#32 Spyhouse Coffeeshop (Nicollet) ★★★★½

July 20, 2010 by room34

Location

2451 Nicollet Ave. S, Minneapolis
GOOGLE MAP • YELP • WEBSITE

Ratings

Location: ★★★★★
Atmosphere: ★★★★★
Coffee: ★★★★½
Food: ★★★
Service: ★★★★
Vibe: ★★★★★
Overall: ★★★★½

Pros

Great location, cool retro vibe, excellent coffee.

Cons

Limited food selection.

Review

Now I know why I’ve had such a hard time finding the kind of cool retro/’50s/midcentury furniture I’d like to fill my house with. It’s all at Spyhouse. The huge interior space at Spyhouse’s Nicollet Ave. location is divided into a number of “rooms” with the baristas located in the center. There are a few table seating areas with vintage dinette sets; a few black vinyl covered diner booths, and a living room-type area with vintage couches, chairs, and even an ancient console television. (There’s also a great outdoor seating area, but on this day that I’m visiting, the weather is so perfect that with all of the doors wide open, the inside feels like outside, and it’s wonderful.)

Needless to say, I liked Spyhouse immediately upon walking in the door. This is not my first time at Spyhouse, but it’s been ages — about seven or eight years ago, an old friend of mine from high school lived half a block away and we came here a few times when I’d visit. I also vaguely recall stopping here once with SLP a couple years later, after we moved back to Minneapolis. But since this area is, regrettably, not a place I visit often, I’m less than a regular at Spyhouse.

The location is excellent, though: right in the heart of “Eat Street,” the vibrant, diverse strip of Nicollet Ave. between downtown and Lake St. best known for its numerous restaurants. It’s also just a couple blocks west of MIA and MCAD. The area is hip, but without the gentrification of the Hennepin-Lake area of Uptown.

Unlike many of the places I’ve reviewed recently, which are more like restaurants that have jumped on the coffeehouse trend, Spyhouse really is a coffeehouse — the emphasis is on the coffee, with a limited selection of food options, but the baked goods (I had a banana chocolate chip muffin) are tasty, and an excellent accompaniment to the superb coffee.

Service was fast, friendly and professional, and my cappuccino was finished off with a flourish: the baristas here know what they’re doing. I sometimes feel when I visit these well-run, heavy-traffic coffeehouses in more densely urban areas of the city — such as Spyhouse here on Nicollet or Common Roots at Lyndale and 26th — like I’m really in the city; as if my neighborhood in Nokomis East, as much as I love it, is a rural small town by comparison. I’m reminded of the episode of Seinfeld where George invites Kramer along to visit his parents in Queens. The Manhattan-dwelling Kramer replies, “Sure, I love going to the country.” Nokomis East equals Queens equals country. Whittier equals Manhattan equals city. I’m sure anyone who’s actually from New York would scoff at my daring to compare any part of Minneapolis to even the most rural, provincial-seeming part of Gotham (Staten Island, maybe?), and I recall a time SLP told me about someone from New York visiting here and having a good chuckle at the fact that we have an “Uptown,” (aren’t we cute?); still, the comparison works in my mind.

Whatever the case, if you’re looking for a great “big city” coffeehouse in Minneapolis, Spyhouse is about as good as it gets.

Note: Spyhouse has two locations: one on Nicollet Ave. and one on Hennepin Ave. This review covers the Nicollet location only.

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#31: Java Train Cafe ★★★★½

July 13, 2010 by room34

Location

1341 Pascal St. N, St. Paul
GOOGLE MAP • YELP • WEBSITE

Ratings

Location: ★★★★
Atmosphere: ★★★★★
Coffee: ★★★½
Food: ★★★★★
Service: ★★★★
Vibe: ★★★★
Overall: ★★★★½

Pros

Nice location, great food and atmosphere, large patio, great for kids.

Cons

Coffee is not quite as good as everything else.

Review

Yesterday I took my daughter to Como Zoo for a few hours. On the way there, driving down Midway Parkway, I spotted an intriguing building half a block north on Pascal St. The side of the building, in graffiti style, announced espresso, ice cream and other such delights. Immediately I knew that would be the location of my next coffee review. But I didn’t even know the name of the business.

No matter. A quick check of Google Maps informed me that it was Java Train Cafe, and upon spotting a graffiti image of John Coltrane on its website, I was very excited to check it out. Now, granted, these preliminary experiences may have biased me in favor of Java Train just as similar experiences biased me against Lori’s in my last review. So, proceed with caution; I may like this place more than it deserves.

