As NOPA (North Of the PAnhandle) evolved during the late DotCom era and again rebounded around 2004-5, several of the corner storefronts have gone upscale in recent years. despite the Banking Collapse at the end of the Bush era, and the subsequent Great Recession, this little pocket of the City seems to have survived intact. The paychecks yielded by the 20 and 30 somethings that have graduated from the university to the corporate cubicle that seem to inhabit this neighborhood in all of their paycheck chic to be cool and hip, with enough cash to maintain the lifestyle that every hard working college student waited for once they graduated with a professional degree.
Thus, Matching Half Cafe has gone through several iterations over the years as well. I came here about three years ago, and their layout was different. They probably sold the store to a new owner before a total makeover - wood floors, a diner counter that runs parallel to the service wall, with a kitchen area behind this wall next to the bathroom. The real allure of the layout are the large west facing windows, and the outside table area that runs parallel to the western side of the corner. During most of the year, these window seats are exceptional places to sit in the filtered sun as a cold beach wind blows down the street pushing the cloud cover in the late afternoon. When it is. Sunny as it is today, the outside seating is magnificent, despite the slight incline of the hill. Overall, the music and the corner location across from the Hayes line bus stop are enough to bring in the morning rush as this cafe opens at 7 am. Likewise, the afternoons are equally busy, but not as rushed.
The service staff has always been the hip rocker or grunge college grad that probably finished college at one of the many universities in the City. I have always had great service here, but patience is in order. Since the cafe caters mostly to the neighborhood cubicle workers set, who seem to be a little less keen on people just hanging out with a cup of coffee, their busy schedules can push the staff to accommodate these customers, since this feels like their cafe. It has a great vibe, and the neighborhood clientele has really carved this space out as theirs, but perhaps with a little too much angst.
So, patience pays off here, and keeping your cool at the service counter will usher in the best results. The reason I bring this up is that I have had friends who have come here on more than one occasion and received bad service matched by the aggressiveness of some of the customers. Knowing what you want before you step up to the counter may help, or order something that is easily predictable - I suggest a cappuccino or a macchiato. They make amazing espresso, using Sight Glass beans. Once you have enjoyed your sunny seat and your espresso drink for a couple of visits, then I suggest you try one of their sandwiches, which are quite tasty. This cafe runs into the problem of being excellent with such a loyal neighborhood following, however, that it at times feels uncomfortable for an outsider not in the appropriate class or age of the target clientele. But once you have trained the staff to your presence, you become one of them and are accepted like any other customer.
I am sitting in the sun on a windy, yet sunny day. It is invigorating, having been in 85 degree weather about 8 days ago on the last leg of my summer vacation. My coffee is finished, and my wife is ready to go as well, the light rock music of the 2000s a bit bright for our tastes in what otherwise is a casual cafe drenched in sunlight today.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Flywheel Coffee Raosters - Stanyan bet. Haight and Page, SF
It is always a joy when a friend calls me to meet at a new cafe in my neighborhood. I usually have guarded expectations of such an event, however, guessing that many cafes with the new business model with targeted customers (often tourists) and in fear of the financial success of the Starbucks formula that flourishes Downtown, that any cafe that opens its doors is taking considerable financial risk in the espresso slinging economy. As I have noted before, that despite one of my favorite cafes being a comfortable place to sit, its coffee is only average, and another place on Haight, not yet reviewed has great coffee but is still working on that important aspect of any cafe - atmosphere.
So, a walk down Page to the western edge of Golden Gate Park on Stanyan, just off of the parking lot of the minimart version of Whole Foods on Haight, and I arrived at this spacious, cement floored gallery of a cafe. It doesn't have a sign out front, nor is one displayed in the store. For the last couple of visits My friend and I referred to it as the Stanyan Cafe.
On a sunny day, the window bar stool counters are an excellent place to take in a Sunday afternoon, but as one ventures in, another barstool table that seats four, and five tables along one wall are lit by low wattage incandescent art bulbs. Facing these seats is the actual service area, with a gleaming new chrome espresso machine, a drip coffee bar, and an impressive chemistry rig for cold pressed iced coffee. This area has an industrial vibe, with soft electronica groove music is heard in the background, exuding the industrial art gallery feel that often follows the design of a cafe that has just opened its doors. There are a few Mission District cafes that have this same look, full of the cool hipsters of that neighborhood. But for this vibe to actually work, a few more tables seem essential. Maybe a fee more tables closer to the roaster after the next wave of building up the back area is complete is in the works. There is also an upper deck near the back, that is newly built. I am curious to see if that will actually become more seating as well. This place still has a few surprises as the owners are able to secure financing for future upgrades as this business takes off.
