New Amsterdam Coffeeshop

The Nitty Gritty

Location: 1952 University Ave

Hours: Mon-Fri 9:30am-6:30pm; Sat-Sun 8am-6pm

Java: $1.50 (drip coffee) - $3.25 (double white mocha)

Goodies: $1.95 (giant cookie) - $2.15 (chocolate croissant)

Breakfast: $1.50 (bagel with butter) - $4.75 (breakfast burrito)

Lunch/Dinner: $5.50 (cranberry chicken salad sandwich) - $7.00 (The BIG Salad - yelp reviewers love this thing)

Credit cards: yesh.

WiFi: free, and much faster than many cafes

Power outlets: A bit sparse, but they're here

Bathroom: big, bright orange, with giant photographs of Amsterdam

Seating: At the bar, a couple of cushy stools with backs (nice). Little round tables topped with a collage of pastries! Pastrytopia! You want to eat them all, but you can't because they are actually a table! Also, there are window seats that resemble a plush, purple church pew. I like.
Oh, there are a couple of nice outdoor table/chair sets too, but it's not so scenic here.

Music: Hoppin'. It will keep you going without being distracting, or disrupting your conversation.

Ambient noise: Seems like a chattier place than many cafes I've reviewed. Two people are Skyping someone about a startup business venture (I swear I'm not sitting here stealing all of their ideas). Lots of people come in and chat with the baristas.

Temperature: It's hot today, outside and in.

Parking: Mostly paid, one-hour. You'll have to go a few blocks out of your way to do better.

Bicycle parking: Good luck finding a vacant street sign.

Biggest pro: Specialty Autumn drinks! Pumpkin spice lattes, and eggnog lattes! If you ask for whipped cream, it comes out looking like a snowman took a dump on top! The snowman poo is cold, which makes a really nice contrast to the hot java.

Biggest con: Location. Parking's tricky, and as with anywhere around here, it's potentially sketchy.

Recommended for: A quick snack or meal, a drink with a friend, or a concentrated burst of productivity

Not recommended for: Camping out for a whole day

This has nothing to do with the cafe, but your fave S'mug Bitch needs to broadcast something on a rather somber note. She's been writing this for a while, and wondering whether it belongs on this blog or somewhere else. But finally she realized that it belongs anywhere it might be read.

S’mug Bitch has been following the DADT proceedings. Who am I kidding? I’ve let them get me so upset that they disrupt my life. I have mixed feelings about this particular policy, because I have mixed feelings about our military. But what DADT signifies, I am absolutely opposed to. S’Bitch has no desire to serve in the military, but it makes her sick to think that some individuals who choose to serve are forced to hide who they are in order to do so. They are required to make all the sacrifices that other soldiers make, but additionally have to give up an honest image of themselves. How does this help us? All it accomplishes is to cause some soldiers to suffer even more trauma than they already would.

Those who are in favor of equal rights regardless of sexual orientation saw a huge setback with the passing of Proposition 8. We watched as the rights we had been granted in California were taken away by a simple vote. We watched as people’s marital security crumbled, due to the ignorance and fear of the general public. There have been small victories since then: Prop 8 and DADT have both been successfully challenged in smaller courts. But it’s hard to celebrate these baby steps, knowing there is so much further to go, against so much opposition.

But think. If DADT were struck down, suddenly a whole lot of soldiers could start being honest with themselves and their colleagues. There’s no way to know how many they are, since they’ve been required to hide. S’Bitch doesn’t know, either, how many homophobes there are in the military. But what if just one in ten of them suddenly found out that the soldier who saved her ass in combat, the mechanic who fixed his chopper, or the medic who patched up their buddies were gay? And what if one in ten of those went home and raised a family that, instead of being fearful and hateful, was open and loving?

Imagine.

What if the young people in that family went to school and, instead of bullying suspected homos, chastised kids who use “gay” as a derogatory term.

What if their classmates, by extension, realized that there really was no excuse for arbitrarily disliking an entire segment of the population. And what if they grew up to be voters who are just a little bit better informed?