Java Train is located in a charming area of St. Paul, directly in the center of Midway Parkway between the state fairgrounds and Como Park. It’s a convenient location to anyone in St. Paul north of 94, and relatively easy to get to even from my house in south Minneapolis. (It is by my personal and somewhat idiosyncratic choice that I took such a meandering route to get here, but if you’re interested in a “back way”: I recommend Cleveland Avenue, which becomes Transfer Road, which becomes Pierce Butler Route and intersects Snelling Avenue just north of Hamline University and just south of the fairgrounds.)

I knew from Java Train’s website that this was a kid-friendly location, but I was not prepared for the cool, train-themed play areas both inside and out. Both the interior space and the outdoor patio are spacious enough to accommodate lots of kids (and adults!) without feeling crowded. The building is old but has been carefully renovated, retaining the original hardwood floors. The high ceilings and large windows create an open and inviting space.

In addition to the usual assortment of espresso and drip coffee beverages, Java Train offers an extensive food menu (with daily specials — today all Greek items are half price) as well as hand-dipped ice cream. I ordered my usual cappuccino and a curry chicken salad sandwich.

The cappuccino was slightly disappointing, but perhaps only because everything leading up to it had set my expectations unduly high. It is not bad in any way, just… ordinary.

The food, however, is much better. The fresh curry chicken salad is delicious, and it was served with a large (perhaps too large) helping of BBQ kettle-cooked potato chips and a small cup of cole slaw.

The service was fast and friendly, both in taking our order and delivering it promptly to our table.

My only complaint so far is the gnat that has been hovering over our table since the moment we sat down. But I don’t think I can slight the establishment for the unavoidable presence of one of Minnesota’s abundant insect inhabitants. OK, there’s also the fact that from where I’m currently sitting, the only accessible electrical outlet is in the middle of the floor a few feet away. Thank goodness for Apple’s MagSafe power adapter… and a full battery.

Overall, I am extremely satisfied with my experience at Java Train, and given its location — not close to my home, but near an area I visit often, both for work and recreation — and its kid-friendly atmosphere, I’m almost certain it will become a regular destination.

P.S.: 1337.

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Bonus mini-review trilogy: tall pines, agate beaches, and coffee

July 6, 2010 by room34

The family and I have just returned from a ten-day excursion to the north woods of Minnesota, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and Wisconsin. While scouting coffeehouses was not even a minor objective of the trip, getting a daily caffeine jolt remained a necessity. There were a few disappointments along the way: a delightful coffeehouse in the Fitger’s building that SLP and I remembered from our last visit to Duluth had closed; the lone coffeehouse on the somewhat dismal downtown strip of Ontonagon, Michigan didn’t open until 10 AM; and most of the rest of the U.P. was similarly lacking. Not entirely surprising, but still disappointing. Nonetheless, I managed to identify three coffeehouses for bonus reviews. Enjoy!

Boreal Beans Coffeehouse
★★

840 Gratiot St., Copper Harbor, MI
GOOGLE MAP • WEBSITE

I wish I could find more positive things to say about Boreal Beans than simply, “it exists.” Unfortunately, I’m not even entirely sure that’s a positive. Boreal Beans is Michigan’s “northernmost coffeehouse,” located in Copper Harbor, just a couple of miles south of the northern terminus of US Highway 41. It’s housed in a small storefront better suited to use as a gift shop, in a small motel. There’s no seating available, although there is WiFi (from the motel — something our otherwise superior accommodations elsewhere in the village lacked).

The biggest disappointment here though was the coffee itself. While not undrinkable, it possessed a strange taste that neither I nor SLP could identify, and that we both found unappealing. Given the limited options in town, though, these are the best (because they’re the only) espresso drinks for miles around. But you’re probably better off with a standard cup of joe elsewhere.

Of course, you don’t come to Copper Harbor for cappuccino. You come for this.

Cyberia Cafe
★★★

524 Shelden Ave., Houghton, MI
GOOGLE MAP • YELP • WEBSITE

I had no idea until I looked up the Google map for this location that the “main drag” one-ways in Houghton were named Shelden and Montezuma. Odd, but then again the U.P. is kind of an odd place in general.

Cyberia Cafe is a little odd too. Its name is a dead giveaway that it dates back to the era when “Internet coffeehouses” were a brand new phenomenon, and unfortunately it still exhibits one of the more antiquated traits of that period (aside from the “cyber” prefix itself): paid Internet access. The lone review on Yelp says they offer free WiFi, and I didn’t actually test to confirm this, so perhaps the paid access applies only if you’re using their computers. Still, the sign posted behind the counter listing Internet access prices in 15-minute increments is off-putting.

