Sunday, January 21, 2007

Victrola

Victrola's is a funky spacious cafe. The new one lacks the atmosphere that the original has created for itself, but I'm sure it will get there eventually. The coffee is delicious, the tea is great and the food is good too (I recommend the raspberry thumbprint cookies). In my opinion it's the best coffee on Pike. Sadly, the baristas are pretentious about their coffee and about life in general and aren't too friendly to non-regulars or people who don't pay attention to which coffee is which.

-Kaya

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Bauhaus
Bauhaus is a large two story cafe with kind baristas and really bad
coffee. For some reason it's a popular place for kids from my school
to go even though the coffee (in my opinion) tastes like dishwater
that has been left sitting in the sink for a day or three and has gone
stale. The chai is also nothing special. The atmosphere is nice
though. The cafe looks like an old library. The walls are covered with
books and there is even one of those sliding ladders so that you can
reach the books that are on the top shelves. It has a decent array of
treats though. If you want a place to study, come here, but if you
want a decent cup of coffee steer clear.

-Kaya
Arosa's
Arosa's is on Madison off Summit. It's a tiny little cafe that sells
snack waffles for $1.75. Snack waffles are waffles baked in maple
syrup and they are amazing. The chai is good, the coffee is good
(amazing if you dip your snack waffle into it). The old man who owns
the cafe is sweet and always finds a way to ask you about the weather.
He also has a knack for remembering faces. Not only do they sell snack
waffles but they also sell a variety of (actually) grilled sandwiches.
Only problem is the cafe is really tiny and sort of hidden in a corner
next to a Right Aid (or is it a Walgreen's?).

-Kaya
Uncle Elizabeth's
Uncle Elizabeth's is on Pike right off Boron. It's a little cyber cafe
that makes an okay cup of coffee and a good cup of chai. They have
paintings hanging on the walls by local artists that change weekly and
are for sale. Uncle E's has a small selection of sweets. Consisting of
croissants, bagels, chocolate cake, shortcake and macaroons. And they
sell "grilled sandwiches" that are sandwiches wrapped in tin foil. If
you buy a cup of anything you get twenty minutes free on a computer,
but if you don't want to pay for surfing time bring your own laptop
because (I think) they have free wi-fi. The baristas range from loud
wish-I-was-a-comedian-but-I-have-no-sense-of-humor to
Im-a-quite-cute-nerd-and-I-dont-know-it. As a rule they are all
friendly.
-Kaya