Regardless of S’Bitch’s personal take (or yours) on the conflicts the US military is currently engaged in, the fact is that there are uncounted gay and lesbian soldiers who are risking their lives to make our country a safer place to live. What are WE doing to make this country a safer place for THEM?

Royal Ground Coffee

The Nitty Gritty

Location:1127 Solano Ave

Hours: I have failed you...I forgot to write this down :-/

Java: $1.60 (espresso) - $3.95 (double fancy drinks)

Goodies: $2.00- $3.50 everything looked SO good. There was a cheesecake with EVERY KIND OF FRUIT on top, with that shiny glaze that you'd see on top of a fruit tart. I resisted the temptation, but only just.

Fud: There were also tasty looking sandwiches, pasties, etc.

Credit cards:yep

WiFi: yes, but it took FOREVER to get connected. And it's slow.

Power outlets: Next to almost every table.

Seating: Small tables, against the walls of this very narrow space

Music: Very backgroundy. It was quiet enough that we couldn't really hear it, but S'mug Bastard and I both left with vague bits of it stuck in our heads.

Ambient noise: Very quiet.

Temperature:A bit chilly, but it was cold out and we were sitting near the door. And I was drinking a Thai iced tea (which was very delicious).

Parking: Easy to find on side streets.

Bicycle parking: Use a signpost.

Biggest pro: The desserts, I imagine.

Biggest con: Feels a bit cramped and characterless.

Recommended for: A quick break or fuel-up, but only if you're already in the area.

Not recommended for: much of anything else.

It was fine, but a very 'meh' experience. Nothing to write home about.

S'Bastard and I drove down Solano thinking "Solano is so cute! It must be full of cute cafes, so we don't even need to do a google maps search before we leave! We'll just be driving along, and dozens of cafes will throw themselves in front of the car, screaming 'I'm cuuuuuute! Pick me! You will looooove me!' And we'll be so overwhelmed that we'll have to come back here time and time again!"

We were wrong. There were NO OTHER CAFES on the street, apart from restaurants/diners with 'cafe' in the name. And at least two cafes that were closed (as in, closed for good). What's up with that, Solano? Where is Albany hiding its good cafes? If you, S'mug Reader, know the answer to this very important question, please tell me! I'll take you there and buy you a beverage.

E-22 Cafe

The Nitty Gritty
E-22 Cafe

Location:1366 Powell (near Doyle)

Hours: Mon-Tues 8am-4:30pm; Wed-Thurs 8am-7pm; Fri 8am-9:30pm

Java: $1.75 (espresso) - $3.00 (mocha)

Goodies: $2-2.50 (croissants with chocolate, fig, strawberry...

Lunch/Dinner: $6.50 (caprese salad) - $13.00 (Caesar salad with anchovies and grilled shrimp)

Credit cards: Claro!

WiFi: Should be, but they've been having problems with it. They recommend you call ahead and see if it's working on a given day.

Power outlets: Very few, and inconveniently placed.

Bathroom:There's a mosaic-ed bistro table in there. It's pretty, but I have no idea why it's there.

Seating:Very limited indoor seating, with high tables and chairs along one wall. The whole place is windows. Lots of outdoor seating on a brick patio area. It's pretty cute, if you can ignore the corporate/industrial looking buildings all around.

Music: BAD jazz. Bad.

Ambient noise: It was just us. So quiet that all you could hear was the bad jazz.

Temperature: Nice when we were there--it was a sunny day and everything was open. It might get chilly when it's cool out, since all the walls are windows.

Parking: Street parking. You might have to circle the block a couple of times to find something.

Bicycle parking: You might have to walk a little way.

Biggest pro: None of us tried the food, but someone ordered a panino and it smelled incredible. We were drooling on each other.

Biggest con: The jazz ohpleasemakeitstop.

Recommended for: Afternoon drinks/late lunch. The place is trying extremely hard to be authentically Italian, and while it's not convincing me, it's still very charming. I could definitely see spending an afternoon with a couple of friends on the patio, enjoying paninis, beers, or some of that juicy-looking sangria.

Not recommended for: A cozy-up-with-a-book sort of cafe experience.

