[Photos: Liz Clayton]

People in luxury condos need fantastic coffee, too, and the owners of hip hideout El Beit are no strangers to supplying what's in demand. Their new shop, Modca, fills a needed niche in the increasingly fancy part of Williamsburg that even its around-the-corner neighbor, Blue Bottle, can't satiate. (In part because Blue Bottle's standing-room-only scene works better for cyclists than, say, freelance graphic designers.) Owner Bassam Ali is excited about the potential to combine a passion for coffee with a passion for food.

"It's hard to open up a coffee shop that actually serves good coffee and good food. I think at this point I wanted to take on that challenge."

The El Beit offshoot is an expanded, thoughtful version of the family-owned cafe, a sleek concrete cave warmed by reclaimed wooden beams and the wafting smell of cacao from next-door-neighbors Mast Brothers. There's a full food menu, but of course, we've come for the coffee: rich espresso beverages fueled by Vancouver roaster 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters, my lush macchiato prepared breve by Modca's baristas in the signature 49th Parallel style: yes, indeed, there's a touch of cream in there. Single-origin coffees are available brewed to order on French press and Brewt immersion brewer (no relation to Brewtbart).

There's room to linger here, and there's also room to geek out: Modca is offering regular tastings from their coffee menu to the public; currently, tastings are held Sunday evenings at 6:00pm.

Modca

103 North 3rd Street, Brooklyn NY 11211 (map)