Coffee. As the name of the displayed business license indicates, there is also a state of the art coffee roaster in the back, that is currently experiencing a makeover, in an predictable attempt to highlight the machine, a statement of authenticity, that the artisanal roaster is pumping out beans that will fill every delicious cup. And I am not disappointed by the final product here. I have had the cold pressed ice coffee as well as several macchiatos and cappucinos. Each one has been made with a dark roasted bean that yield a chocolate aftertaste regardless of the drink.
Fly Wheel also offers Mighty Leaf Tea,which has become a mainstay of loose leaf tea drinkers at several cafes around town, as well as carrying baked goods by Ultimate Cookies, which always satisfy many cafe goers across town. Fly Wheel is a cafe in the truest sense of the word. They do not serve sandwiches or bagels or small salads. They serve coffee, tea, and a few baked items to go with your drink. I highly recommend it for an airy cafe experience, maybe as a precursor to a walk in the park or on the way to the de Young, Science Academy or the Band Shell.
So, a walk down Page to the western edge of Golden Gate Park on Stanyan, just off of the parking lot of the minimart version of Whole Foods on Haight, and I arrived at this spacious, cement floored gallery of a cafe. It doesn't have a sign out front, nor is one displayed in the store. For the last couple of visits My friend and I referred to it as the Stanyan Cafe.
On a sunny day, the window bar stool counters are an excellent place to take in a Sunday afternoon, but as one ventures in, another barstool table that seats four, and five tables along one wall are lit by low wattage incandescent art bulbs. Facing these seats is the actual service area, with a gleaming new chrome espresso machine, a drip coffee bar, and an impressive chemistry rig for cold pressed iced coffee. This area has an industrial vibe, with soft electronica groove music is heard in the background, exuding the industrial art gallery feel that often follows the design of a cafe that has just opened its doors. There are a few Mission District cafes that have this same look, full of the cool hipsters of that neighborhood. But for this vibe to actually work, a few more tables seem essential. Maybe a fee more tables closer to the roaster after the next wave of building up the back area is complete is in the works. There is also an upper deck near the back, that is newly built. I am curious to see if that will actually become more seating as well. This place still has a few surprises as the owners are able to secure financing for future upgrades as this business takes off.
Coffee. As the name of the displayed business license indicates, there is also a state of the art coffee roaster in the back, that is currently experiencing a makeover, in an predictable attempt to highlight the machine, a statement of authenticity, that the artisanal roaster is pumping out beans that will fill every delicious cup. And I am not disappointed by the final product here. I have had the cold pressed ice coffee as well as several macchiatos and cappucinos. Each one has been made with a dark roasted bean that yield a chocolate aftertaste regardless of the drink.
Fly Wheel also offers Mighty Leaf Tea,which has become a mainstay of loose leaf tea drinkers at several cafes around town, as well as carrying baked goods by Ultimate Cookies, which always satisfy many cafe goers across town. Fly Wheel is a cafe in the truest sense of the word. They do not serve sandwiches or bagels or small salads. They serve coffee, tea, and a few baked items to go with your drink. I highly recommend it for an airy cafe experience, maybe as a precursor to a walk in the park or on the way to the de Young, Science Academy or the Band Shell.
The Grove - Fillmore near California, SF
There are several cafes that over the years have developed a clientele that requires some breakfast and some lunch. I grew up in a cafe like this, the perfect place for students to meet. Of course, I am no longer a teenager, but the allure of a place like the Grove, that serves excellent coffee and offers plenty of space makes this a prime location for the upscale patrons of this neighborhood. I have read reviews of the Grove on several sites, where the reviewer focuses on the food, expecting fare from one of the many upscale eateries in the area, but those reviewers definitely miss the point. This is a place for great coffee to meet friends and have a light meal.
By day, and definitely during the weekend, this cafe, and other locations throughout the city that I have visited, caters to professionals who want to have coffee or even a glass of wine or beer on tap. Normally, I would not review a cafe such as this as a coffee house, but the coffee is exceptional, and several patrons come here primarily for the coffee.
Today, I walked in as the cafe opened at 7 am, on my way to an early 8:30 am dental appointment. I ordered a cappuccino that as usual is exceptional. A medium roast coffee with the perfect consistency of a steam foam cap. At this hour the cafe is empty, and the music plays at a soothing volume. The overcast weather damps down all the sound of the morning. As I sip my cappuccino, contemplating the peace of the morning, I am surrounded by the Woolsey interior, which offers perfect acoustics to hear the sounds of the cafe setting up for business in tha background.
