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Time spent at Think Coffee might just jumpstart your dormant dissertation. This coffeehouse on NYU turf keeps students (and the rest of the locals) well caffeinated and nourished. It also brings a social conscience to the dirty business of selling coffee: Think brews only Fair Trade, organic, and shade-grown java; the hormone-free milk comes from small farms in the Hudson Valley; and twenty-five percent of profits are donated to local charities. The food menu consists mostly of soups, sandwiches, and salads—all made in-house—and breads and confections brought in from a veritable greatest-hits list of small New York bakeries (Tom Kat, Sweet Dreams, TriBeCa Oven). The space retains the aesthetic of an idealized, unfinished loft—columns, exposed bricks, scuffed wooden floors, painted tin ceiling—and hodgepodge seating options abound, with upholstered Victorian-style chairs and camel-backed sofas mixed in with tables for two, a banquette for larger parties, and a long, white marble-topped bar. Studying, of people and texts, happens up front, near the windows, where the music is quieter. The vibe towards the back is more convivial, if still collegial. — Andrew Sessa

Think loves extras, like free wi-fi, Scrabble tournaments, readings, and live music. One owner also co-owns Williamsburg’s Bedford Cheese Shop and knows his way around the stinky stuff; plans are in the works for biodynamic wine-tastings and temp-controlled cheese tidbits.

Organic yogurt-granola parfait, $5.25; brownie, $2.25; Johnny Boy sandwich, $3.75

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