Sad news…

Posted by Adrienne on January 12, 2009

Back in August 2007 I reviewed our favorite neighborhood coffee shop, the Clicquot Club Cafe. Just found some sad news online that says the cafe is closing due to the bad economy. Tonight is the last night they will be open.

It’s hard to believe Clicquot was having rough times because every time I would go there on the weekends they were packed! But I guess looking back, I remember some very slow weekday evenings. Plus it’s a small place, so it’s probably difficult to find seats on winter weekends. It’s really a bummer – they were the epitome of a small friendly neighborhood coffee shop. I wonder what will happen to that cute little building? What else could end up there that would possibly help to create a vibrant neighborhood? And if a place like Clicquot can’t survive in a neighborhood like Seward, what hope does it have elsewhere?

Campus Option 1: Bordertown Coffee

Posted by Adrienne on January 10, 2009

This is the first in a series of posts exploring coffee shops near the University of Minnesota, since this is where I spend the majority of my time. I’ll start with the East Bank, but also check out the West bank and the St. Paul campus as well.

Students at the U have a LOT of coffee shop options on campus; many of them are independent, many are not. My favorite on-campus coffee place is the French press on my studio desk, but when I want to get away from a project I head to Bordertown Coffee. It occupies the first floor of a beautiful old brick and timbered building hidden behind Frat house row on University. To read the full and fascinating story of how the owners acquired the building, read their website.

I love the warm cozy feel of the main sitting room, complete with armchairs and stone fireplace. This room is frequently busy during the lunch hour but most times you can find a small table. There is an additional smaller sitting room on the main floor which can be reserved for free as a conference/study room. Apparently the upper floors contain some sort of student housing, perhaps another fraternity or co-op.

The website mentions the cafe’s owner’s Christian beliefs, but I was pleased to note that the cafe did not advertise this fact; I’ve witnessed several blatantly religious coffee shops that were a bit of a turn-off.

The Fair Trade coffee and espresso are quality, and the homemade bakery items are usually delicious (I loved the dark chocolate nut bars but was not crazy about the vegan blueberry muffins). For lunch options, I wasn’t impressed with either the quiche or the basalmic chicken wrap, but maybe I’ll have to give some of the other breakfast items a chance. The hummus and pita is a nice snack option, but I’d ask to have the pita toasted – cold pita not so appetizing.

So if you find yourself on campus in need of a cozy coffee shop, sneak behind the frat houses and see if you can locate this little treasure. Bonus points if you can figure out a way to get there via the underground campus tunnels!

WiFi and desktop vampire re-defined

Posted by justinph on January 8, 2009

Adrienne and I went to 2nd Moon tonight to do a little reading and computing. We sat in the back, which we had never done before. It was very nice and cozy.

As we walked in, we saw this fellow sitting near the front:

A guy working on a 20″ iMac.

Apparently, we’ve moved from just using laptops in cafes to using entire desktop computers. No doubt, the iMac is very easy to cary and plug in, but it seems a just little excessive to me. I think there is a point at which computing in public is not OK, especially given Blue Moon’s already noted problems with people working for too long.

Unless you own the coffee shop, this is socially unacceptable behavior.

What makes a public space popular?

Posted by Adrienne on August 27, 2008

Here is a back-to-school quiz.

Where would you rather hang out:
A) On a fake turf-covered lawn, or
B) In a landscape architect-designed plaza complete with fountains, vegetation, and benches?

I imagine most people would pick B, wouldn’t you? What would you predict other people would say?

Turns out it may not be that obvious. This article found on the American Society of Landscape Architects’ blog compares several public spaces in a DC suburb with surprising results. The beautiful plaza was indeed packed on a summer evening, but so was the fake lawn nearby! Locals had adopted the astroturf square as an impromptu park.

So what’s going on here? What we don’t know is whether this is the norm or maybe if the area was so packed on this particular special occasion that people were just plopping down where ever they could. Was the plaza packed because of the show going on, or is it always full? Or maybe it has mainly to do with the fact that there was a place to eat near the lawn.