After finishing my cappucino that tasted amazing a half an hour later as I sipped the last of it, I ordered a cup of coffee. The coffee is a medium roast, that goes down smooth with a slight, crisp fruity aftertaste, maybe apricot. As I have said, this is a cafe that serves food. The space is exceptional, well lit, wood furniture and wall panelling, and great acoustics. Come for the coffee, and enjoy a bite to eat. An excellent place to meet a friend, and even, to watch the people that walk up the street or cohabit in this cafe.
By day, and definitely during the weekend, this cafe, and other locations throughout the city that I have visited, caters to professionals who want to have coffee or even a glass of wine or beer on tap. Normally, I would not review a cafe such as this as a coffee house, but the coffee is exceptional, and several patrons come here primarily for the coffee.
Today, I walked in as the cafe opened at 7 am, on my way to an early 8:30 am dental appointment. I ordered a cappuccino that as usual is exceptional. A medium roast coffee with the perfect consistency of a steam foam cap. At this hour the cafe is empty, and the music plays at a soothing volume. The overcast weather damps down all the sound of the morning. As I sip my cappuccino, contemplating the peace of the morning, I am surrounded by the Woolsey interior, which offers perfect acoustics to hear the sounds of the cafe setting up for business in tha background.
After finishing my cappucino that tasted amazing a half an hour later as I sipped the last of it, I ordered a cup of coffee. The coffee is a medium roast, that goes down smooth with a slight, crisp fruity aftertaste, maybe apricot. As I have said, this is a cafe that serves food. The space is exceptional, well lit, wood furniture and wall panelling, and great acoustics. Come for the coffee, and enjoy a bite to eat. An excellent place to meet a friend, and even, to watch the people that walk up the street or cohabit in this cafe.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Caffé e Dolci - Hyannis, Mass.
About every two years I come to Hyannis to visit my father, who has lived here for over 30 years. This town hosts the largest business strip on Cape Cod that attracts tourists from Europe and typically the East Coast. There are a few coffee places that serve an actual espresso from a manual machine, where the barista must be trained to measure the coffee grounds and perform her magic.
Contrast this minimum requirement with the common knowledge in the Greater Boston area that the best coffee in the world can be found at Dunkin Donuts. They serve coffee in fine styrofoam cups. The servers add your cream and sugar for you behind the counter apparently in order to cut down on milk spoilage and decrease the chance of spreading disease between customers handling milk dispensers. I had this explained to me by a server. I also asked if I was being served half and half, milk, or some non-dairy creamer. She wasn't sure, but I imagine that creamer doesn't spoil, and probably kills germs. She told me that it's called cream and that is all she knows. I could be making this all up, since, as I was expecting the best cup of coffee ever, from this highly educated City, that a dark spell of confusion was cast over me, going into complete shock, a stunned silence, after I had my first sip of this donut swill. Coupled with a few donut holes to obliterate the bitter-sweet taste, and a few moments later, I regained my composure. I sat dumbfounded to think that as Bostonians drink this stuff en masse, that like Seattle and San Francisco, who have been thoroughly overrun by Starbucks that these corresponding liberal bastions, along with Boston had been taken over by mediocre coffee dispensaries. I started to wonder and the spell of the donut holes wore off that maybe there was a capitalist conspiracy to poison the liberal centers of intelligentsia in our country with brown swill. The only consolation for me is knowing that at least Starbucks tries to make real espresso and lets you serve your own cream and sugar.
But that bar is still far too low. A real espresso is hard to find in most parts of the world. Considering that Italians run a distant second in settlement in Massachusetts in the past hundred years or so, it is possible to find a cafe that actually knows where espresso comes from and how to make it. Caffé e Dolci is just such a place. With its air conditioned interior to beat the humidity, as well as its shady sidewalk seats (where I happily sat), the macchiato was exceptional from start to finish. A fine woodsy flavor met the back of my tongue followed by a slight dark berry after taste.
There are other places to get a good espresso on this strip, and I will visit a couple of these places before I leave. Even out of Salem, my son (from Seattle) found a great coffee house on the way to the highway. So, there is hope.
