids) - are always within industry acceptable ranges. The physical details of the shop are also always well maintained. The fact that the guest restroom is always clean and well stocked is a miracle of great skill in such a high volume location.
Anyone who works within the coffee industry and/or the service industry in NYC will grasp and understand just how hard maintaining a clean and well-stocked customer restroom in a high volume shop in NYC can be. The fact that they also place great care and importance into well-maintained equipment, ongoing staff training, and industry education for staff, as well as excellent customer service, provides the whole package for one who appreciates specialty - aka 3rd wave - coffee and wants to relax and enjoy themselves while out at a shop.
Also, they go out of their way to keep prices at a beyond reasonable level. I am actually dumbfounded by how inexpensive the shop menu is as I also work within the specialty coffee industry in NYC and know what the average menu prices are throughout Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn. Odd Fox, is very reasonable compared to other shops in the area. A nice side note to this review, since the warm weather will soon be upon us, is they do utilize the Toddy Method so you get actual Cold Brew. I am unsure of the steep time they use but I have to suspect it is within the 14 to 24 hour range most use. The Cold Brew (taken Black with no milk, sugar, or syrup) has a nice silky body with lots of rich coco. chocolate, touches of warm raisins on the back-end, and the mouthfeel that lingers afterwards is clean. read more