Where do you find Montreals sexiest wait staff? One step inside this little pearl and you’ve found the answer. The food is good, nuveau quisine, very cool settings and good coffee. The cafe itself is all smokey glass and black tiles, but it works and has atmosphere. Did I mention that the waitresses are super sexy?

The coffee is well made, and the service excellent; but one would come here more so to be seen and to look at other diners than for the general quality of the place, although this in itself is quite good. The Cafeteria is one of my favourite joints for a lazy visit and crowd watching.

Just make sure you wear your $300 sneakers and $400 jeans when you visit.

I have to tell you, I didn’t seek out Rookies for the coffee, well Duh!! Okay folks give me a break here, I come from Australia, our laws relating to marijuana consumption aren’t exactly enlightened. I ask the guy behind the bar for the ghanja menu, it’s extensive and wondrous. I opt for pre-rolled to save time pissing around with papers or pipes. One of the nice things about Rookies is that you can get pre-rolled without the evil weed (tobacco). The bar guy presents me with two professionally rolled joints in plastic tubes, nice. As Denis Leary said, Happiness comes in small spurts folks.

I order a glass of wine. The parameters of my wine analysis are as follows; it’s red, it’s white, it’s sparkling, it’s not sparkling, I like it, I hate it. Well here goes, it’s red, it’s not sparkling, I like it.

I’m now sitting at one of the few outside tables, I’ve consumed the wine and about five tokes, so, now I’m stoned, not immaculate mind you, but getting there. The coffee I ordered has been promptly delivered, or did I go to the bar to get it. Anyway, it’s hot, for me, that’s important. If you’re going to make me a coffee, even if it’s a bad coffee, at least let it be hot. I’m sick of being presented with luke warm, piss weak, beige colored liquid that tastes like its emerged from an ash pit rather than the skilled and loving hands of an espresso master, “Your coffee sir”….Fuck off.

Lately, I’ve been willing to suspend my disbelief for only two things, Star Trek and the works of Sara Douglass, but I digress. My coffee tastes strong, it’s got to be strong, not necessarily Turkish strong but strong enough for my taste buds to let my brain know that I am indeed, in the presence of coffee and lots of caffeine. Decaffeinated coffee, I don’t think so.

Okay, it’s hot, its strong, it’s doesn’t taste bitter or burnt and it has a silky smooth texture. I’m happy, but does the coffee shop have WiFi, to be honest, I don’t know, but then, I don’t give a toss, it’s got interesting people, it’s got ambience, it’s got coffee, it’s got alcohol, it’s got food, it’s got Ghanja and it’s in Amsterdam, what more do you want, yeah okay, WiFi.

If you’re in Amsterdam and you’re looking for a good coffee shop, try Rookies, you just might find yourself having an enjoyable time, I did.

Lounge is a destination point for friends from overseas. Casual and relaxed atmosphere (almost grunge, think Bob Marley). Divine coffee (especially the soy latte!) and excellent wafer thin pizzas. Friendly hip young staff.

Transformed to a popular waterhole for wonderful mix of arts students, fashionistas and executives in the evenings.
Lounge Funk

Date: Every Saturday
Time: 06:00 pm
Cost: $7 simple dollars

After the monthly recurring success over the past year, Lounge Funk steps into weekly slots at the
Lounge Cafe for the month of August. Come early and enjoy a tasty feed whilst listening to rare grooves,
layed down by the obsessed collecters Miss Goldie and Mr Rick…

Your feet will be itching when JRDynamite and Louis Lightfoot continue the funk feast
topped off by rotating guests Lippo, Will Styles, Ricky Albert, OSC-001 and Gus on Sax.

Get on down, See ya there!!

The brakes in the car sound and feel strange so we take the car to a brake specialist in the industrial area of Castle Hill. While we wait for the brake guy to do his thing, Teena goes off to look at a craft shop and I find a little café called “Next Please”. Let’s establish the context here folks, “Next Please” is a café in an industrial park. It can best be described as a variation on the “Truck Stop” theme, no bad thing. The kind of place where “Large thanks” is the standard response to “How would you like your steak”.

The food is a variation on three central themes; the hamburger, bacon n eggs and the steak sandwich. Café latte and cappuccinos are on the menu if you’re game enough to ask for one. I follow the lead of the patron before me “coffee, white, strong, no sugar and a ‘Stanley’s breakfast’ thanks love”. I’ll have the same thanks……..love.