Contrast this minimum requirement with the common knowledge in the Greater Boston area that the best coffee in the world can be found at Dunkin Donuts. They serve coffee in fine styrofoam cups. The servers add your cream and sugar for you behind the counter apparently in order to cut down on milk spoilage and decrease the chance of spreading disease between customers handling milk dispensers. I had this explained to me by a server. I also asked if I was being served half and half, milk, or some non-dairy creamer. She wasn't sure, but I imagine that creamer doesn't spoil, and probably kills germs. She told me that it's called cream and that is all she knows. I could be making this all up, since, as I was expecting the best cup of coffee ever, from this highly educated City, that a dark spell of confusion was cast over me, going into complete shock, a stunned silence, after I had my first sip of this donut swill. Coupled with a few donut holes to obliterate the bitter-sweet taste, and a few moments later, I regained my composure. I sat dumbfounded to think that as Bostonians drink this stuff en masse, that like Seattle and San Francisco, who have been thoroughly overrun by Starbucks that these corresponding liberal bastions, along with Boston had been taken over by mediocre coffee dispensaries. I started to wonder and the spell of the donut holes wore off that maybe there was a capitalist conspiracy to poison the liberal centers of intelligentsia in our country with brown swill. The only consolation for me is knowing that at least Starbucks tries to make real espresso and lets you serve your own cream and sugar.
But that bar is still far too low. A real espresso is hard to find in most parts of the world. Considering that Italians run a distant second in settlement in Massachusetts in the past hundred years or so, it is possible to find a cafe that actually knows where espresso comes from and how to make it. Caffé e Dolci is just such a place. With its air conditioned interior to beat the humidity, as well as its shady sidewalk seats (where I happily sat), the macchiato was exceptional from start to finish. A fine woodsy flavor met the back of my tongue followed by a slight dark berry after taste.
There are other places to get a good espresso on this strip, and I will visit a couple of these places before I leave. Even out of Salem, my son (from Seattle) found a great coffee house on the way to the highway. So, there is hope.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Why I go to cafes
From time to my wife or my mom mention the idea that I must spend so much money drinking coffee at cafes, that I should just drink coffee at home and save a few dollars every month. In actuality, going to cafes during the summer can run a bit more, because I tend to have a small meal at a cafe, but all things considered, a cafe meal is far cheaper than most other places that I could go out for breakfast or lunch.
It is true that I could probably drink coffee at home in the morning and not go out at all. Maybe that doesn't sound so bad. We have a nice apartment with a cafe table in the living window that overlooks the open backyards that cover our block from three stories up. We have every coffee contraption imaginable - Turkish, stove top espresso, French press, an old electric coffee maker, as well as ye trusty paper filter cone. To complement all of these amazing machines of caffeine extraction, we have two different coffee grinders and at least four pounds of coffee from various beaneries that are all quite amazing. I do drink a cup of coffee from time to time at home.
But drinking coffee by itself is not why I end up going to on average about 10 different cafes over the 30 days per month. I have my favorites, some when I am in the mood for a specific drink made by a skilled barista, other cafes when I want to work on my iPad or write, and still others when I know I will bump into friends or just to watch people at a specific location. Certain cafes are part of my morning walking routes, where a 20 - 30 minute cafe experience is the reward for a 25 - 40 minute walk. Over the years, like most people I have had that one standard cafe that satisfied all of my cafe going needs. But since I decided that life is too short to go to the same cafe everyday, I have branched out to three regular cafes, accompanied by my never ending search for new cafes within a 40 minute walking radius from my apartment.
I have been surprised to learn, after I started exploring cafes around the city that it is possible to always find a better espresso somewhere else, or a cafe space that I have only imagined in the fantasy of what a perfect cafe should be for my different needs. I have started to follow specific roasters that distribute to cafes in the city, and watch carefully to see whether the barista seems to know what they are doing. Ultimately, no acrobatic air show of precision espresso slinging that follows the 20 point specifications that some cafes guarantee will make my espresso any better if the beans are not at least a medium roast. Likewise, the best beans next to God can be obliterated by a ill-trained barista or poorly maintained equipment, especially when some frothy foamy layer of milk is lathered on top.
The beans themselves do not need to be handpicked by the 20th generation of a famous coffee grower in Ethiopia or Indonesia for the beans to be incredible. I don't need them to be organic or even free trade for the coffee to be amazing (although, I would prefer both politically, and a number of cafes in San Francisco serve only Free Trade). I have found that some roasters, most notably Starbucks, follow the for profit motive in their coffee fields, where direct sunlight and yield rates necessary to produce the most caffeine in the shortest growing cycle typically produce terrible coffee, forcing Starbucks to completely obliterate their beans by roasting them to a crisp. If a well roasted bean may have a woodsy or cocoa aftertaste, a burnt bean has a dirty carbon bitterness, that only can be saved by adding caramel, sugar or 8 ounces of frothy foamy milk, so that the taste of the coffee does not stand out. Not that Starbucks does not have its specialty blends as well, and even sells medium roasts, but they almost never sell their brewed coffee or their espresso with their specialty beans in the brew or in the grinder.
