Searching For the Perfect Coffee House

So we've landed in St. Paul, and I'm trying to pin down the best coffee shop in Blogagaard terms. This means a shop with good, cheap coffee, not too popular or hip, with a minimum number of cellphone yakers. I had a rotating base of three beloved coffee shops in Boise, all with different strengths. DK Doughnuts was actually a doughnut shop with coffee and booths, open 24 hrs., but the baking doughnuts always made the place heat up and the ambiance was decidedly lacking. The Record Exchange was actually a big independent record store with a small coffee shop on the side and a row of diner-style booths, very comfy with good music (it's a freaking record store) with the only down side being the decidedly lame coffee. And third was a Big City Coffee out west on State Street. Great coffee, comfy couches, and a decent atmosphere. It's downfall was its popularity, especially with loud women gathering in shrieking flocks around noon every day, shrieking babies in tow, to comment on the coffee shops menu. There was also (I know, this is 4 now) the Library Coffee House in the neighboring city of Meridian, stuffed with books and shelves and atmosphere and space, with tremendous coffee (my favorite was the black cherry mocha and the Butterfinger mocha). It's only downfalls were a pricey menu, and the fact that it was an annoying forty minute round trip from Boise.
But now, I have returned, am looking for coffee beyond Starbucks, Caribou, and even Dunn Brothers itself...

(Wow. What an important post this turned out to be.)

6 comments:

Kelly Coyle said...

The best ones here (a full mile and a half from you) are J and S at Randolph and Saratoga, and Coffee News by Mac.

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David Oppegaard said...

mmm....coffee...

Rand said...

There's a second J&S at Thomas and Hamline - smaller but with a nifty vibe.

And the Espresso Royale in Dinkytown is also pretty great.

David Oppegaard said...

oooh, Rand. Luckily I'm royale-tay!

Sgt. Misty Peppers said...

have you gone to The Black Sheep? Its owned and operated by a fellow Ole.

Anonymous said...

If you want to get away to the West Side, Jerabek's is a great neighborhood spot with an amazing bakery and fun vintage ware for sale. www.jerabeks.com

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