Le Pain Quotidien
I just got back from an East Coast swing of my own (another author popped off about an East Coast trip last week in this post). I can’t say as that the Notes from the field post missed much – I too found little to like in NYC and in the north woods of the upper Midwest (ok, no surprise there).
But amid the clamoring hostility of Manhattan there was one little gem that I had known from trips past and now rediscovered: Le Pain Quotidien. I’m not sure of the possibility of working because I didn’t even try, but I had a nice, long, relaxing breakfast over the paper. Nobody rushed me, the staff was inexcusably nice, and the food great. As the place didn’t fill up during my two-hour breakfast I am guessing one could get away with some work there, although a session any longer would likely be frowned upon. Good breakfast can be hard to find in Manhattan – it’s usually either bagels, some nasty sidewalk coffee’n'pastry stand, or a dingy diner – so next time you have business or pleasure in Manhattan be sure to get the LPQ address list in advance. On this trip I supped at the shop on 17th St and 7th Ave, but I’ve also dined at the Union Sq location with identical (good) results. See their full list of locales here and note that they are all over Manhattan and Los Angeles but nowhere in between. (Note to business opportunity seekers: looks from their webpage like LPQ likes to franchise and this observer says they’d do quite well in Boulder.)
As for the north woods … well … let’s just say that putting a sign in your shop window that says “Internet Cafe” doesn’t make you one, especially when:
a) you’re a little general store that doesn’t even serve coffee;
b) you have no place to sit except for some picnic benches outside;
c) you charge $6/hr for wireless access; and
d) your wireless router is connected to a dial-up modem line getting no better than 30K/sec.
Wow that was painful. Consider yourselves blessed, Boulderites.
Notes from the field
I’ve recently returned home to coffee shop heaven from a three-week business trip throughout the east coast.
From Vermont to Manhattan to the wilds of central Florida no town holds a cafe scene that compares to the one in our little Rocky Mountain hamlet. The following are the high- and lowlights from my recent travels.
your guide to caffinated childcare
parents and nannies have to balance different priorities than the laptop crowd as we search for the perfect coffee house. good coffee and treats are weighed against things like: likelihood that child will trip over laptop cord or disrupt business meeting (vics downtown), proximity to a park (the cup) corralled outdoor play area (trident and spruce), line of sight to minimize child-chasing (saxys), healthy noise level to drown out tantrums (laughing goat), and the list goes on. this guide will try to do its part to help you drink your coffee in peace.
cafe M
changes happened. the joint closed, then it reopened. it didn’t get bigger, but it got a lot better. better interior, decor, food and drink, etc. it’s still more a place that people get to-go schwag at the counter rather than a place that people settle into and work, but that’s good for the workers, not bad. the place stays quiet — more or less. when the garage door is open then you get street noise, but it’s not bad. the music is kind of the standard mood electronica Portishead-like track. can’t rate the coffee or food quite yet, but they’re serving Boulder Coffee. and the og smoothie i had a couple months ago was good.
It’s on 14th two houses south of the Pearl St. mall, between Walnut and Pearl.
Indulge your caffeine craving
“In a review of 21 studies published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, caffeinated exercisers had significantly lower rate of perceived exertion (RPE) during cardio workouts. As a result, they were able to swim, bike, and row longer, farther, and faster.” -Shape, June 2007
Folsom St.
This place is like the Hill away from the Hill, filled with undergrads it usually is. But now that finals are over and most of the little ones are thinking about graduating rather than pouring over thick chemistry text books, the place is a little more manageable. It was still hard to find a table not in full bright sunlight this morning (good for reading the paper, bad for working on a laptop), but you take what you can take.
This morning the music is a low trip hop, probably XM Chill or something. The voices are low, the espresso-making clatter is minimal, the traffic flowing by on Folsom and Canyon somehow invigorating. That is the weird thing about this place: it’s right on the corner of two very busy Boulder streets, and I mean right on the corner, the walls 15 feet from the curbs. There are windows all around, so you get lots of light and lots of views of speeding cars. But for some reason it works. (Boredom bonus: what percentage of Boulder’s vehicles were manufactured by the Subaru Corporation?) Oh, and work is encouraged: they’ve taken the trouble to install 6-outlet surge protectors on every two-outlet wall socket. Big props to FSCC for that.
As for the coffee? I don’t remember. It’s been awhile and I only had tea this morning, but the tea selection is good.
T-spot
The point is tea, not coffee. So the tea is very good with a big selection. The coffee is pretty good, too. Maybe it’s the aforementioned Conscious Coffees?
But the best part about Tea Spot is the work environment. It’s always quiet and mellow in here, rarely more than half full, feels like you’re in a tucked-away corner, little traffic, etc. (There was a bomb squad and bomb robot just across the street when I pulled up today, but hey, once I got inside I was blissfully unaware of the commotion. That does bring up a point though: what in the sam hell is Boulder PD doing with a bomb robot?) You never feel bad about taking up a table for hours at a time. And maybe it’s quiet because it’s a tea place, so you don’t get the really loud espresso-making banging noises that hit your ears at Cup and other places.
It’s sort of hard to find, but in that little plaza with the seasonal ice skating rink. You know, the place where the Kitchen sets up and gives away free pulled pork sandwiches on Saturdays in the summer (yum!!). 13th Street just north of Canyon (that little squirt of a NB one-way street with the SB tree-lined bike lane).
Like it’s the only option in town?!
The coffee is mediocre, the service half-hearted and the Internet shoddy. Even with ample electrical plugs and workspace, being “dis-connected” outweighs it all. It’s like going for a bike ride and hot having a seat. Yeah, you can still ride but you’ll be largely ineffective, quickly frustrated and probably not look to do it again any time soon.
As this blog amply displays, there are numerous nomadic working options in this great city. One literally needs just to throw a rock to hit their next coffee fix. A business model that puts customer needs behind a strict “Do NOT reset modem” policy is out of touch, to say the least. As far as I’m concerned, Vic’s no longer has anything to offer.
I like it Burnt
I know this blog is dedicated to the coffee shop scene but one gem that’s on the fringe, serving both fantastic food and drink, is Burnt Toast. It’s rarely the case with many restaurants, but saying the food here is fantastic is actually an understatement. The pastries, breads, muffins, etc. are out of this world. Coffee is marginal but the chai and tea are perfection. It’s not dedicated solely to the nomadic worker, but the barista/server quality (and appearance) is well worth the visit.
Suggested Visit – start here for an early breakfast and settle in for an a.m. work session. Leave before the lunch rush, along with a good tip and you’ll be graciously welcomed on your next visit.
Location: 1235 Pennsylvania
Step into the light
Anjou offers a great work environment complete with large tables, soothing water feature, and a ginger / pear / apple juice that’s a great sub for coffee. With windows on two sides, there’s no shortage of light and its aspect (northeast) is ideal for a glare-less screen.
The juice is fresh, tasty and almost all organic. You’ll pay the price however ~$6 for 12oz. They have to do something though to offset the cost of 100% biodegradable PLA containers and cornstarch cutlery. I’ll pay the premium for the piece of mind knowing that my waste will be gone before my kids graduate high school.
Rarely crowded, this place is quickly becoming one of my favorites.
Location: 820 Pearl Street
