Katerco Coffee & Bagels

The bagels are flown in from New York. The coffee is poured out of a truck. Katerco Coffee & Bagels parks around Moseley, Virginia, including stops at local elementary schools, and customers track the day's location through Instagram. There is no fixed cafe to drive to, which is the first thing to set straight before you put it on a list.

The lavender latte is the named drink. The cold brew gets a house-made vanilla. The iced chai latte rounds out the short list of drinks that work for the truck format. Pair any of them with a New York bagel and the operation makes sense as a stand-alone meal.

The espresso is the honest weak point. The straight shots have been flagged as bland, with the milk overly bubbly, which is the kind of detail that lands harder when it shows up against the praise for the cold brew and the flavored milk drinks. The truck does better on cold and flavored than on a straight shot, and ordering accordingly will keep the experience on the strong side of the menu.

For Moseley locals who already follow the Instagram and know when the truck will be at the school pickup line, this is part of the rhythm of the week. Event-goers in the area who happen to walk into the truck at a local gathering will get a solid bagel and a lavender latte. Anyone who wanted to sit down with a book and a cortado will need a different address. The truck format is the feature and the limit at the same time.