I have fond memories of coming here a few times when I visited Houghton more often in the early 2000s, but my latest visit left me disappointed. The service was brusque and the coffee was bitter. Cyberia does offer an appealing location in Houghton’s charming downtown area, but otherwise has not kept up with the general level of quality of coffeehouses elsewhere over the past decade.

And don’t even get me started on the font.

Brewed Awakenings
★★★★

107 E. College Ave., Appleton, WI
GOOGLE MAP • YELP • WEBSITE

I hadn’t been to Appleton since I attended a jazz festival at Lawrence University back in high school (about 20 years ago). Upon returning last week, I found the downtown/university area to be very appealing and much like a smaller version of the downtown/university area in Madison (which I also find very appealing). I was also confident that here, at last, I would be able to find a decent coffeehouse to conclude my vacation bonus review post, and I wasn’t disappointed.

I’m not sure why so many coffeehouses have puns in their names, but by now I’m somewhat desensitized to it. Still, “Brewed Awakenings” actually elicited a chuckle the first time I saw it.

Located a few blocks from the Lawrence campus, in the heart of Appleton’s downtown commercial district, Brewed Awakenings looks the part of a hip college hangout. There’s a wide selection of beverage and food options, with an eye towards organic and sustainable sources. I ordered my usual large cappuccino (excellent) along with an egg, havarti and spinach croissant sandwich. The sandwich was good, but served scalding hot (obviously having been microwaved, which was a bit disappointing). The eggs were light and fluffy, but somewhat flavorless.

The interior space was inviting and populated by a handful of college students, even on a summer Friday morning. The service was reasonably friendly, if slightly ill-prepared to handle our fairly straightforward order. Overall, though, I felt right at home at Brewed Awakenings and can imagine spending many mornings there if I lived in Appleton… something I wouldn’t mind at all, at least on a warm, clear summer day like the one we enjoyed last week. I might have second thoughts in February. But then, I live in Minneapolis, so I could probably handle it.

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#30: Lori’s Coffee House ★★½

June 24, 2010 by room34

Location

1441 Cleveland Ave. N, St. Paul
GOOGLE MAP • YELP

Ratings

Location: ★★★
Atmosphere: ★½
Coffee: ★★★★
Food: N/A
Service: ★★★
Vibe: ★★★
Overall: ★★½

Pros

Good coffee, inexpensive, close to U of M St. Paul campus.

Cons

Bare-bones and somewhat dingy interior, no credit cards, limited parking.

Review

I typically avoid reading any other reviews online before I visit a coffeehouse, because I don’t want my opinion to be tainted. Today, however, I kind of stumbled on a scathingly negative review of Lori’s Coffee House while I was in the process of simply finding a place to go. Now, whenever I’m reading any… erm… “user-generated content” online, I turn my skepticism up to the max. It’s usually easy to read between the lines of a harsh screed to determine whether the writer’s arguments really reflect more upon the subject or themselves. In this case, I was on the fence. But since I needed to be in St. Anthony Park (specifically, at Luther Seminary) this afternoon, and this was the closest indie coffeehouse I could find, it was a fairly easy choice. Perhaps I would deliver my first sub-★★★ review!

My first impression upon arriving at the corner of Cleveland and Buford, on the edge of the St. Paul U of M campus and the border between St. Paul and Falcon Heights (since, interestingly — if you’re interested in boring details like I am — the St. Paul campus is actually in Falcon Heights), was that this area doesn’t really feel like the Twin Cities to me. It does feel more “St. Paul” than “Minneapolis,” and I’m not sure how much it’s my lack of familiarity with the area, combined with today’s unusual air quality — it’s a sunny summer day, but it’s about the smoggiest I’ve ever seen here — but the hilly residential streets to the west of Lori’s feel more like some of the upper-middle-class neighborhoods in western Los Angeles or northern Atlanta than anyplace else I’ve seen around here.

And why did I bother driving around those residential streets, you ask? Parking. Parking is extremely limited in this area. Proximity to both the U of M campus and the state fairgrounds, along with St. Paul’s generally stingy approach to parking, made just finding an open spot a challenge. And the 1-hour parking limit means I probably won’t be able to stay here long (especially based on my past experience that St. Paul does enforce those kinds of restrictions).

As long as I spoiled my first impression of Lori’s by reading a review online, I decided to go one step further and scope it out in advance with Google Maps Street View. Lori’s is on the corner of a commercial block, but strangely, one with a large grassy yard in front. In the Street View photo the grass was dead and patchy, but in person, today, it’s lush and green. Overall, my impression of Lori’s from the exterior, when I saw it in person, surpassed my expectations.