Philz Coffee

The Nitty Gritty
Phils Coffee

Location:1600 Shattuck (at Cedar)

Hours: Mon-Fri 6am-9pm; Sat-Sun 6:30am-9pm

Java: $2.75 - $2.95 (house blends); Jamaican Blue Mountain is $7 for small, $10 for large
This is probably as good a space as anyway to emphasize that my blog is not about coffee. I won't always order coffee, and I'm not a connoisseur (it only took me two tries to spell that word right). But this place has fantastic coffee. There are dozens of blends, listed by dark/medium/light roast, and each has a flavor description. They brew everything one cup at a time, and add the cream and sugar for you (if you want it). I'm not sure what they do to it, but it comes out frothy on top, and they ask if you want a mint leaf added. Delicious!

Goodies: $2.50 - $3 (pastries from Nabolom)

Credit cards: Si.

WiFi: free and keyless, but often slow.

Power outlets: All over the place, but on a really busy day, you might have to fight somebody for one.

Bathroom: Two of them! The lock is screwy on the first one, so if you have to use it, be vigilant.

Seating: Awesome. Like Spasso in that there are many mini-areas with different feels, but classier than Spasso by far. There are a handful of two-person tables for those of you who don't like to mess with what's classic. There's a big wooden table with high-backed wooden chairs that looks like it came out of the common room at some uppity English university. It's kind of fun to sit around the table with strangers, and wonder what they're working on. Or pretend they're working on the same thing you are, but you're doing it better.

This place has THREE sofas. Yeah. I only tested the slick leather one, but it is perfect for working. It's firm enough to keep you sitting with decent posture, but still comfy. Another of the sofas appears to be red velvet, and has a fainting-couch vibe. It's set back in the middle of a billion windows with its friend, an easy chair.

Music: This is my only complaint about Philz. It's a bit too loud, and makes violent genre shifts every two songs or so. Most of what they play is not ideal work music (though it is fun music). A lot of it sounds like somebody's Regina Spektor Pandora station, then we get some questionable cover versions of classic songs, some funk, and blast-from-the-past pop that might make you feel old.

Ambient noise: Quiet upstairs, a bit raucous downstairs where people are confused about what to do. Order your coffee on the side where people are making coffee. While they make it, pay your tab on the side where there's a cash register. 's not rocket science.

Temperature: Nice. The seating area is separated from the prep area and from the door, so the temp isn't too affected by either. On really hot days they even run the AC.

Parking: Metered on Shattuck. Side streets have different rules every block or so, so don't let them trick you.

Bicycle parking: Settle for a street sign, or just take the bus, since this is pretty close to downtown.

Biggest pro: The coffee, or the space. It's a toss-up.

Biggest con: The music. And, as S'mug Politik pointed out, the place is definitely not set up for anyone who uses crutches, a wheelchair, etc. You can get your coffee ground level, but the entire seating area is up a short flight of stairs.

Recommended for: Grading. Lounging around with a book on a day off.

Not recommended for: Anything that requires you to really focus. The awesomeness of the space, bright colors everywhere, and party music will distract you.

Walking in here for the first time, I realized that I might be becoming something of a city person, despite all my expectations. I grew up across from a cornfield, y'all. I fell asleep to the sound of crickets and banjo frogs or, if the wind was right, black angus cattle lowing. My favorite birthday present EVER was a swiss army knife, because now I could build forts in the woods more efficiently. Sometimes when a big blizzard came, we'd be stuck for days because our street was low-priority for the plows. That was the most populated place I'd ever lived--12,000 people. Before I moved to Berkeley, I lived in a town of <400. So this is coming as a revelation.

I was afraid of cities. They're big, and dirty, and people there are used to living there. You don't wave at everyone you pass on the street, because it's suicide to trust everyone you meet. Even if they're not malicious, they know how to take care of themselves, and it may have to happen at your expense. You're always in the public view. And it's so easy to get lost...

But on the other hand, it becomes all the more special when you do make a connection with someone. When you find a space that feels like a neighborhood, that allows you to let your guard down a little. When you catch a beam of light, between the buildings, that turns everyone on the bus golden for a moment, and gives you a view of the bay or the hills. When you find a fantastic restaurant behind a grungy storefront.

So tell me. What do you love about cities?

