Downtown shop poll results
We forgot to post this when it appeared in April. Downtown Boulder Magazine posted the results of a poll (page 37 of the pdf) about the best downtown coffee shop (presumably from this list of 18 shops). (We posted during the poll’s run).
Here are the results (actual screenshot from the magazine pdf is below the fold, but we had the full results emailed to us), and I have to say I’m scratching my head on a couple of these:
1. The Cup (18%)
2. The Unseen Bean (15%)
3. Laughing Goat (10%)
4. Great Awakening (8%)
5. Tee and Cakes (7.5%)
6. Amante (7%)
7. Trident (6%)
I’m good with the top-3, but Great Awakening? Are you kidding? And Saxy’s or Sidney’s didn’t make the list? And while I like Tee and Cakes, Spruce Confections is roughly 346 times better. One of three explanations are possible: 1) all of 14 people responded; 2) Readers of Downtown Boulder mag are not representative of actual coffee shop denizens; 3) ballot-box stuffing. Either way, more grist for the mill that public polls like this are next to useless, which is exactly what one of our commenters noted on the post announcing the poll.
Good Coffee and a Overdose of Attitude
Had a pretty darn good americano at Trident. And for good reason. This shop has been around forever, has a well trained barista staff (in coffee making, at least), and as a result, a dedicated following. But it would be hard for the service to be much worse. ”Hi”? ”Good morning”? Friendly exchange? Nope. Just a snappy “what do you want?”. Well, for starters, a barista that actually likes interacting with people, and second, a decent cup of coffee. I guess 1 for 2 isn’t bad, considering many shops are a big goose egg.
Best of Boulder? Um, yea….no
Once again the popularity contests come out and distort reality. And we love reality. We don’t love gimmicked phone-tree (email tree?) influenced “popularity” polls. So we shouldn’t be surprised that the Best of Boulder 2008 has — who else? — Vic’s as the best coffee shop in Boulder. Ug.
Vic’s, people? Can you possibly be serious? The only thing this proves is that Vic’s is the best at getting their friends, neighbors and relatives to vote. What does it take, an email address? Yeah, I’ve got five, and my uncle in Michigan has ten. Yeah, we just won best coffee shop blog.
The real deal with Vic’s is that they serve some of the worst coffee in Boulder (it is Allegro, also served by numerous other shops) and the flagship shop is dark, crowded and otherwise laid out in almost unworkable way. The socialite crowd needed a nearby see-and-be-seen hang and Vic’s was all the neighborhood has to offer, so it became so by default. It decidedly did not become so because it is a good coffee shop. So Vic’s won “best coffee shop.” It ain’t the coffee, it ain’t because it’s the best shop, it’s because somehow the 30-somethings single ants collect there looking for honey.