Inside, not so much. It’s cleaner than I was led to believe by the scathing (and almost inherently untrustworthy) review, but the linoleum tile floor is ancient and crumbling, with a bunch of tiles missing. The walls are dingy and nearly devoid of artwork. There are six four-top tables inside, along with a couple of additional tables out front (in the “yard”). There may be a restroom for customers’ use, but I don’t intend to confirm that.

There are food options, but not many — a display case half full of pastries and a small cooler with premade sandwiches. I opted to forgo food, recognizing that omitting that item would further skew my already somewhat biased review. But so be it.

I rarely carry cash, but I was lucky today that I happened to have two singles in my wallet and a dollar in quarters in my pocket, because Lori’s doesn’t take plastic. The barista defended that decision in terms I couldn’t disagree with: Lori’s cash-only policy keeps prices low. My large cappuccino was only $2.50, considerably cheaper than anyplace else I’ve visited. Credit cards are obviously an issue though; I’ve heard two other customers (or, well, would-be customers) ask about it since I came in.

The cappuccino is quite good, too, albeit not on the artistic level of Kopplin’s, Angry Catfish or Overflow. But it’s not quite good enough to offset the other negatives of the experience.

Clearly Lori’s appeals primarily to students at the St. Paul U of M campus, along with neighborhood residents. A number of students are here working and chatting. I’m pleased to see that Lori’s attracts a steady stream of customers. The good coffee (and the essential free WiFi) and its proximity to the campus make it an obvious destination. But I suspect its greatest strength is that there simply are no other similar options in the area. I’m almost never in this part of town, so Lori’s is unlikely to be a destination for me again in the future.

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Reviewing myself

June 16, 2010 by room34

As I was walking to 3 Tiers this morning for the third straight day, looking up at the clear blue sky (and thinking of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), listening to the birds chirping (almost too loudly), watching a neighbor in his business casual uniform walking from his front door to his car (as I strolled along in my t-shirt and shorts), I couldn’t help thinking back to my original, moderately unfavorable review of 3 Tiers (and my still not-totally-favorable “second look” follow-up), and feeling I had done the place a disservice.

This is the challenge and the danger of writing a review website like this. Aside from the basic, inherent subjectivity of the process, a lot of transient factors contribute unduly to the outcome, from incidental conditions in the place on the day of my visit, to my own preconceptions, to the whims of my mood.

I’ve been to White Rock Coffee Roasters a total of three times now. On two of those occasions (including the first, when I reviewed it), their espresso machine has been broken down. What am I to make of something like that? Based on my statistically invalid sampling, I could say you have a 67% chance of not being able to get an espresso drink when you go there. (Granted, that’s an improvement from the 100% based on my first visit.) In other words, it would be completely unfair to judge White Rock based on such limited experience.

But that’s just what I do every time I write a review, especially if I’ve never been to the place before. And in some ways, it’s even worse when I have been to a place before, because it’s pretty much impossible for me to not let my past experiences influence my review. Usually the past experience is beneficial to the establishment being reviewed that day, but it gives them an unfair advantage over the others.

Back at 3 Tiers, I feel a slight twinge of guilt each time I step inside. Whereas once my identity as the writer of this blog became known at Nokomis Beach, I was practically treated like a local celebrity (having given it a highly favorable review), I just keep hoping that the staff at 3 Tiers either has never read my review or that they’ll at least never figure out I’m the person who wrote it. Because I like 3 Tiers more every time I come here.

While some of my most minor complaints about the place may still stand, I’ve grown to appreciate many aspects of 3 Tiers, especially as a great place to come and work. And beyond my own personal growth, I think 3 Tiers has been improving consistently: the food and drink options are always expanding — and are always excellent, among the very best food and coffee I’ve tasted in my travels for this blog — and the staff is extremely friendly. It has become my favorite place to go and work, and not just because it’s a short walk from my house.

So, where does this leave me with this blog and the reviews contained herein? I definitely want to continue writing the blog, but I’m beginning to feel like each rating deserves as many asterisks as stars. Every opinion needs to be smothered in qualifying statements. Well, that’s no good. My writing is meandering enough as it is. I guess more than anything else I worry that the staff or owners of a particular coffeehouse will read only the entry reviewing their business, and not take in the larger context of the blog where I engage in critical self-reflection to undercut anything negative I may have said about them. (Then again, I’m not really sure that part of the blog existed until right now.)

