Let´s go back in time

As a 21-year-old student originally from Colombia, I thought for sure it was too late to ever experience the political energy that took place in the U.S. during the ‘60s. But then I discovered Yippie Café, a coffee shop that makes me feel like I didn’t completely miss that determinative decade after all.

Stepping through the dented metal front door of this hangout at 9 Bleecker St. is like going into a time machine. I can sit on vintage leather couches with a couple of gray-haired coffee drinkers, reading magazines that date back to 1977, humming along to the Beatles and Paul Simon songs that fill the air.

The prices on the menu feel like a throwback to an earlier time too. A cup of free-trade, organic Guatemalan coffee costs 75 cents. It’s also possible to get just about any tea combination you can think of for $1.75. The chai and cinnamon tea blend won me over. And the bagel -- with the exact amount of cream cheese I had asked for and no more -- was delicious. Also, a pretty good deal considering I only paid $2.50 for the bagel.

You can also find butter croissants for $1.50 and mouth-watering blueberry muffins for $2. However, for those looking to stay off carbs and caffeine, the options are varied too. Natural juices, promoted as “high health” drinks, are very popular. You can create your own blend of apple, lemon, ginger, beet, carrot or spinach juice. Sizes vary between 8ounces for $3 and 16ounces for $5.

Not surprisingly, these bargains are attracting a new clientele -- college students who come to Yippie Café looking for low prices, free Wifi good music – and a great alternative to the usual Starbucks and Think Coffee.

This 36-year-old hangout only became a café in 2007, according to café management. Before that, it was a meeting place for yippies, members of the politically-driven Youth International Movement which was established in 1967. Yippies were active in the anti-war movement and supported the legalization of marijuana. There is still an 8-foot cannabis leaf painting that decorates one of the coffee shop’s walls.

Today, activism has given way to reminiscing. Yippies come not just for the food but for conversation with old friends. Eavesdrop on the older customers, and you’ll hear phrases like “the great ´60s,” “a time when New York was affordable” and “the great minds who stepped into this place.”

“It´s hard to get a bunch of yippies out of this place,” said self-proclaimed New York yippie, Paul DeRienzo.

Tucked in this quiet residential block, Yippie Cafe has remained unscathed by the area's transformation into a trendy, new neighborhood of 2009 prices and scrawny hipsters plugged into their iPods. But when I step through those dented metal front doors, I am confident when I say this: I would have enjoyed living in the 1960´s. Perhaps, even being a Yippie.