Free Eats Weekend: Free Roast

On Friday, I docked three hours of free Wi-Fi usage and a free sample of house blend java at the new-ish West Village coffee roasteria, Roasting Plant Coffee Company. Still only four months old, these roasters are anxious for newcomers to try each of their blends so don't be shy in asking for more than a few samples.

As I see it, there are many cool features about this coffee shop beyond their patented roasting system, which shoots beans from the on-site roasting plant, through overhead tubes (think the bank teller type) into the brewing station and ending in a frothy finish.

Other fun details include ergonomically excellent seating and plugs at every table, perfect for typing on your laptop. Gigantic touch computers screens replace menus, on which there's Greek yogurt sold by the ounce and cookie dough sold by the shot. Genius. Another notable feature is RPCC's proximity to St. Vincent's Hospital. What does that mean to you? Well, two things: if a stray bean happens to escape from the tube, ricochet off the touch screen, and hit you in your eye, you can probably still negotiate your way across 7th Ave with your one good eye and get patched up.

But more importantly, the Roasting Plant is an ideal place to meet New York's most eligible doctors. MDs+long hours=coffee. And during my three hours at the Roasting Plant, I watched a constant flow of scrubbed up cuties mosey in.

Weirdest thing about Roasting Plant? This lady...the travelling perfume saleswoman. She busted in at about 3pm with an insulated lunch bag of Britney Spears Fantasy and D&G's Light Blue knock-offs. Next thing I know, she's stinking up the joint with her "free" perfume samples. So much for the delightful aroma of freshly brewed coffee...