It’s been said often (including by me, often) that most blogs have an “audience of one.” I’m pleased to be at a point where my writing does attract some readers besides myself, but it’s still probably true — and always will be — that this blog is more important to me than to anyone else. (I think that’s something even tech blogger extraordinaire John Gruber might agree with.) I write the blog to help spread the word about the great indie coffee options in the Twin Cities, but I mainly write it to compel myself to get out and experience these places, instead of just lazily plopping down in the seat of my Honda Fit and heading to the Caribou drive-thru on a daily basis.

Writing this blog has changed my life. That sounds melodramatic, but it’s true. Not only has it taken me to parts of the city I rarely visit and given me experiences I wouldn’t have otherwise had, but it has changed how I think about the daily activity of getting coffee (and yes, it is an absolutely essential daily activity in my life). And it’s led to broader changes, which SLP and I are now beginning to chronicle in our Unchained blog.

So, yes, I absolutely will continue writing this blog. And I probably will continue to post star ratings for my various criteria in reviewing each new coffeehouse. The stars may be somewhat pointless (we’ll see if I ever manage to find a place that doesn’t merit at least a ★★★), but I value consistency too much to stop them now, and it would feel like revisionist history of the worst kind (well, OK, not the worst kind — I’m not Dick Cheney) to go back and remove them from the existing posts. Plus, it would be a lot of tedious work.

Though this post probably qualifies as navel-gazing of the first order, I think for once I’m actually writing primarily for someone other than myself (well, and Kandace). I’m writing for Sarah, the owner of 3 Tiers. It’s taken a while to arrive at this point, but she’s created a real gem for our neighborhood. Having a great bakery/coffeehouse serving fantastic breakfast and lunch options just a few doors down from Al Vento is wonderful. Being able to walk to these places, and to Sea Salt, contributes tremendously to the quality of life this neighborhood offers. So to Sarah and the rest of her staff, I just want to say, thank you. And please, don’t take my reviews too seriously.

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Unchained: a new blog

June 7, 2010 by room34

SLP and I are collaborating on a new blog, Unchained. Hoping to break out of a rut of bad choices in diet and exercise, we’ll be using this blog to chronicle our experiences as we break free of chain stores and processed food, and obtain as much of our food as possible under our own power (that is, on foot or bicycle).

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#29: Trotter’s Cafe ★★★½

June 4, 2010 by room34

Location

232 Cleveland Ave. N, St. Paul
GOOGLE MAP • YELP • WEBSITE

Ratings

Location: ★★★★
Atmosphere: ★★
Coffee: ★★★★
Food: ★★
Service: ★★★★
Vibe: ★★★★
Overall: ★★★½

Pros

Great coffee, nice eco-friendly vibe.

Cons

Can be hot, food prices are a little high for what you get, not great for claustrophobes.

Review

I’ve spent some time at Trotter’s in the past, but it had been a few years: given its proximity to Choo Choo Bob’s Train Store, Trotter’s is an obvious destination for parents of Thomas-obsessed toddlers. Ever since my son moved on to Star Wars and Nintendo, the impetus to stop at the corner of Cleveland and Marshall has diminished significantly.

But I still have positive memories of making a quick dash around the corner for lattes when we’d bring the kids for an hour or two of acute exposure to model trains and airborne illness. (Anyone with young kids knows what it’s like at places where they gather in large numbers.)

I also have a somewhat negative association with Trotter’s, attributable mostly to its name. I know pigs’ feet are a popular delicacy to some, but having grown up where such things are produced, with memories of the sounds and the smells of the slaughterhouse hanging in the air over the town, it’s a wonder I can enjoy pork at all. Fortunately, there’s no indication that Trotter’s Cafe is in any way named in honor of a certain pork product.

Trotter’s is, as I mentioned, located on Cleveland Ave. in St. Paul, a half block south of Marshall Ave. It’s a great location for anyone in the regrettably named Merriam Park-Snell-Lex-Ham (or, if you prefer, and I do, Union Park) neighborhood of St. Paul, or really just about anyone on the west side of St. Paul or south Minneapolis with a car, bike or bus pass. Unfortunately, if your preferred mode of transportation is a car, you may have trouble finding a place to park it: most of the parking in the area is 15-minute, 1-hour, or permit-only. Nonetheless, we managed to snag a spot a half block down on Cleveland that appears to have no restrictions. This will be confirmed when I leave, and the car is either ticketed or has been towed.

Trotter’s, like most of the indie coffeehouses in the metro, has a distinctly organic-environmental-fair trade vibe. While I lack the personal discipline to fully invest myself in this kind of commitment to making the planet more equitable and sustainable, I do appreciate that inclination in others, and I’m always happy to support a business that takes its responsibility to the Earth seriously.

