There were real cafés in New York in the 1890's but they were chiefly in the parts of the city where the newly arrived immigrants lived, especially the lower East side, where men, even though they were not flush, could find time to drink coffee and play chess in the middle of the afternoon. Prices for coffee then went from low to high, (like what we find today in fact): people could get a cup for as low as a penny from the places called "coffee stands" or order a coffee for 25 cents at an upscale restaurant . But the price of the coffee was not always a sign for the quality of the coffee. To get a great cup of coffee for only 1 cent was probably not possible, but getting bad coffee 25 cents a cup did happen a lot; on the lower East Side there were cafés where the coffee was considered to be excellent and a cup would only cost 5 cents a cup.

Additionally, New Yorkers had become so worldly that they could go to a wide variety of cosmopolitan restaurants and order coffee made from recipes based on a large variety of international recipes. The German and Austrian coffee shops on the Lower East Side were reputed to serve the finest and least expensive coffee. Between Second Avenue and Avenue B, from First Street to Tenth Street, there were at least 20 cafés where great coffee was served at 5 cents a cup. The coffee offered in those 1890s cafes was a deep black color and quite powerful – it was also prepared with plenty of steamed milk. The coffee in those cafés was probably sweet-tasting and fresh. The most popular cafés had no problem bringing in customers, starting early in the morning and continuing until closing time, late at night.

Some Parisian-style eateries also had cafe au lait on their menus, much like you would find in France. These French cafés made coffee in a somewhat elaborate way: you were brought a big coffee mug, a spoon, lots of sugar, a pot filled with dark coffee and chicory flavoring, and another pot with an a large amount of steamed milk. You would then combine the two containers into your cup or bowl, and end up with a great-tasting and somewhat silky coffee beverage. For "hip" residents of 1890s New York, these French bistro-type restaurants tried to emulate their Parisian cousins ​​by having on the menu their wonderful café au lait, plus real French bread and creamy butter – it made for a beneficial and filling breakfast.

Turkish coffee was also available to coffee-seekers if they ventured into the "Arab Quarter" of city, along Washington Street (which runs north and south near the Hudson river). This coffee, using the Turkish method, usually turned out to be very potent and decent. The Middle-eastern user of giving a cup of coffee to shoppers in the old country bazaars was honored also in New York by the Arab-American shop owners.

In 1890s New York, the coffee available at lower East Side cafes was reputed to be good and economic because it was carefully made from high-quality beans. Those coffee establishments offered coffee that was heartier and less adulterated compared to the low-priced coffee served at up-town cafés. The patrons at the East Side cafés were coffee drinkers out of habit, who sipped their coffee beverages to maintain an "edge" during the day and not just as a accompaniment for the meal.

Lunch-time restaurants could serve mediocre coffee without fear of losing patrons by and large, but the feeling was that customers would not return to an East Side cafe that reduced the quality of its coffee.

Without a doubt, I believe the public from the 1890's would be dazzled by Starbucks and the changes they brought to every street in New York today.