Posted by Adrienne on February 5, 2007

NO POETRY. This is the warning I hear. You may not find it on the door, but it’s pretty obvious inside Bob’s Java Hut that this ain’t no beat-poet-finger-snapping or middle-age-new-age-red-hat-clubbing or college-broken-heart-guitar-strumming type of a joint. Take an old school biker garage, paint it fire engine red and mint green, put some crazy music on, and give em good strong coffee. Oh, and park your ‘cycle in FRONT.

Lyndale Ave

Bob’s Java Hut, on the corner of Lyndale and 27th, is technically located northeast of Uptown, so unfortunately it cannot claim a stake in the scene that is Lake and Hennepin. Have no fear, however. If clubbing with local fraternities or shopping at the Gap is not your thing, then you’ll find much to feed your senses along Lyndale. Art galleries, bars, restaurants, hair salons, music stores, tattoo parlors, bookstores and these all of the independent variety. This is the southern part of Whittier, so of course it is a mecca for artists and the folk that serve as baristas and hair stylists when they are not making [money on their] art. Residents are seen riding their hipster bikes, walking their dogs, or knitting at the bus-stop. It’s a walkable place for the most part, and one can certainly walk to Bob’s.

The Neighborhood

In the warmer weather, when it’s nice enough to bring your bikes (of all kinds!) out again, Bob’s big glass garage door along the sidewalk is rolled up and tables line the walkway. It is a small space, the main level of an older two-story commercial building. Above is the award-winning Uptown Tattoo Parlor and directly next door is Moxie Hair Salon & Art Gallery, a nice friendly place to get the latest hipster cut and color (with the best scalp massages in town). Directly across the street is Soo Visual Arts Center, a sizable non-profit art gallery, and Highpoint Center for Printmaking, which doubles as a gallery space and printmaking cooperative.

The Space

Inside Bob’s Java Hut you will find big sunny windows lining the south wall, high red and green ceilings, worn wood floors, and vintage motorcycle prints on the pumpkin orange walls. There’s almost a tiki-bar flavor in the colors and the airiness to the place (maybe that’s where the “Hut” part comes in). The no-fuss wooden tables are Tetris-ed in along the coffee bar. Clever hardware-inspired lamps provide lighting at the tables when the winter sun is hiding. Should you need reading material, especially of the biking variety, you’ll find it in shelves along the back wall near the bathroom.

The Atmosphere

The thing I like best about Bob’s is the energy. On the sunny Saturday morning in November that I visited, the place was so busy it was hard to find a table inside. People constantly coming in and out, talking and laughing, sharing tables with neighbors. The upbeat music (funk, hiphop, club) is on a higher volume but it’s counterbalanced by conversation, registers, and the grinding whir of the espresso machines so that it just becomes part of the background noise.

It’s pleasantly chaotic with lots of sights to see: students glued to laptops, bikers with leather and tattoos sipping lattes, tech-heads with crazy colored-hair, smokers out on the steps, young hippie couples with dogs, and old men sketching in the corner. Because of the garage-like atmosphere, the mechanical-inspired feel, I would say that Bob’s is aimed at catering the funky biker alternative crowd. Many of the customers are males tapping away on the their computers, dressed functionally casual but also tastefully funky. But Bob’s also draws younger student population who just want a pleasant place to work and converse (or maybe for the student discount), and also what I would call Neighborhood Crowd, which is mainly young hipsters who live within walking distance. Here you could get a cup of coffee, a hair cut, and a tattoo all on the same street corner.

The Java

I was very impressed and charmed by the friendly baristas. Not snobby in the least. I would call them unassuming, welcoming and un-affected. The late-night hours are convenient and, yes, dogs are apparently allowed and welcomed. I found the coffee at Bob’s to be top quality delicious, and fair trade too. They do have fancier expensive drinks, but I decided to stick to the plain jane medium roast. The muffin I had was decent and I’ve hear the sandwiches are good too. Word is there’s a big screen for watching races the second Monday night of each month.

Bob’s is probably my favorite place so far. This is a functional, carefree place that won’t tolerate the sentimental reminiscing found in other coffee shops. It inspires you to grab hold of your day the way you grab hold of your to-go cup. The energy is uplifting but the room also has a mellow, laid-back feel in which you might spend a few hours basking in the sunlight, reading. You just feel like part of the neighborhood here.