The coffee is, as I had ordered; white, strong, no sugar and thank god, it’s hot. The “Stanley’s breakfast” passes each parameter of my breakfast analysis, is it good, is it huge, do I have to ask for BBQ sauce. Yes and yes and no.

My wife arrives, to my horror, she orders a low-fat, decaffeinated cappuccino….sweet Jesus, this is going to be interesting. The waitress is momentarily shaken, her eyes dart around the room, she’s searching for words, our eyes meet, there is understanding, there is a connection, it’s almost primordial, I smile slightly, sympathy and understanding are conveyed.

“We don’t have much call for decaffeinated coffee love, or low fat milk, I could water down the milk for you”, I try not to laugh, caffeine and fat are sworn enemies of pregnant women. I flash to a scene from a movie called “Doing time for Patsy Cline”. Scene: An outback coffee shop, “coffee thanks love”, “sorry, we’re out of coffee, we had a run on it”.

If you’re looking for ambience, décor, low-fat decaffeinated cappuccinos, ricotta pancakes with honey comb butter and you’ve got lots of cash and time….go to “Bill’s 2” in Surry Hills. “Next Please” is a real Aussie café, everything about it shouts honesty, the coffee is good, the food, though plain, is good and you get lots of it.

The brake guy says “I can’t find anything wrong with your brakes”,….What do I owe you, says I, “Nothing mate, there’s nothing to fix”. Honesty, folks, is all that it’s cracked up to be.

BTW, If you’re looking for a good movie, check out “In my fathers den” a wonderful movie from New Zealand. It is a rare gem, the like of which I have not seen in many moons. Bye Bye

Senses Bakery & Restaurant, aka Sen5es, is a small little shop well known for its amazing pastries. I figured a place with amazing desserts would want to pair that with amazing coffee. I was sadly mistaken.

Although I think the coffee probably had good roots, I believe the “baristas” are trained more for pastry than for coffee. And the machine they use for coffee attests to this. The coffee was made with the WMF Bistro - it’s all push button. Automatic coffee. From Americano to cappuccino. Sounds so wrong.

The funny thing is, I was feeling some hesitation at the bar after noticing the “talent” of the barista in pressing the button. But I was there and on my way to work, so I said what the heck. Noticing also that the price list has different prices for “coffee” vs. “americano” but knowing it was exactly the same for this machine, I opted for the lower priced version of the same drink.

My impression of the coffee was that it was likely not so bad. It had a good flavour to it. But it was not as strong as it should be, and was quite watered down.

Sigh. The life of a reviewer. Can’t expect them all to be good.

Coffee: 57%
Atmosphere: 80%
Service: 85%

Read the original review at VancouverCoffee.ca

This evening we spent an hour chatting with Brad Ford, owner of Wicked Cafe. Wicked opened it’s doors about 6 months ago on n the corner of 7th Ave. and Hemlock St. The cafe was born out of the idea of opening a place to sell fresh Belgian Liege waffles, which evolved into a Cafe that also sells high quality baked goods, sandwiches and tea. It’s a really unique idea, and obviously one that was the product of a lot of thought, time and preparation. Brad had never brewed coffee professionally until a half year prior to opening Wicked, but he has learned from some of the best. And done many many cuppings to get an idea for how to know what is good, and then how to produce that.

Wicked cafe gets is coffee from Intelligentsia (read our post about it), and its tea from Steeps Tea. Both of which provide a very high quality product.

For those of you unfamiliar with Belgian Liege waffles, they are made with a yeast based dough and pearl sugar. The pearl sugar Wicked uses has been imported from France. The waffles are made fresh on saturday and sunday around 9am-10am but are also available the rest of the week.

Brad has some pretty ambitious plans for the cafe. Staying open later. Offering a selection of gourmet pastries. Some great sandwiches (try the egg and brie!!). And a dedication to quality coffee and tea.

I had a very good cappuccino. Brad is really committed to keeping the quality of his coffee consistent and it shows. Arieanna had an Americano, of course. She says it was very bold but smooth. Not a trace of bitterness or tanginess. Great crema. Gave her enough energy to whip out a few blog posts when we came back!

Arieanna is the one who really looks at design and atmosphere. Here is what she has to say:

“I like Wicked because it has a really great interior feeling. Cozy but elegant and chic. Lots of little conversation areas in different chair combinations, as well as some nice solid dark wood table/chair combos. The signage is really well produced, and just a touch edgy. The exterior sign references “da*n good coffee” and the interior has some nice pictures Brad took on his travels. It’s a great feel. What we’d desperately love to see in Whistler. It has that upscale look but with a comfortable, stay a while feel.”

