I'd very much like to find an awesome coffee shop that I woke up each morning eager to scurry off to.
To that end, been to a great number of coffee shops in the Phoenix metro area, specially in the Scottsdale area. Here are my favroties (ordered based on Scott-friendliness and proximity as well as coolness):
Octagon Cafe: Small, family owned, with lots of organics, and no piles of crap for sale at the counter -- just the yummist cakes I've ever seen.
Counter Culture Cafe: Converted old house. 24 hours. Happenin' place, very good coffee, and counter or otherwise, lots of culture. They have food, including vegan items, and it's inexpensive, but it's more snack proportioned than dinner proportioned. One room has bookshelves full of books to read. Not Scott-friendly, but I'm not sure yet, after one visit.
Jamacian Blue: The wireless router and cable modem sit on top of the TV set in the corner (which is often tuned to cartoons). Coffee all comes from the Jamacian Blue estate. This is an old, old establishment with a lot of personality, and they now serve beer, too. It's a great meeting spot. Don't think it is Scott-friendly so I don't go there often, but that's par for the course, sadly.
The Willow House: Old house right in downtown Phoenix. Very not-Scott-friendly, but worthy of note for its local significance. Boasts the strongest mochas in the metro area and they don't lie -- one of those fuckers kept my heart racing all night. I can see the logic as the place is a hang-out for a lot of recovering drug addicts and alocholics that went clean -- caffiene is apparently not considered an abusable drug, or at least is considered a mild alternative. The Willow House is shingled with willow apparently, and has a curious but fairy-tale-esque rounded roof. There are free books to read, really good (big, piled high, super yummie) sandwiches, and lots of culture.
Starbucks, 92nd & Shea: This is one of the top 10 Starbucks locations in the country for sales, I'm told, and the line out the door half the day seems to support this. For several months, I was here all day, nearly daily. They were pretty damn Scott-friendly, but then, one day, while I was sitting there, they scared the crap out of me. The location might still be Scott friendly, but I felt the need to spend my energies and money finding safer quarters. Regardless, you might find it attractive just for the sheer energy in the place.
I'm told that I have to go to Mama's Java, Cave Creek Coffee Company, and some others, but haven't actually done so yet. They might rightfully deserve a place on this list.
There are some runners-up, too. Also in Fountain Hills is Mountain View Coffee, which has some killer sugary yummie esspresso creations. Scottsdale's Mustang Public Library has a coffee cart that looks like a de-branded Starbucks concept store -- that's pretty neat for a library! Jolta Java in Scottsdale is a contender, but I've only been there once -- it has a nice vibe and some interesting looking espression creations, but the WiFi isn't free. I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot, too...
By the way, I've been submitting some longer
review to arizona-coffee.com
We'll see if they get published.
-scott
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