Service is great at Trotter’s… informal and friendly, with a lot of enthusiasm. You feel welcome and encouraged to stick around. Unfortunately, the close confines of most of the three indoor seating areas, combined with the lack of air conditioning (or at least a reluctance to use it on a humid early June morning), make the space less inviting.

The coffee was delivered first, and it is excellent. Some coffeehouses excel at bringing out the natural sweetness of the milk they use in their lattes and cappuccinos, and Trotter’s is one of them. Unfortunately, I can’t speak as highly of the food. I sort of knew what I was getting myself into when I ordered a “Potato Mountain.” It’s a heaping pile of thick-sliced potatoes mixed with green peppers, onions and tomatoes, covered with a modest amount of melted cheese and two eggs, any style. Quantity-wise, it’s probably worth the $9.25 price tag, but the potatoes were undercooked and the whole thing was under-seasoned. Though, to be fair, I’ve been using sensitive toothpaste for the past week, and my sense of taste is somewhat deadened at the moment. Still, the food left me disappointed, and would have even if it were only $5.00.

Trotter’s has plenty of competition in the area, with another new coffeehouse just around the corner, and dozens more within a mile or two. As such, I can see it being a popular hangout for people who live in the immediate vicinity and can walk here, and the outdoor seating is a nice touch, even though it’s on a narrow sidewalk against a busy street. But, living a few miles away and on the other side of the river, as I do; having kids who’ve outgrown the appeal of Choo Choo Bob’s, as I do; it’s not likely that I’ll be returning to Trotter’s again in the near future.

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#28: Ambrosia Coffee ★★★

April 29, 2010 by room34

Location

430 1st Ave. N # 101, Minneapolis
GOOGLE MAP • YELP (Edina location) • WEBSITE

Ratings

Location: ★★★★★
Atmosphere: ★★★★
Coffee: ★★
Food: N/A
Service: ★★★
Vibe: ★★★
Overall: ★★★

Pros

Great location by Target Field, manages to outshine its bland surroundings.

Cons

Pretty much everything else.

Review

Yes, Virginia, there is an independent coffeehouse in downtown Minneapolis.

At least, in the Warehouse District.

True, it’s not Skyway-connected, but that’s probably a good thing. Get outside and get some fresh air! (Well, as fresh as the sewer gas and bus fume laden air downtown can get.)

Located across the street from Ramp B, and just a block northeast of Target Field, Ambrosia Coffee (or is it Ambrosia Cafe? I hate it when businesses can’t make up their mind about what they’re called) is in a prime spot for both downtown workers (at least those commuting in on I-394) looking for their morning caffeine fix and for those who need a quick jolt on their way to a Twins game.

In my experience, 100-plus-year-old buildings in the Warehouse District come in two varieties: those with interiors renovated to look like the most nondescript suburban office park (but with creaky floors) and those with interiors renovated in a spare, rough, loft style. Unfortunately, the building housing Ambrosia falls into the former category, although the interior of Ambrosia Coffee itself features the high ceilings and exposed ductwork (painted black) and original plank floors typical of a loft renovation. So it’s a loft-within-an-office-park. In addition to the tables one would expect (but, unexpectedly, with marble tops), the potentially sterile environs are also improved with some comfy leather sofas and a Persian rug.

The interior space is smaller than I expected, but the seating is adequate, as most patrons are just popping in for coffee before heading back to their cubicles. I had no problem finding a table right next to an electrical outlet. Unfortunately, although Ambrosia offers WiFi, I am experiencing the same problems I had last week at Overflow: I can connect to the WiFi network, but not out to the Internet.

Technophobes can skip the next paragraph…

I’m not sure if this is an issue with my computer or with these networks, but I suspect it’s a combination of both — that my MacBook’s AirPort card is temperamental on certain networks. (I am still able to connect to my home WiFi at all times with no issues, and I’ve been to numerous other coffeehouses in the area recently where it worked just fine, too.) YMMV, but consider this a word of warning — you may have trouble with Ambrosia’s WiFi. It’s probably worth noting that I am also unable to connect to the Internet through Ambrosia’s WiFi on my iPhone, and typically in the past when I’ve had this problem with the MacBook, the iPhone has been able to connect.

…OK. Welcome back, technophobes!

It’s a standard part of these reviews that I will order food along with my cappuccino, so I can… you know… rate the food. It’s probably due to the awkward timing of my arrival — 10 AM (too late for breakfast, too early for lunch) — but the meager remaining selection of pastries just didn’t appeal to me, so I’m not getting food today. I should note that Ambrosia does offer salads and (pre-made) sandwiches for lunch in addition to a few other prepared food options.