The other extreme is the shade grown on a hillside, slow roasted gourmet coffee bean that is organic and free trade that goes for $4 or more per cup of a fancy porcelain or blown glass cheese cloth filter drip coffee. As I have said before, all of this is not necessary. A daily cup of coffee, whether it be poured by a coffee Druid that performs some magical ritual over my 12 oz morning elixir or shat (read filtered) through the digestive system of Sivit cats is too expensive for a daily cafe experience to make sense. For that special coffee pleasure my own coffee laboratory is requisitioned from time to time, since the per cup cost of such expensive coffee is extreme.
But the cafe offers an environment that is definitely not about the coffee in the cup, as long as the coffee is very good to incredible. I end up at cafes because they offer a living room away from my apartment, with different furniture, different people, different windows to watch the sunrise and the City's weather patterns, different music and different baristas and friends at different cafes. Overall, my cafe habit allows me to walk about the city with several different destinations, and for the cost of about $3.50 including a tip, I can enjoy a macchiato in over 20 cafes just a fifteen minute walk from my house. Imagine having access to 20 different living spaces for about $100 a month.
Of course the ritual of drinking a cup of coffee and writing is priceless.
It is true that I could probably drink coffee at home in the morning and not go out at all. Maybe that doesn't sound so bad. We have a nice apartment with a cafe table in the living window that overlooks the open backyards that cover our block from three stories up. We have every coffee contraption imaginable - Turkish, stove top espresso, French press, an old electric coffee maker, as well as ye trusty paper filter cone. To complement all of these amazing machines of caffeine extraction, we have two different coffee grinders and at least four pounds of coffee from various beaneries that are all quite amazing. I do drink a cup of coffee from time to time at home.
But drinking coffee by itself is not why I end up going to on average about 10 different cafes over the 30 days per month. I have my favorites, some when I am in the mood for a specific drink made by a skilled barista, other cafes when I want to work on my iPad or write, and still others when I know I will bump into friends or just to watch people at a specific location. Certain cafes are part of my morning walking routes, where a 20 - 30 minute cafe experience is the reward for a 25 - 40 minute walk. Over the years, like most people I have had that one standard cafe that satisfied all of my cafe going needs. But since I decided that life is too short to go to the same cafe everyday, I have branched out to three regular cafes, accompanied by my never ending search for new cafes within a 40 minute walking radius from my apartment.
I have been surprised to learn, after I started exploring cafes around the city that it is possible to always find a better espresso somewhere else, or a cafe space that I have only imagined in the fantasy of what a perfect cafe should be for my different needs. I have started to follow specific roasters that distribute to cafes in the city, and watch carefully to see whether the barista seems to know what they are doing. Ultimately, no acrobatic air show of precision espresso slinging that follows the 20 point specifications that some cafes guarantee will make my espresso any better if the beans are not at least a medium roast. Likewise, the best beans next to God can be obliterated by a ill-trained barista or poorly maintained equipment, especially when some frothy foamy layer of milk is lathered on top.
The beans themselves do not need to be handpicked by the 20th generation of a famous coffee grower in Ethiopia or Indonesia for the beans to be incredible. I don't need them to be organic or even free trade for the coffee to be amazing (although, I would prefer both politically, and a number of cafes in San Francisco serve only Free Trade). I have found that some roasters, most notably Starbucks, follow the for profit motive in their coffee fields, where direct sunlight and yield rates necessary to produce the most caffeine in the shortest growing cycle typically produce terrible coffee, forcing Starbucks to completely obliterate their beans by roasting them to a crisp. If a well roasted bean may have a woodsy or cocoa aftertaste, a burnt bean has a dirty carbon bitterness, that only can be saved by adding caramel, sugar or 8 ounces of frothy foamy milk, so that the taste of the coffee does not stand out. Not that Starbucks does not have its specialty blends as well, and even sells medium roasts, but they almost never sell their brewed coffee or their espresso with their specialty beans in the brew or in the grinder.
The other extreme is the shade grown on a hillside, slow roasted gourmet coffee bean that is organic and free trade that goes for $4 or more per cup of a fancy porcelain or blown glass cheese cloth filter drip coffee. As I have said before, all of this is not necessary. A daily cup of coffee, whether it be poured by a coffee Druid that performs some magical ritual over my 12 oz morning elixir or shat (read filtered) through the digestive system of Sivit cats is too expensive for a daily cafe experience to make sense. For that special coffee pleasure my own coffee laboratory is requisitioned from time to time, since the per cup cost of such expensive coffee is extreme.
