Category: coffee shops & reviews

mini-review: Little Owl Coffee


See my Denver field report


This small cafe in LoDo has a very high end, Scandinavian aesthetic. All the finishes feel expensive and cold. Gleaming white laminates, marble, wood in various shades, everything spare, the lighting is just so. I felt like I should have been much taller, much thinner, much blonder, wearing a turtleneck and plain, wire-rimmed glasses, not smiling because life is suffering and my turtleneck is very itchy and Ingmar Bergman is filming me in achingly beautiful yet incredibly depressing black and white.

Or something.

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mini-review: ink! Coffee (16th Street Mall)


See my Denver field report

A local chain founded in Aspen in 1994, it feels a little more corporate than indie. This location was bright and airy, if a bit sterile. The barista was friendly enough but didn’t seem to have any level of expertise.  A Rancilio machine is used to make your espresso.

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mini-review: Kaladi Coffee (University)


See my Denver field report

I really wanted to love this cafe near the University of Denver.  Beautiful space, busy, friendly staff – I appreciated that the barista checked first on how I wanted my macchiato made – and great decor, including dolls of Pee Wee Herman and his pal Pterri hanging off the menu board.  They seem to take the coffee seriously but not too seriously, roast their own beans, and offer classes.

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Field Report: Denver, CO

Concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater


A short travel report from a short, caffeine-fueled visit to the Mile High City. A beautiful city, and a great place to enjoy

locally brewed beer

legal weed

coffee.

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the world’s best cup of coffee

No, not the one where the beans are plucked from the poop of civet cats.  I’ve had that! Yeah, it was good, but between the cost and the unpleasant mental images that can’t be avoided…… not the world’s best.

I’m not talking about this, either.

I have something else in mind. Continue reading the world’s best cup of coffee

mini-review: La Tabatiere

Some places are more about the coffee. Some are more about the food. This one falls into the latter category, but they get the coffee right as well.

Gorgeous small bakery in a suburban town in northern Bergen County, NJ. Founded by a baker with a formal French background, and the display case proves this in spades. Not a good place to visit if you’re trying to avoid sweets or breads, because everything looks amazing.

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