The cafe also has free wi-fi as a service for it’s customers, but please don’t make this your study/work place, and if you have to stay for a while the staff will probably appreciate if you share your table with others.

Coffee 90%
Atmosphere 95%
Service 95%

Read the original review at VancouverCoffee.ca

Ethical Bean serves Fair Trade (TransFair) and Organic coffee. The company was created after the couple decided to adopt a child in Guatemala - as a part of the learning process about their new daughter’s culture, they discovered coffee and the plight of coffee growers. The business is the development of a desire to have an ethical business as well as a desire to stay connected with their daughter’s roots.

All blends are single origin, roasted in small batches. Although mostly available in retail locations, they are slowly entering the cafe market. The names of the coffee types are all really creative: Guatemalan aaah, Ethiopian yum, Espresso buzz… Quite funny.

The barista on hand made me a really fabulous Americano. I have to say it was THE best coffee of the day. Really great. So bold, so smooth. Mmm. No cream or sugar needed. They are right in their copy “full-bodied velvet slipper for your tongue.”

I think they had the most impressive showing in terms of having both drip and espresso based options, as well as tea, and a talented barista for the serving.

Ianiv had both an espresso shot and a cup of assam tea. Both were really great.

I know it’s an aesthetic response, but I really quite like the branding. Clean, simple, effective. Great work! I bet it’s the work of Kim Schachte, who previously worked in graphic design.

The owners have invited us to a cupping, and I must say I am quite excited about the prospect.

Read the original review at VancouverCoffee.ca

Barbarba Caffe is a micro-roaster of Italian espresso. The caffee is a part of Lilikoi Specialty Foods. They serve retail, foodservice, and have custom label blends. New to the brand is the resale of green beans to other micro roasters.

We had an espresso each. Although he claimed the coffee to be not bitter, but it was a little tart. Although this blend was to have the sweet note common to Arabica beans, I was not able to taste it. We were not overly impressed and would not seek it out. It’s not awful, but it’s not in the elite class of other Vancouver roasters.

I asked if his coffee was Fair Trade, and the owner, Giuseppe, said no. He put forth an argument that it wasn’t really that important if you work with a good broker and that the peasants still make a living. We didn’t feel like getting into a heated argument, but were not overly impressed.

If Giuseppe happens across this post, it might also help if you redesign your collateral material.

Read the original review at VancouverCoffee.ca

Caffuccino is part of a chain of 3 cafes in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. I’ve only ever been to the ones in Magog and Sherbrooke, the third being in Rock Forest, and have always had a good coffee experience.

My first visit to Caffuccino was a feats for the eyes, ears and taste buds:

• The eyes; every girl that works there is abnormally well endowed, including one that looks like Sheryl Crowe with umm.. some cosmetic changes. They have also just referbished the Sherbrooke location and it feels very cool but cozy. Perfect for a town with two universities.
• The ears: good tunes abound and every Sunday night is live Jazz.
• The taste buds: Caffuccino has a good basic menu of the usual bistro food (pastas, pizza, wraps etc) and is reasonably well priced. I recommend most of everything on the menu… I’ve had most of everything on the menu. The coffee is usually very good, and the only thing that constantly dissappoints is the cap. The froth is ok, but the coffee it sits on is trerrible. The lattes, espressos and cafe au lait are great.

I highly recommend the Caffuccino for a late Sunday night stop for a coffee or a beer and meal out on the terrace in summer and if it wasn’t for the dodgy cap I would have rated it 4 beans.

BTW: Being in Quebec, there are smoking sections in the cafe, at least until 2006.

Hernandez is a Sydney institution. Located just off the Kings Cross red light district it is a strongly Spanish themed little hole in the wall.

Frequented by punks, old men, business types and backpackers it has a great blend of clientelle. The food is skewed toward Spanish yummies like the ever popular Churro, but they also do the usual assortement of cakes and sweets. The walls are decorated with large old oil paintings that barely fit in the cramped little coffee shop.

The coffees here have never dissappointed. I’ve had caps, lattes, flat whites (an aussie thing), and espressos here. All have been excellent with a lovely rich flavour, great acid balance and wonderful cremas and froth.

Hernandez is good anytime, and it seems to be open almost 24/7, but in my view is best on a sunny day when you can sit outside on the street and watch the world go by. There is something to be said about a great cafe in a seedy location where you can watch hookers and junkies slink by as trophy wives park their luxury cars and take their prams for a walk in the nearby parks.