My cappuccino is so-so. The biggest problem is the temperature: usually when I get my coffee the first thing I do is grab a cardboard sleeve so I don’t burn my fingers on the sides of the cup. Not necessary in this case: the espresso itself was hot but the froth was barely room temperature, and the drink overall took on a dissatisfying lukewarm temperature soon after it arrived.

The service was fine… not chatty, but courteous and efficient. Ambrosia has quick turnover, and they’re able to keep up with the queue — although, as noted above, the quality of the beverages may suffer as a result.

I don’t usually bother to comment on coffeehouses’ restroom situation, although I know that, erm, certain of my readers consider this matter highly important. (I do too, as I make a habit of visiting restrooms several times per day.) As is often the case with these kinds of warehouse-to-office building conversions, the individual units do not have restrooms, and the restrooms in the publicly-accessible spaces are — insert musical phrase of doom here — locked.

The independent coffeehouse options downtown are extremely limited: Ambrosia is on the edge of what I would consider “downtown” and to my knowledge it’s the closest, if not only, indie to the main skyscraper core. I know there are a few other places as you get farther into the Warehouse District, and farther away from downtown proper, but Ambrosia’s main selling point remains its location — within a block of both Target Field and Block E. Unfortunately, based on my experience today, I can’t say it has that much else going for it.

Now I’m off to US Bank Plaza, to grab a lamb kabob wrap at Good to Go and mooch some reliable WiFi off Caribou so I can post this.

Note: This review applies only to Ambrosia’s Warehouse District location. They also have locations in Edina and Rockford (wherever that is).

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#27: Overflow Espresso Cafe ★★★★½

April 23, 2010 by room34

Location

2929 University Ave. SE, Minneapolis
GOOGLE MAP • YELP • WEBSITE

Ratings

Location: ★★★★
Atmosphere: ★★★★★
Coffee: ★★★★
Food: ★★★★
Service: ★★★★
Vibe: ★★★★
Overall: ★★★★½

Pros

Centrally located, great coffee and food, a hidden gem.

Cons

Proximity to U of M WiFi network confounded my laptop’s flaky wireless card.

Review

The north side of University Ave. between the U of M campus and Snelling Ave. in St. Paul is largely an industrial area. It’s not a blighted-looking industrial area, but still, it’s not the kind of place one thinks of as a destination for latte and panini sandwiches. And yet, here I am, sitting in a delightfully open loft space, next to a huge window looking out on a patio/garden area with blooming trees and a water feature, across the street from University Park Plaza — architecturally, my favorite office building in the city after the Wells Fargo tower downtown.

I'm not sure why I like this building so much. Maybe it's because my brain was hardwired in the 1980s to find the shape of a CRT screen aesthetically pleasing.

Overflow Cafe is easy to miss — I’ve driven this stretch of University Ave. countless times over the years, and only just recently noticed that it even exists, at the end of a large, nondescript industrial/office building called Prospect Park Business Center. It’s the kind of place you’d expect to find in a suburban industrial park, yet it’s right in the heart of the city.

Overflow has done a great job of escaping the trappings of its surroundings. The interior space is one of the most appealing I’ve visited for this blog, its patio/garden would be very inviting if it were 10 degrees warmer outside today, and the coffee and food live up to the surroundings. In the center of the seating area is Overflow’s namesake: a sculpture/fountain of a coffee cup (about 3 feet in size) with famous quotations carved in its sides, with water gently overflowing down its surface. It’s a bit chilly inside, but that’s mostly because the seat I chose appears to be directly under an A/C vent.

It’s lunchtime, and the place is maybe 1/3 full but starting to fill up. The lunch offerings are great: sandwiches, salads, panini and wraps. I’m enjoying a chicken pesto panini sandwich. The chicken is good but not great — its texture is vaguely reminiscent of the “oven roasted chicken” at Subway — but the pesto is delicious, and the fresh tomatoes, red onion and spinach work well. The bread is perfectly grilled — crunchy but light.

This latte almost lived up to its name. Fortunately it did not overflow onto my MacBook.

The latte was a work of art. (I say “was” because naturally I had to destroy it with my first sip. It was so beautifully presented I was reluctant to put a lid on it, despite its proximity to my computer.) The espresso is a tad on the bitter side, but only because it’s so strong, and the creamy froth on the milk compensates for the bitterness, making the overall taste highly satisfying. And, somewhat surprisingly, it is an excellent complement to the panini.

Service is friendly and irreverent. I enjoy the banter I have with baristas, but usually it takes several visits — becoming a “regular” — before that happens. I felt like a regular the moment I walked in the door at Overflow.