Nabolom Bakery

The Nitty Gritty

Location: College and Russell

Hours: Mon 7am-2pm; Tues-Fri 7am-6pm; Sat-Sun 7:30am-6pm

Java: $1.00 (small house coffee) - $3.75 (large mocha)

Goodies: $1.25 (cookie) - $2.75 (fruit danish)

Lunch/Dinner: $2.75 (mini pizza) - $4.75 (sandwich)

Credit cards: Yuppers.

WiFi: Free and keyless.

Power outlets: There seem to be a lot, but some weren't working when I was there.

Seating: Tables and chairs, a bar with padded stools, and on VERY dilapidated, black velvet couch. It's like you're sitting on bare springs, after which you walk away wearing a dusting of decrepit couch entrails. There are also a couple of tables and chairs outside, on the Russell side.

Music: Radio, but it was back in the kitchen and pretty quiet. Plenty of other noise drowning it out.

Ambient noise: Most people who came in here knew the owner and/or each other, so there was lots of neighborly conversation. Something in the kitchen was very squeaky and incessant.

Temperature: Perfect.

Parking: Paid on college, 2 hour (free) on most side streets.

Bicycle parking: They have a whole bike rack right outside the door!

Biggest pro: The pastries, and the friendly-neighborhood feel

Biggest con: The sofa, or what's left of it.

Recommended for: A quick breakfast or snack, or sitting outside on a nice day.

Not recommended for: Hunkering down for an extended stay.

That about says it for this one. The inside is pretty shabby, but the vibe is very cozy and welcoming. The coffee is pretty decent even though it’s pre-brewed and you pump your own. My apricot cheese pastry was buttery, flaky, creamy, and pretty big for the price. I’ve also had their cinnamon twists, which are fantastic as well.

I had lots of interesting interactions with strangers (and friends too) this week, which has me thinking a lot about the human condition. The man at the register when I went to the grocery store told me his cat, who he’s had for 15 years, had just died. Several of my friends are dealing with serious medical issues. One of my professors lectured even though his mother just passed away. A student’s hard drive fried itself just as she finished writing the paper that was due the next day. I saw someone discover that bits of his bicycle had been stolen. My newlywed sister and brother-in-law just had to put down their wonderful dog, who was only three. And then of course the news, about all these young people committing suicide because their peers bully them relentlessly about being gay.

My point is, how do any of us survive? I know about all of this, and yet I was having a great day yesterday (until one little thoughtless email from a higher-up ruined my mood). One stupid comment was all it took to bring me down, and these mood-killers are everywhere. Maybe it's the Midwest in me,  but stuff like this always makes me feel like I should have been there to prevent horrible things from happening, or at least to comfort the survivors. 


Negative experiences hit us so much harder than positive ones. If a million great things happen to me today, and one thing happens to annoy me, that's what my brain will dwell on, even if I tell my brain that's stupid. And we absorb other people's negative energies so easily, too. Don't get me wrong; I'm a naive idealist. Most of the time I go around under the assumption that everyone I meet is going to be my best friend, and that all my dreams (and theirs!) will come true. But this is a lot to process.


I think that underneath all these words, what my innards really want to scream is why don't we do a better job taking care of each other? How did this life get so hard that it's all we can muster to take care of ourselves, sometimes blatantly at the expense of others? We are doing something wrong. We are doing many somethings wrong.


Please, if you're reading this, do something today to make someone's day a little brighter. Hold your tongue for a second when you're about to criticize, and ask yourself if there's a gentler way to say it. Bake something for your colleagues. Let someone get in the lane in front of you. Call somebody you don't talk to often enough.


See? Told you I was a hopeless idealist.

Not so S'mug today,
Bitch

Local 123

The Nitty Gritty

Location: 2049 San Pablo

Hours: Mon-Sat 7am-10:30pm, Sun 7am-5pm

Java: $2.25 (house espresso) - $4.25 (large mocha)

My cappuccino was very pretty, and the mugs have a perfect weight to them. It tasted lovely, but was more of a latte than a cappuccino. The nice leaf pattern you see was the extent of the foam.