It’s not easy to get a real picture without data like this, but the question has been asked: what kind of public places are most popular? Clearly it is not solely a function of the quality of the design of the space. How important is design then? Or, what kind of designs would appeal to the most people? Or maybe it’s more about the context of the space. It goes without saying that even a prize-winning design will see few visitors if it’s in the middle of nowhere.

I once read about a grassroots design strategy that looks at current uses of a public space and then designs the new space to better address those uses. For example a public park was used by a group of persons for drinking during the day. Some people might have a problem with this (illegal?) activity. But the designers saw that this was a real use in that park and, rather than judging the morality of the issue and reprograming the space, designed an informal beer garden that would provide a legitimate place for drinking. In this way they were respecting the local citizens and creating a distinctly local place to serve their needs.

Now I’m not saying we should install beer gardens in all parks (though it might be fun), but maybe this example could give us a new way of looking at designing public spaces. Instead of programming a plaza in a way we THINK the public might want, what if we asked them or observed current behavior to find out how they might actually use it. I know this isn’t a new idea (public charrettes are common steps in today’s design process) but this is where landscape architects might need to put aside their idealistic tendencies and consider pragmatic results.

It’s an ongoing discussion that provides endless questions. Any thoughts?

How walkable is your neighborhood?

Posted by Adrienne on May 24, 2008

We came across a fun and eye-opening tool today that measures the walkability of a location. Check out Walk Score: enter an address and see how it scores. Our new apartment scores an 80 out of 100. Not bad!

Especially in light of the high gas prices, it might be helpful to re-think where we choose to live and why. What is the most important factor in making that decision? Amount of green space? School system quality? Distance from work? How will this change or stay the same in the coming decades? At what level in gas price will walkability become a factor once again?

Update on Blue Moon Cafe

Posted by Adrienne on February 13, 2008

We came across a very sad article regarding Blue Moon. Apparently they are having trouble making ends meet because people will hog a table for hours at a time, sometimes without buying anything (known as “wi-fi vampires”). Owner Lisa Berg says writing a note asking people to be more considerate has not done anything, so they are trying to figure out how to stay afloat. Raise prices? No one likes that. Expand tables? Not sure where they would fit in her small cafe.

Raises a good question for cafe-goers. How long can we stay before we wear out our welcome? My rule of thumb is until my drink or food is gone. If I’m taking up a chair in their space, I should be paying for it. Especially if they have free wireless. Especially if it’s busy. Now as to how long you can stretch out a drink…. that is debatable. I’m known to nurse my drinks from time to time. The fact remains that coffee shops are not extra offices to use for an entire day. Be considerate and remember that the only way your favorite coffee shop will stay open is if it can pay its bills – and that’s where you can help.

Diamonds Coffee Shoppe

Posted by Adrienne on January 21, 2008

Hello everyone! Did you think I’d abandoned my quest? I’m close to wrapping up my holiday break so I thought I’d pump out a quick review before I am lost in another semester. I miss writing while I’m in school but I also love being in school, so I win either way.

Most of my past reviews have featured coffee shops in south Minneapolis because they are in almost every neighborhood and they are easy to find. But part of my reason for this blog to explore other parts of the city, so I recently wandered up to the industrially mysterious Northeast Minneapolis to check out what sort of community coffee shops serve this side of the river. Forgive my lack of photos of the neighborhood, but I happened to visit on the coldest day of the year so far.

Continue reading full review →

Common Roots Cafe

Posted by justinph on September 16, 2007

Today I spent some time working on some projects over at Common Roots Cafe. It is a heck of a place, likable for many reasons, which Sarah summarizes very well over at Living in 55404:

• Super eco-friendly
• Bright, airy atmosphere, but not so bright that you can’t see your laptop screen
• Delicious sandwiches, salads, soups, bagels, and baked goods made from local ingredients
• The perfect range of beverages for a cafe, including fresh coffee, juice, tea, beer, and wine
• Great wireless signal
• Pretty outdoor patio seating with lights and vines

I couldn’t agree more, and I’ll be back there again.