The coffee is wonderful, the ambience is excellent, and if you can get a seat (it’s not uncommon to see a throng of people waitng outside to get in) it’s a great place to spend some time with friends or with a good book.

This may be one of few 5 bean rated places that I will review.

Badde Manors by name, Bad Manners by nature… Outside of Utah, this is one of the best nachos I have ever had, but as I just said, the service is horrific. If your thing is being served by tattooed and dreadlocked ferals with attitude, then you’ll love this place.

If on the other hand you enjoy service with a smile go elsewhere.

All negatives aside, the coffee really is very good. We have had a variety of excellent cups there and the general ambience is kind of university cool. The place looks clean and they have a gorgeous espresso machine perched on the counter. The food is pretty decent cafe fare and has all the usual basics such as toasted sandwiches and the above mentioned nachos.

To be honest though, as soon as I discovered other places in the area I was outta faster than one could say “Am I paying for this service?”. If Digi cafe down the road is closed, or if you really want to experience lice ridden waiters and waitresses then pop in for a cup of pretty decent coffee.

Ok, so today I went over to the Drive again to go to a cafe I spotted while walking last weekend. It was just packed, and seemingly was an Italian hotspot for a casual lunch and coffee. And I was right. The vibe was amazing. It was a tad loud and everyone seemed a bit hyped up (coffee?), but it was a real uplifter. The barista was just over the top friendly. Excellent service. Even offered to add the sugar/milk for me (yes, heated milk). It was really a neat experience. We didn’t stay for lunch, but it seemed a good place to sit. I wouldn’t qualify it as “relaxed” but it was definitely a fun place. Very Romanesque too.

The coffee. Well, it was different. Not necessarily different in a bad way, but it had a whole different body of flavour. I don’t necessarily know if I like it for what it is. I was not able to drink my Americano without sugar/milk (I only do on rare occassions anyway, but I did try). I really tried to pin down what made it different. First, the machine was different. It was a Nuova Simonelli. Might make a difference. And perhaps the roast and the bean were different. It was too busy to ask. It had a bold note with something of a kick - not a tart kick but something along the lines of what I want to call spicy. If anyone else has tried the espresso-based beverages here, I could use some other insight! I think I wouldn’t actively seek out this type of coffee as it does not suit my preferences, but I did enjoy it nonetheless.

Atmosphere: 86%
Service: 95%
Coffee: 80%

Read the original review at VancouverCoffee.ca

Ah digi.kaf… We used to live across the road from this little gem in Sydney and Sunday morning breakfast became a solid tradition for us. The pancakes (potato or ricotta) and the coffee were a godsend in our otherwise bland little street. It was always a welcome relief to visit digi during the day (I worked from home and often needed a break that didn’t invlove chugging down a pint of beer).

Digi.kaf started out as an internet cafe and it has retained a quite few PCs in a large but cosy room out the back (their slogan is Coffee, Cake and Cyberspace). The place is sunny and the service was always prompt and friendly. When we were last there (over a year ago since I now live in Canada) the owner was talking about putting up some sail cloth and stretching it out down the side of the building for year round alfresco dining.

Digi is part of a small row of nice eateries in a fairly scummy part of Sydney that shine for their friendliness, quality and service; and it seems to be frequented by the odd student while mostly catering for locals.

The coffees were always very drinkable and served with a lovely crema; desserts and meals tasty and fresh, and like I mentioned before the breakfasts were great.

Yes - it surprised me as well, but the current winner of “Tom’s fave coffee place in London” is a little kiosk on platform 10 at Clapham Junction station.

The pluses:
- It’s tastes great
- It’s fairtrade coffee
- It’s properly made (i.e. they didn’t just press the ‘latte’ button)
- They’re quick (and they will even work specially quick if your train is approaching!)
- They’re friendly

The minuses
- It’s a kiosk - no where to sit (unless you count a dirty South West Train!)

It’s great - there’s also more kiosks from the same company (I forget the name - sorry) on various stations around town, but Clapham Junc platform 10 is my fave

Metropolis is still a young company, and a father and son team runs it. Tony (son) got his training from Peet’s where other famous roaster such as Duane from Stumptown in Portland, Oregon, was trained.

Metropolis Coffee’s signature espresso blend, Redline, is very popular among the coffee lovers at CoffeeGeek.com. The café is near the University of Loyola’s lakeshore campus in the north side of Chicago. The setting is comfortable with free Wi-Fi. The staff is well trained and friendly.

Metropolis is giving the Chicago’s best roaster, Intelligentsia, a serious run for their money…