Goodies: I forgot to write down prices, but maybe S'Bastard can help me out. He said the morning buns were WAY better than Semifreddi's

Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner: Again, forgot to write down prices (I have failed you pleaseforgivemeeeee), but there were hard boiled eggs for something like sixty cents, then some artisan sandwiches in the $5-7 range.

Credit cards: Jawohl.

WiFi: Free as the wind

Power outlets: A cornucopia of them.

Bathroom: Why do I even put this here? Every place has a bathroom, and I rarely go in there to check it out for you. Because apparently I'm also a Thoughtless Bitch.

Seating: As usual, I went for comfort. This cafe has a couch and easy chair that are *actually* nice. Not just comfortable, but also probably nicer and cleaner than what you have at home (if I have correctly assessed the demographic of my readers). Also a long narrow row of small tables and chairs. Also a patio, which I will discuss later.

Music: I think maybe hipsters like the stuff they were playing. I didn't really know what to do with it. It was all over the place. Like, some indie rock, then some Hawaii-inspired-50s-inspired-contemporary something that for whatever reason made me feel kind of offended, or like I was missing something. And I'm not just saying that so y'all won't think I'm a hipster. I honestly didn't get it.

Ambient noise: Almost none.

Temperature: You can probably count on this place pretty accurately reflecting the temperature outside, since one entire wall is like a giant glass garage door. Today the sun was out and it was open to the street, but I can't imagine it insulates very well when it's chilly out. At least it looks really shiny and cool.

Parking: Some side streets off San Pablo have unrestricted parking (just watch for street sweeping signs)

Bicycle parking: Settle for a signpost, and lock all detachable parts.

Biggest pro: I had planned to stay here all day and switch from caffeine to alcohol at some point, but ended up wandering off in favor of a friend's cozy cottage. The opportunity to stay put and get stimulants and depressants in the same venue would be a pretty sweet pro, though.

Biggest con: I definitely got the vibe that I didn't really belong here. Not sure why, because I loved the space. I just felt like everyone there thought they were cooler than me, although I totally disagreed with them. Even S'mug Bastard knows he isn't cooler than me, and he's a smug bastard.

Recommended for: Delicious flying goat coffee. I hear the morning buns are also fab.

Not recommended for: Talking with your non-hipster friends about non-hipster things. The regulars might kill you with their bare spite. Is it just me, or did the word 'spite' just get a lot cooler? Spite would be an awesome name for a weapon. What would it look like? "Back off, attacker. I have a spite and I know how to use it."

Actually on second thought, let's go here sometime and do dramatic readings of Going Rogue. We could pretend we're taking it seriously and see what happens!

______

I'd characterize this place as industrial-chic. Like, if people who actually had money lived in lofts, they would probably look like this. It's an urban photographer's dream (not to self: ask if they want to display some of my photographs sometime). There are pillars made of those big metal beams that you always see on cartoons when people chase each other through a construction site, and of course as soon as they run onto the beam, a crane lifts it up and they don't even notice they're three stories up until they run off the end and have time to look at you with "OH SHIT" eyes before gravity kicks in. (Please excuse the run-on sentence. I blame my students, whose papers I just spent three solid days grading.) But these weren't orange like they are in cartoons. They're the colors of actual oxidizing metal; all the silvery cool colors, adorned by flowery orange patches of rust.

The back courtyard has mismatched furniture, some of it in-your-face fire-engine red. The lower part of the walls is red brick, with potted plants and a battered watering can sitting on top. The rest of the way up (and it's a looong way up) is concrete, with black city grit creeping up it irregularly.

In summary, the place made me want to wax poetic and take pictures of it, more than it made me want to hang out there. I've been meaning to start bringing a camera along, at the behest of our friend S'Mug Strumpet The Burninator, but the best I can do for today is some camera phone snapshots.

I wished I could've taken some pictures under the tables without seeming like a creeper, because the footwear present seemed to sum up who was at this cafe. Flip-flops, hiking boots, dusty leather clogs, beat-up black tennies, and a couple with matching crocs. Seriously? Barf.

Wow, I'm judging this place so hard. People seem to love it. I think I can see why, but it's not my scene. Maybe I was just in a foul mood since I had a million papers to grade. 

