On Columbus Avenue (UWS), amidst the comings and goings of the rich, the very rich and the older folks living in low rent, rent-stabilized apartments sits a certain coffee shop near 75th Street.
It’s certain I would never claim it (or anywhere else) serves ‘the best cappuccino in New York’ or the ‘best bagel in Manhattan’ (there are no such things), but in complementing the Rolling Stones’ sixties hit ‘Mother’s Little Helper’ it stands alone.
CBD, as it is known in the United States — a country desperately fond of acronyms, where the Vice President’s wife is referred to as SLOTUS — is a hemp based, cannabis derived product and Da Capo is one of only two known outlets in New York.
When I read “A lot of moms in the area, after dropping off their kids, have been coming in and asking for CBD in their coffee, just to relax,” the Stones’ hit came immediately to mind.
Apparently, its effects are not exactly those of marijuana, but they sound carbon copy close. And surprisingly, it has slipped through the regulatory cracks, at least until the Sacklers get their hands on it. They are the American family responsible for Oxycontin.
So, in a neighborhood plagued by banks, drugstores (ironically) and not so independent coffee shops (Starbucks for example, and Blue Bottle which is owned by Nestlé), Da Capo stands alone, for now.
Lovely name — a musical term meaning ‘repeat, from the beginning’. Reminders of Groundhog Day?
A quarter-ounce shot of CBD costs $5.