But the cafe offers an environment that is definitely not about the coffee in the cup, as long as the coffee is very good to incredible. I end up at cafes because they offer a living room away from my apartment, with different furniture, different people, different windows to watch the sunrise and the City's weather patterns, different music and different baristas and friends at different cafes. Overall, my cafe habit allows me to walk about the city with several different destinations, and for the cost of about $3.50 including a tip, I can enjoy a macchiato in over 20 cafes just a fifteen minute walk from my house. Imagine having access to 20 different living spaces for about $100 a month.
Of course the ritual of drinking a cup of coffee and writing is priceless.
Friday, August 3, 2012
The end of summer
The great weather that we had in San Francisco for the past week cannot last for very long since it is summer. The weather has shifted back to what is oft miscredited as a Mark Twain quote about the coldest winter I ever spent.. was a summer in San Francisco, was used by one of the respected brahmains at Bean There to characterize the weather to a friend. Even if the quote is off, it is the truth about this city that summer here is much more elusive than the beautiful springs and autumns that grace this place with cycles of sunny days, followed by three days of showers, then crisp sunny days with the clouds breaking apart for the middle of the day each and every day. Since today is really the last day I will be in the City before I have to report to my classroom on August 15, the weather has offered a great boundary for the end of summer.
True I will be on vacation next week in Boston with my son to visit my dad, but since this involves travel, site seeing and some attention to the needs of others, it is clearly a different experience than wondering what day it is because the only things I have had to do since arriving back home after our Turkey trip that ended four weeks ago, has been to wonder where I was going to drink coffee every day. Life is rough.
The life of a teacher is different from most other professions in that summers never end throughout our professional career. Principals and many other staff members in our district enjoy similar stretches of summer as well. This is true for most educators, and that other segment of the population, the student, who enjoy this same luxury of travel, summer camps, summer classes or just hanging out. Travel is beautiful, and memorable, and camp seems timeless, but inactivity should not be underestimated either. Disassociating from duty and responsibilities in general has a therapeutic quality that cannot be overlooked. The sense of self seems to loose its sharpness as one day stretches into a week and the weeks into a month, that I start to slip out of the conditioning that comes along with standing in front of 25 kids for six hours a day, five days a week. I don't have to explain myself over and over again; I don't need to answer questions about what I am going to do to anyone (except maybe my wife when she wants me to run some errands); I don't need to think about what I am going to wear, or if my hair is sticking up funny, or if I can skip a day without shaving. I don't need to impress anyone at a cafe, nor am I so concerned with what the barista does behind the counter except make sure the coffee is good. Contrast this level of concerns with the life of a teacher in a middle class school district. Being a presence for students, parents, and for teachers (as a union rep) is hard work. On top of that, I need to prepare activities, presentations, coordinate dvd selections, find reading materials, and make sure that all of my students are working to their potential in their own differentiated learning style, so I know (sometimes magically) that they are learning to think critically and understand what they need to do in order to be successful. In contrast, right now, I am wondering if I should add a little more half and half to my coffee - and that is about all I have worried about for the last 15 minutes.
So, today is really the last day of what I will call the lingering summer. After about two weeks I realized that I am finally, biologically relaxed. At that point I started to wonder if I should focus on something from day to day, have some activity that enriches my life with a narrative, with meaning. At that point, this year, I think I thought about that for about a week. I started to research and construct materials for a better Roman History unit for this year. I cleaned my desk and the dining room table. I emptied my dressers of old clothes. I smog checked and registered the truck. I experimented with several different mixtures for paper marbling, having taken 2 four hour classes in Istanbul this summer. I went on a diet before my friends came to town.
This past week, my friends, Terri and Lorin came to San Francisco for an entire week. I walked around with them for several days, taking them to some of the places that they wanted to see, sure to get them to walk through various neighborhoods that are great areas of this city to see. We had a great time, except when I walked them to death a couple of times. We are not getting younger. Even my feet hurt one day. But I love this city; I love being a tourist in this city visiting those parts of town, and those cafes and bookstores that I oftentimes have little time to visit and linger in during the school year. So, I thank Terri and Lorin for coming to San Francisco, so I could be with friends, pay attention to their hopes for their visit and need to relax while running around everywhere in the city. It was great to interact with people on a daily basis, something that is often not required in the summer. More importantly, this was the longest stretch of time I have spent with both Terri and Lorin ever, and Terri since we went out together over 23 years ago. (We have remained great friends; she even introduced me to my wife and made her wedding dress).