This post is already too long, so no rant today. Instead, here's a sweet shot of a wound I gave myself doing something awesome:

Ten points to anyone who guesses how I got it.

Peet's Coffee and Tea (the original)

Peet's Coffee & Tea - 2124 Vine St, just off Shattuck
“Helloooo, we already know about Peet’s, you S’mug Bitch!”

Ha. You thought I couldn’t hear you. I know you’ve been to Peet’s before. Obviously. You are interested in Berkeley cafes, and Peet’s is everywhere. That’s why I’m not bothering with The Nitty Gritty this time, because you already know.

BUT. Have you been to this Peet’s? This is the original Peet’s. There’s a big, old-looking wooden sign inside to prove it. This place has recently been renovated, so now half of it is a combined café/museum/memorial to Peet. You can sit on bar stools at a little counter facing a wall full of old photos from the café as it was originally.

All of that is cute, but it’s not why I want to plug this café. I walked in with an instrument, and people started asking me about it, one after the other. I ended up sharing a table with a woman who is a local visual artist. She talked my ear off about a guitarist she knows, who has won the “Andrés Segovia” International Classical Guitar Competition. Oddly enough, he walked in about five minutes later and chatted with us for a while.

He then pointed out a couple of banjo players across the room, and called them over to join our little conversational hootenanny. I had a lovely afternoon, and walked away with some new contacts, a list of artists and new tunes to look up (this one seemed to be a local favorite), and an invite to come play on the corner sometime. I’m told there’s often live music right there, and if it’s good, the baristas prop open the door and turn off their sound system.

Here's something else cool. S'Bitch just picked up her MA diploma yesterday, and guess whose signature is on it? Arnold. The Governator. Sweet! Even though the acquisition of this piece of paper was entirely without ceremony - I waited in line in a stuffy room, handed over my ID, was asked if my name was spelled correctly, signed for the certificate, and left with an envelope - it was somehow more satisfying than the commencement ceremony last May. Maybe even more satisfying than passing my exams in April. Why is it that accomplishment feels so much realer when we have some physical marker to show for it?

PS-Pumpkin spice lattes. Love them. Skipped class to go get one. Anybody know of other places that serve them? Leave a comment so I can go check it out!

The Beanery

Apologies, bitchez! This post is actually from last Saturday, but I forgot to post it. Have at ye!

The Nitty Gritty

Location: 2925 College, near Ashby

Hours: Every day 7am-10pm

Java: $1.50 (house coffee) - $3.95 (cold fusion: coffee, any flavor ice cream, milk)

Goodies: $2.50 (bars of all kinds!) - $3.75 ("black magic" chocolate cake that looks insanely moist and rich)

Lunch/Dinner: $5.95-6.95 sandwiches

Credit cards: Mm-hm

WiFi: Unlimited, no password required. You used to get only two hours here, which is why I haven't been back in a while.

Power outlets: Search them out; they're there.

Bathroom: You got it.

Seating: Tables and chairs, far as the eye can see. Not especially comfortable, but the patio furniture outside is pretty nice. There are also benches out there, and big umbrellas to block the glare in case you're doing computer work out there. The back half of the cafe is made of skylights, which is also a major plus.

Music: Innocuous Classical music. And I pretty much mean Classical in the time-period sense of the word, not the NPR-genre sense. Some days it seems to be all Mozart all the time.

Ambient noise: Usually pretty quiet, but more of a social place than most other places I've reviewed so far. This particular day we were surrounded by a study group, a chess game, and mother-daughter banter.

Temperature: It was a really hot day, and the back courtyard really holds the heat in. Inside wasn't as bad.

Parking: Paid and hard-to-find on College, but plentiful side streets.

Bicycle parking: Elmwood is usually pretty hoppin', so you might have to explore a bit to find a good spot.

Biggest pro: Plenty of outside seating that isn't on the bustlin' street out front.

Biggest con: Perhaps the innocuous Classical bias...but that's a personal bias.

