Graffiti nearly always beats out espresso in terms of illegality.

The exception to that rule appears to be Café Dulcé’s pop-up coffee shop at the street-art gallery Hold Up Art. Two months into a proposed six-month run, the Health Department put the kibosh on the unlicensed caffeination operation.

Now, like the street-art-inspired works by Cryptik hanging on the walls, this coffee setup is right with the law and back to pulling shots and dripping cups.

You won’t just find Fashion Institute students and loft-dwellers buying coffee here; you’re likely to spot a favorite barista from some other geeky espresso spot around town. Maybe it’s the gallery setting, with its echoes of the art salon, that draws in these off-duty coffee folks to talk shop. The monthly rotation of cult roasters certainly gives them plenty to discuss--and drink. Handsome beans are starring through the end of September, and Michigan’s Madcap Coffee Company could be up next.

The pour-over cup of Nicaraguan Finca Santa Gema ($4) we tasted was light and fruity, a drink that transcends the dark, bitter flavor connotations of “black” coffee. And the espresso-based drinks, currently made with Handsome’s new Comeuppance blend, are pulled and poured as carefully as Cryptik draws his Buddhism-inspired images.   

Café Dulcé at Hold Up Art, 425 W. 11th St., Downtown; facebook.com/cafedulce