My only real complaint at this point is my inability to access the Internet through Overflow’s WiFi network, but I fear this is a problem with my MacBook’s hardware and not the fault of Overflow — I’ve been experiencing this problem a lot lately, especially when I’m trying to access a business WiFi network that happens to be within range of the U of M’s network. I’m quite surprised that Overflow is within range of the U of M’s network — it’s about a mile from campus — but, for whatever reason, it is.

I was a bit hesitant about trying Overflow at first. How good can a coffeehouse in this location be, I reasoned. But I’m glad I gave it a chance — the owners and staff have gone out of their way to elevate the place above what could have been drab surroundings, and its proximity to the U of M (not to mention its overall accessibility being located right on the primary non-freeway thoroughfare between Minneapolis and St. Paul) make it a great destination, and one I am sure I will visit again… if I can ever resolve my MacBook’s WiFi woes. (Now I’m going to go home so I can post this.)

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#26: Pardon My French ★★★½

April 8, 2010 by room34

Location

1565 Cliff Road, Thomas Lake Center, Eagan
GOOGLE MAP • YELP • WEBSITE

Ratings

Location: ★★★
Atmosphere: ★★★★
Coffee: ★★★★
Food: ★★★★
Service: ★★★
Vibe: ★★★
Overall: ★★★½

Pros

Amazing, open, inviting interior space; great coffee and food.

Cons

Severe lack of electrical outlets for would-be Wi-Fi users; port 22 is blocked? what???

Review

From the outset, this blog has been dedicated to finding great independent coffeehouses in the general vicinity of where I live, in south Minneapolis. The radius has gradually expanded outward, but up to now the reviews have all been of locations in Minneapolis or St. Paul, with no love for the suburbs.

This has not been entirely by choice: I’ve actually attempted to locate independent coffeehouses in the suburbs and, well… there aren’t many. I’ve settled for Dunn Bros. or Starbucks when I travel to Roseville for work, and otherwise, I have identified a pair of indie coffeehouses outside the center cities — one in Brooklyn Center and one in Lilydale (which, granted, is only just barely outside of St. Paul, and for that matter, just barely a place at all) — but I haven’t had the opportunity to visit them yet.

So imagine my surprise when, at the invitation of an old high school friend who’s in town visiting her parents (who live in Rosemount), I discovered a French bakery and cafe by the name of Pardon My French, located in a strip mall in Eagan. It’s not the typical kind of place you’d expect to find a French bakery, as the owners freely admit, but the location offers one great advantage: the interior space is huge, and it’s very inviting. Tons of windows illuminate the interior without need for harsh artificial light; there are couches and tables and chairs aplenty, and there’s a huge, winding display case separating the seating area from the kitchen, proudly showing off the chefs’ latest creations.

The food offerings are what you’d expect: high-end pastries, quiches, sandwiches and such. They’re prepared with great skill, although since the quiches and sandwiches are premade, the quality suffers ever so slightly. Still, the asparagus and chicken quiche I had was light, fluffy and moist, with just the perfect amount of crust on top. Served with a swimming pool-sized mug of cappuccino, it was just what I was looking for, even if neither was quite as hot as I’d have liked.

Unfortunately there was one other thing I was looking for that is in woefully short supply: electrical outlets. As with most coffeehouses these days, free Wi-Fi is available (and, tellingly, given the large space, there are two hotspots), but there’s virtually no place to plug a computer in! My friend and I ended up taking turns using the single available outlet we were able to locate on a power bar next to the two computers available for patrons’ use. Before sitting down, I cased out the rest of the available tables and was unable to find even one other outlet within a reasonable distance of any of the tables.

Another drawback, at least for eggheads like me, is that the Wi-Fi appears to have port 22 blocked, meaning I can’t connect to my web servers to transfer files. Granted, this is an extremely arcane point, and will only affect… well, probably me. But it’s still a deal breaker: sure there’s Wi-Fi, but without SSH/SFTP access, I can’t do my work. So, that (along with the fact that I’m rarely in Eagan anyway) will probably prevent me from considering Pardon My French as a potential mobile office-for-a-day in the future.

The service today was… adequate. Nothing really to complain about, although my friend (who’s been here two previous times this week) noted that on her first visit the staff was very friendly and on her second, not so much. So, that seems to be a hit-or-miss factor potentially working against Pardon My French as well. (Then again, maybe they’re just trying to be authentic.)

Overall, I see Pardon My French as a great destination for lovers of French pastries and coffees, for casual Wi-Fi users looking for an inviting space to while away a few hours in, and for old friends to reunite and catch up on old times. Eggheads and non-francophiles beware.

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