Recommended for: Short-term working, refreshments

Not recommended for: A whole day working

S'mug Bastard and I had a "cold fusion" with cookies-n-cream ice cream, and a pomegranate Italian soda. At least three people asked us what one or both of these items were, and proceeded to copy us. Yeah, those losers plagiarized our imbiberies. And I will encourage you to do so as well. If you haven't tried a pomegranate Italian soda before, DO IT. I'm yelling for your own good, so don't get scared. It comes out the luscious deep red of an actual pomegranate, but it tastes like apples. Not neon-gree appletini or Jolly Rancher apples; actual "I just picked this from my orchard and now I'm going to go milk the cows" apples. Perfect for this sweltering Autumn that keeps you from craving actual Autumn things like hot cider. [Note: S'mug Bitch is not at all bitter about west-coast Autumns not living up to her standards of Autumn as experienced in the far-superior Midwest]. Seriously though, soon enough it will be cold and rainy, so I am happy to bust out the sundresses for now.

And now for something completely different.

Does anyone else freak out when they hear Beethoven's 5th symphony? You know the one, BA-BA-BA-BUUUUUMMMMMM I WILL BASH YOU OVER THE HEAD WITH THIS MOTIVE UNTIL YOUR HEART EXPLODES FROM THE STRESS OF THE INTENSITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, you don't? Oh. I didn't used to either, but about a year ago we listened to the whole first movement in a class I was teaching. All the blood rushed to my head. My heart raced. Breathing required great intention. I wanted to run the hell away, or scream, or cry, or all of the above. I thought, or hoped, this was a one-time deal, but it happened again last week. I need to make peace with Beethoven, or at least figure out why/how he does this to me. I thought about making a new arrangement of the symphony that would make it sound ridiculous and completely not-angsty. Instead I downloaded a recording and took it with me to hike in the hills. It was just me and Beethoven duking it out in the wilderness. Dust and sweat and fate knocking. I gathered my bearings. Took a deep breath. Pressed play.

Nothing happened.

This interpretation, for whatever reason, has no such power over me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63xPUGpAS-c&feature=related

But this one, oh yes it does: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRgXUFnfKIY

I haven't been able to pin down what it is. Are there any pieces of music that give you a visceral, uncontrollable, physiological reaction? Does the context or particular recording make any difference?

Spasso

The Nitty Gritty

Spasso
Location: 6014 College, near Claremont
Hours: every day 7am-7:30pm


Java: $1.75 (house coffee, organic, fair-trade) - $4.25 (large honey vanilla latte)
Goodies: $1.50 (Russian tea cake) - $2.75 (giant fudge brownie)
Breakfast: $1.25 (plain bagel) - $5.50 (egg and sausage bagel)
Lunch/Dinner: $0.60 (falafel) - $5.95 (specialty sandwiches)

Credit cards: yup yup ($5 minimum)

WiFi: Ask and you shall receive. For free!
Power outlets: Bountiful. Surge strips and everything!
Bathroom: Exists!


Seating: The gamut. Authentically vintage, shabby, variously-orange-colored chairs by a bright yellow wall with gorgeous sunset photographs. IKEA-esque neo-Victorian easy chairs by a charming brick wall. A sort of church pew with small marble and iron tables. In the back, your usual run-of-the-mill cafe tables and chairs.


Music: A full Zoe Deschanel album, followed by some Bob Marley. The continuity of hearing whole albums was good for the productivity vibe. The fact that it was all feel-good music didn't hurt either.


Ambient noise: Everyone here seemed to be on a solo work-mission. I honestly didn't hear anyone talk except when they were ordering.


Temperature: It was 90 degrees outside today, so it was a bit warm inside, but not nearly as bad as at the Beanery the other day. Front and back doors were propped open, and there are a couple of ceiling fans in the back.


Parking: Paid parking on College, or the usual side-street-except-on-cleaning-days situation.


Bicycle parking: Plenty--there's even a full bike rack at the bike shop across the street.


Biggest pro: I don't know if I can choose just one! I really dig the ambiance. I feel like I'm sitting in a friend's living room.


Biggest con: It could almost be *too* comfy, if I were trying to do really intense work.


Recommended for:Working, a snack or lunch, meeting a friend


Not recommended for:Writing a paper--you'll enjoy sitting here, the free WiFi will provide ample distraction, and it will therefore take you forever to accomplish anything.


