I first heard about this coffee shop from Craigslist. They were hiring a Barista back in Dec and I thought, oh what the hell I'll apply. But then the holidays came around and school started...ok I was just being lazy. But when Chad called me up after wandering around downtown Cleveland aimlessly, finding himself at the doorsteps of this coffee shop I figured I would check it out. And he was buying so...
From what I gather, here is the background of this place. It started off with their first shop at Kelly's Island. A bit of a random place to start your business if you ask me, but whatever. Maybe there was a market for coffee there. One of the owners used to manage a Starbucks so I was a bit wary about their product. As most of you know, Starbucks is the Wal Mart of coffee and unless you're in a hurry and desperate, it shouldn't ever be consumed.
They are situated in this alley way strip of small restaurants and shops. Completely cute, they even have some places with the store front dining area. That was always a bit odd to me, I don't want a bunch of people watch me eat, but it's the new thing I suppose.
The huge downside to this trendy little area is parking. I had to park in the Quicken Loans parking lot, since it was right around the corner. I am sure if I had driven around a little bit more I probably could have found something cheaper but in the end I paid $4 to park and I hoofed it a block to Erie Island.
First I would like to say, they have decorated the place very nicely. Now, it's not MY taste (I love the quirky mis-matchy look) but I can appreciate when an area is looking classy, and this place was. Comfy seating and Norah Jones on the speakers, it was definitely a chill type of environment. The Baristas (I am so bad with names but I think it was Alexis and Lisa)were very sweet and friendly. I ordered my Soy Vanilla Latte (hey Chad was buying so I was going to live it up) and I even got some latte art in my cup. After much debate, Chad and I both agreed it looked not so much like a Rosetta but more like squished butt cheeks, but I gave it an A for effort. This was actually the first place I have been to in a while that did latte art so I loved the extra touch. I was sad to see my butt cheek picture go away, but I of course needed to taste her creation. And it was wonderful. You can always tell if the espresso shots are coming out correctly by the taste, if it's too bitter or too bland then you know your barista hasn't timed her shots correctly and the machine more than likely needs to be calibrated. But this was perfect. They used hand tamping machines as well, which is always a plus for me. If all you do is push a button then I have a hard time calling you a Barista. The coffee was yummy, the cost was decent (a PLUS for utilizing punch cards!! I love my freebies!!) and the overall friendliness of the workers there made it a place I will definitely stop in again.
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