As the school year quickly looms down on me, I have to remember this feeling of lack of purpose, free of responsibility and not having to deal with important details of life for the four weeks I had to linger this summer. Because, in a month, in September, when I have been teaching for two or three weeks, that feeling will quickly dissipate, and I surely will long for that feeling, only able to capture the summer's magic over a Saturday morning cup of coffee, as I watch the morning fog burn off, able to capture that sense of timelessness that is summer.
True I will be on vacation next week in Boston with my son to visit my dad, but since this involves travel, site seeing and some attention to the needs of others, it is clearly a different experience than wondering what day it is because the only things I have had to do since arriving back home after our Turkey trip that ended four weeks ago, has been to wonder where I was going to drink coffee every day. Life is rough.
The life of a teacher is different from most other professions in that summers never end throughout our professional career. Principals and many other staff members in our district enjoy similar stretches of summer as well. This is true for most educators, and that other segment of the population, the student, who enjoy this same luxury of travel, summer camps, summer classes or just hanging out. Travel is beautiful, and memorable, and camp seems timeless, but inactivity should not be underestimated either. Disassociating from duty and responsibilities in general has a therapeutic quality that cannot be overlooked. The sense of self seems to loose its sharpness as one day stretches into a week and the weeks into a month, that I start to slip out of the conditioning that comes along with standing in front of 25 kids for six hours a day, five days a week. I don't have to explain myself over and over again; I don't need to answer questions about what I am going to do to anyone (except maybe my wife when she wants me to run some errands); I don't need to think about what I am going to wear, or if my hair is sticking up funny, or if I can skip a day without shaving. I don't need to impress anyone at a cafe, nor am I so concerned with what the barista does behind the counter except make sure the coffee is good. Contrast this level of concerns with the life of a teacher in a middle class school district. Being a presence for students, parents, and for teachers (as a union rep) is hard work. On top of that, I need to prepare activities, presentations, coordinate dvd selections, find reading materials, and make sure that all of my students are working to their potential in their own differentiated learning style, so I know (sometimes magically) that they are learning to think critically and understand what they need to do in order to be successful. In contrast, right now, I am wondering if I should add a little more half and half to my coffee - and that is about all I have worried about for the last 15 minutes.
So, today is really the last day of what I will call the lingering summer. After about two weeks I realized that I am finally, biologically relaxed. At that point I started to wonder if I should focus on something from day to day, have some activity that enriches my life with a narrative, with meaning. At that point, this year, I think I thought about that for about a week. I started to research and construct materials for a better Roman History unit for this year. I cleaned my desk and the dining room table. I emptied my dressers of old clothes. I smog checked and registered the truck. I experimented with several different mixtures for paper marbling, having taken 2 four hour classes in Istanbul this summer. I went on a diet before my friends came to town.
This past week, my friends, Terri and Lorin came to San Francisco for an entire week. I walked around with them for several days, taking them to some of the places that they wanted to see, sure to get them to walk through various neighborhoods that are great areas of this city to see. We had a great time, except when I walked them to death a couple of times. We are not getting younger. Even my feet hurt one day. But I love this city; I love being a tourist in this city visiting those parts of town, and those cafes and bookstores that I oftentimes have little time to visit and linger in during the school year. So, I thank Terri and Lorin for coming to San Francisco, so I could be with friends, pay attention to their hopes for their visit and need to relax while running around everywhere in the city. It was great to interact with people on a daily basis, something that is often not required in the summer. More importantly, this was the longest stretch of time I have spent with both Terri and Lorin ever, and Terri since we went out together over 23 years ago. (We have remained great friends; she even introduced me to my wife and made her wedding dress).
As the school year quickly looms down on me, I have to remember this feeling of lack of purpose, free of responsibility and not having to deal with important details of life for the four weeks I had to linger this summer. Because, in a month, in September, when I have been teaching for two or three weeks, that feeling will quickly dissipate, and I surely will long for that feeling, only able to capture the summer's magic over a Saturday morning cup of coffee, as I watch the morning fog burn off, able to capture that sense of timelessness that is summer.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Momi Toby's Revolution Cafe and Art Bar - Laguna at Linden, Hayes Valley, SF
A reconstructed, French parlor, this space is an exceptional space, that does not beg hipsters that must be seen at the latest hotspot. This place is just the place for someone who wants either an excellent espresso drink, great wine or excellent beers on tap with light fare for a great morning or solid lunch, not to mention a great place to meet friends for an evening drink or small dessert. This is not a coffee place, per se, since its clientele shifts from coffee to drinks somewhere in the late afternoon. Cafe Art Bar has been open for several years, preceding many of the recently opened coffee/wine bars that have sprung up throughout the City. The difference, is that Art Bar is based on the European Model of offering espresso and alcohol during normal business hours.
