Since coming to New York last year, I’ve been searching for a coffeeshop that I could go to and sit down in. One where it wasn’t too crowded, one that has a good offering of coffee, small food items, wine, and soft drinks. Outlets for plugging in your computer, and good lighting. Well, Doma is all of these except for it tends toward the more crowded on weekends – and doesn’t have plug-ins on weekends until after 5pm. Doma is in fact more than just this. The tiny space with maybe 500 sq. ft of space somehow seems swanky and homey at the same time. Funky, gossipy lesbian Czech women working, wine, bluefin pate salad ($8), glorified KoolAid (Doma Refresher, $2.75), wood floors, a hodgepodge of mismatched tables and chairs, a pitiful magazine selection, huge bay windows, hanging lights, two lumbering ceiling fans, and a big brick wall painted white all make the décor seem like hanging out in the den with your cousins.
There is a de facto dress code of designed T-shirts or collared shirts with jeans or linen slacks and casual sneakers for guys. Ladies should wear a combination of yoga inspired pants with some type of shirt-dress and either sandals, genuine workout sneakers or low-key boots. The idea is laid back, yet sexy as hell. Ladies, hair should be down and in as “natural” a style as your particular hair type will allow. Afros are highly desirable even if it isn’t your natural hair style. Gentlemen should arrive clean shaven or covered in a gentle layer of scruff. Bring your old books, because they have a trendy “Books for Darfur” drive, where people throw away their literary scraps at Sudanese children so that they feel good about themselves…
Besides the gentle patina of pretense inherent in the crowd that frequents Doma (which is perfect for me), the actual place itself is a gem. It’s situated on an off street, about two or three blocks south of a subway station – it is in fact extremely easily accessible, with the 1,2,3, F, A, B, C trains within five blocks of its’ locations. All kidding aside, Doma is easy to find, the food and drinks are pretty tasty (the juices can be a little expensive, but the coffee is okay), there’s tons of space and the people tend to be nice to look at…
Doma
Open 0745 to 0000 every day
212.929.4339
17 Perry St.
New York
now after experiencing doma, i do agree with what you have written. it seemed incredibly trendy and many of the people there seemed to be either an art or philosophy student or teacher. small tables if you’re trying to spread out cramped my style and the noise increased exponentially over the few hours we were sitting there. but the food menu, considering it’s a coffee shop, is pretty darn good.
what do you mean by the darfur book drive comment? your comment sounds like you disagree with the drive though? i agree with you, it does make many feel better and like a “do-gooder” to drop books off, when maybe just dropping off a few books doesn’t really go that far. either way they are going somewhere, to someone who doesn’t have such easy accessibility to books rather than sitting pointlessly on someone’s dusty bookshelf. what would you suggest instead? i am curious
I agree with the book drive itself – its’ only the execution (not Doma’s fault) of it was a little flawed…Recently a sign went up asking people not to donate books on things like dieting, cooking, christianity, and terrorism…it was actually sort of sad to see that lack of compassion and sensitivity. Which is why I felt like it is such a token effort for most people…they aren’t actually giving anything – they are dumping their “books” as if it was garbage…