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COCONUTS HOT SPOT — Every neighborhood needs a coffee shop like Local Edition. It is located near enough everyone, Legazpi villagers can and will bump into each other just by getting coffee, or they can gather around and actually converse with one another. It’s a small little joint that fosters a warm sense of community.
As soon as you enter the coffee shop, a shelf full of books, terrariums and merch greet you. Local Edition has jumpstarted a book-exchange program called #TheBookProjectManila — take one in exchange for another that you’ll leave behind.
The book project is a great way to start a conversation especially if you decide to sit on the communal table right smack in the center of the 15-seater coffee shop — it can comfortably seat six but can snuggly fit maybe eight — or it’s a great way to avoid people and remain passive in a place buzzing with energy and activity.
By the white wall at the end of the joint, which usually feature different exhibits are four two-seater tables. They are almost always occupied with laptop-yielding freelancers.
The open-layout joint also has bar tables: one facing a wall where Hershel merchandise hangs, and the other, the lovely tree-lined Perea street. Outside is a smoking area so inviting you can’t help but stay there and start a conversation with a fellow smoker. It’s so easy to brand this place a hipster joint but with a lot of people working in here, professionals in smart suits and business attires coming and going, the lack of highfaluting discussions, and food and drink served as low-key as possible, we refuse to judge it thus.
Besides, the food and drink here is terrific. Nothing too pretentious or whatnot, just good, straightforward food and drink. There are regular coffee drinks as well as the fancier ones, all strong but all very fine, too. We like that flat white (PHP135) is available here but it still has quite a bit of foam, drowning the excellent coffee flavor.
With time replacing temperature, cold brew coffee is a pretty tricky thing to serve; not a lot of coffee joints in Metro Manila serve this. But Local Edition has gotten its cold brew coffee (PHP105) down pat. Ask the staff to sweeten your drink and somehow, they know exactly how much sweetener to put. Please, if you’re a smoker and need to stay outdoors, please order this instead of your usual iced coffee drink. You won’t regret it.
Local Edition has a lean food menu — salad, pasta, sandwiches, pastries — but nothing has more buzz surrounding it than Local Edition’s grilled cheese sandwich (PHP180). Now we know why. The black grill marks on the bread will tell you it’s beautifully toasted and the nice crackle every time you bite into it affirms your first impression.
Local Edition slathers the insides with good mayonnaise so that there’s a nice little zing to the heaviness of cheese — umay factor averted. A bite and you’ll see the mozza and cheddar cheese combo deliciously flow out, inviting you to take another bite, please. Of course you do.
We visited Local Edition twice. On our first, for the coffee and on our second, for the food. We had already planned out our menu: grilled cheese, deviled egg salad, and tablea brownie. But the grilled cheese absolutely took center stage, not to mention its big serving size and the fact that it’s damn good, we forgot about the rest. So a third visit is a must. Already another item is added to our list. We noticed several diners delightfully eating the caprese pasta. It’s fusilli with basil, tomatoes and kesong puti. We want to try that too.
Local Edition is a coffee shop on 116 Perea St, Legazpi Village, Makati. Mon-Fri 7:30am-7:30pm; Sat & Sun 10:30am-7:30pm. +63 2 5569655.
Headline and grilled cheese photos: Local Edition/Instagram
Inside Local Edition: an open layout, smart lighting, and enough conversation pieces to get people talking
Local Edition’s flat white. Notice the lack of frills? We like!
Local Edition’s cold brew in simple paper cup packaging
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