The cafe has about 22 seats inside and eight sidewalk table seats. If you want an intimate cafe experience to meet a friend or need a quiet place with a wifi hookup, then Cafe Art Bar is the place.
The cafe has about 22 seats inside and eight sidewalk table seats. If you want an intimate cafe experience to meet a friend or need a quiet place with a wifi hookup, then Cafe Art Bar is the place.
Tartine - Guerrero at 18th
I have written last year that there are different types of cafes, and there are also different establishments that serve coffee that do not qualify as a Coffee House proper. A coffee house features coffee as the main attraction that may serve other food, but this food complements the coffee drink which is the center of attention. A bakery, a breakfast place or a bar that also happens to serve great coffee will typically not be the focus of this blog. Nonetheless, from time to time, I have been caught eating food at other places besides cafes, that happen to serve coffee, that may very well serve a particular roasters bean, or advertise that their barista has been trained by one of the local coffee houses. And since coffee drinking should not always be a solitary affair, I have invited friends to coffee at places that make other things besides coffee.
Since my two friends from LA have been here, we have gone out to several restaurants, including coffee to a different cafe every morning, much to their delight. As the week progressed we all agreed that it was futile to try to maintain a diet. Since their BnB was just a few blocks from Tartine Bakery, renowned as a top bakery in the US, I convinced them and myself, that it was worth 1000 calories to visit this culinary treasure.
Normally, I would never get coffee at a place that has twenty five people waiting in line around the corner for incredible baked goods and for a cup of coffee. Fr the record, it was possible to buy coffee at a separate cashier near the espresso machine, but that was not why one would actually bother to come here. We waited along with tourists and several must be seen types to put in our order. Bread, muffins, croissants, tarts and quiche all were available. I ordered a chocolate croissant, heated, which was about the same volume as a small baguette. It was incredible, probably using at least a half of a stick of butter for every flakey bite of incredible philo dough type crust. This was the place that if I came here again would be the end of a diet that has had an inglorious past this summer.
The coffee, despite the Four Barrels roasters contribution was very lightly roasted in my small double cappuccino. Besides the milk, there was almost no flavor of the coffee. Now, this exposes this reviewer to a bias for medium and dark roast coffees. And readers should know that about me. I like my coffee strong tinged with a cocao aftertaste, but a cinnamon, chicory or oaky aftertaste will also satisfy. I find a pleasurable berry or slight floral aftertaste in medium roasts, but what I assumed this morning to be a light roast, no after taste was discernible. But this is why I wouldn't consider this a coffee place: the people that come here are not used to dark roasts per se, sitting next to several patrons who brought their kids as part of the tourist in the know category to get a taste of heaven a bus ride away from their downtown hotel.
Baked goods great, coffee
Since my two friends from LA have been here, we have gone out to several restaurants, including coffee to a different cafe every morning, much to their delight. As the week progressed we all agreed that it was futile to try to maintain a diet. Since their BnB was just a few blocks from Tartine Bakery, renowned as a top bakery in the US, I convinced them and myself, that it was worth 1000 calories to visit this culinary treasure.
Normally, I would never get coffee at a place that has twenty five people waiting in line around the corner for incredible baked goods and for a cup of coffee. Fr the record, it was possible to buy coffee at a separate cashier near the espresso machine, but that was not why one would actually bother to come here. We waited along with tourists and several must be seen types to put in our order. Bread, muffins, croissants, tarts and quiche all were available. I ordered a chocolate croissant, heated, which was about the same volume as a small baguette. It was incredible, probably using at least a half of a stick of butter for every flakey bite of incredible philo dough type crust. This was the place that if I came here again would be the end of a diet that has had an inglorious past this summer.
The coffee, despite the Four Barrels roasters contribution was very lightly roasted in my small double cappuccino. Besides the milk, there was almost no flavor of the coffee. Now, this exposes this reviewer to a bias for medium and dark roast coffees. And readers should know that about me. I like my coffee strong tinged with a cocao aftertaste, but a cinnamon, chicory or oaky aftertaste will also satisfy. I find a pleasurable berry or slight floral aftertaste in medium roasts, but what I assumed this morning to be a light roast, no after taste was discernible. But this is why I wouldn't consider this a coffee place: the people that come here are not used to dark roasts per se, sitting next to several patrons who brought their kids as part of the tourist in the know category to get a taste of heaven a bus ride away from their downtown hotel.
Baked goods great, coffee
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