First Look: Joe

: Scott Weiner

by A.D. Amorosi

In this, the day and the age of the corporate coffee shop, I ask you -- to paraphrase Cameron Crowe on the power of classic rock -- where is the “Iron Man” of our youth, or the “Black Dog”?

Substitute French roast and African blend for Black Sabbath and Led Zep and you get my drift about the state of old-school coffee houses.

OK, I know. What about the new Horn & Hardart's? Sorry to say, but, with the exception of its pop Stango artworks, its sterility outweighs its heady brews. Meaning: We don't need an indie coffee house to have the major label Starbucks.

So trek down to Walnut Street's Joe. As in "cuppa joe." As in owner Joe Cesa's amber, sun-dappled perco-porium next to the Forrest Theatre, on the Thomas Jefferson University campus, right across from Wendy's and Buffalo Exchange.

This casually eclectic coffee house is as relaxed as Cesa, who formerly operated the in-house catering at University of the Arts, was owner and chef of Cafe Metro and was a specialty food buyer at Fante's in the Italian Market. Cesa also involved himself with area charitable endeavors, like food service director at The Renfrew Center and cooking for MANNA and other AIDS-related meal providers.

Joe's interior has a Puerto Rican/Mexicali flavor, from the music on down to the genuine La Tacita burlap coffee sacks leaning against a handful of newly shiny church pews on the reddish tile floor. This coffeehouse with a conscience offers coffees and teas shade-grown and organic, from small farms and co-operatives which pay farmers fairly for their product. Philly's master micro-roaster, Torreo Coffee, will spill Joe's beans as will Equal Exchange, the first certified, fair trade organization in the U.S. "Joe will most likely be the only source of Puerto Rican coffee, considered among the finest in the world," says Cesa. The shop also offers fruity teas, Italian sodas, pastries and more. With amber as its principal tone, Cesa and Christopher Beardsley Architects turned Joe into a coffee-cathedral with high ceilings, walls in olive, lime, cherry, lavender and grape and pin-spot lighting that highlights Joe's gallery feel. Currently gracing the walls is the work of photographer Raoul Coutinho, a series of cityscapes.

Like the coffee it's brewing, Joe is simply warm, tasteful and energetic.

Joe, 1100 Walnut St., 215-592-7384.

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