I walked in here and decided instantly that it is my new favorite place. From there, Spasso continued convincing me that it is my favorite place. Looking at the menu, S'mug Bastard and I were temporarily stunned. Eventually S'Bastard broke the silence to say "I think we should keep coming back here until we've tried everything."


There's a modest (but tasty) selection of baked goodies, lots of Mediterranean food, smoothies, and a few other specialty drinks. On this uncharacteristically hot day, their fresh iced teas looked wonderful and didn't disappoint. The raspberry variety was sharply fruity, without tasting sweet. Perfect. The rose water quencher lived up to its name, with wonderfully delicate color and flavor. There are even neon-colored straws to enhance your sipping experience.


For lunch I ordered a babaganouch sandwich, which was good, but not stellar. Thin, unmemorable wheat bread, with delicious purple olives, fresh and flavorful avocado slices, and mildly garlicky babaganouch. It would have worked better as a wrap, mostly for logistical reasons. S'Bastard opted for a curried chicken turnover. "It was actually a giant, oversized pirozhok." Survey says that it was tasty, but it was nuked in the microwave, so the bottom got a bit soggy.


The photos in the link make Spasso look sleeker than it is. It's far more charming than all that. Like S'Bitch told 'ya, the front half is like chilling in your very stylish (but thrifty) friend's living room. The back is trying very hard to make you feel like you're in some tropical location, with bright yellows and oranges, skylights in a raftered ceiling, foliage real and fake, and one giant wall mural. Also, a glass display case full of variously exotic tea pots, textiles, and anything else they felt like throwing in there. Quite possibly trying a little bit too hard, but it's cute.


Another plus (my tangent for the day) is that directly across the road, you find TranSports, an running/swimming store where you can buy these:




I am very excited about these. It's like being barefoot at all times, only you can still get service as long as you keep your shirt on! (Note to self: do an experiment. Find out if I can get service while wearing nothing but these and a shirt.) TranSports has a whole bunch of different Five Fingers shoes. These ones are leather, and will from now on be my dress-shoes. But there are sporty-lookin' ones in all colors! Some have cushioning kinda like a running shoe, and some genuinely try to make you feel like you have naked feet. And anything that makes one feel a little bit more naked is a good thing in S'Bitch's book.

People's Cafe

The Nitty Gritty 
People's Cafe

Location: 2015 Shattuck (near University)

Hours: daily 7am - midnight

Java: $1.25 (small house blend) - $4.00 (large caramel mocha)

Breakfast: $1.25 (bagel with butter) - $4.95 (lox bagel)

Lunch/Dinner: sandwiches and wraps run from $4.75 - $6.50 (with a Cesar salad)

Credit cards: you got it.

WiFi: no questions asked.

Power outlets: all over the place.

Bathroom: yep. Give the door a good solid push--it pretends it's locked when it isn't.

Seating: Long bench/booths and chairs. Not very comfortable--I wouldn't want to sit here for longer than an hour or two.

Music: Currently there's some kind of - well, sounds like Carnatic techno to me - coming from the front half of the cafe, while the back (where I'm sitting) is streaming instrumental smooth jazz. The overlap is a bit grating, but the music on this side is so ambient-y that I didn't even notice it until I started to type this up. Luckily both tracks are quiet, so I can resolve the clash with some noise-canceling action.

Ambient noise: Quiet today--everybody's working.

Temperature: Just right, though I imagine the front half might get drafty on colder days.

Parking: Pretty much all metered around here, but there are ramps nearby, too.

Bicycle parking: Bike racks to be found at least every couple of blocks, but make sure to lock all components around here.

Biggest pro: The variety of people in here is so Berkeley you won't even know what to do. Today everyone appears to be about 18-25. The guy next to me is rockin' some dreadlocks, doing badass 3D models on his computer (an architect?), with a giant stack of well-used legal pads sitting next to him. Across from me is a young woman mumbling aloud as she intently writes something. Next to her, two bearded, bespectacled hipster boys, one of them wearing ridiculously large headphones and feverishly drawing with a charcoal pencil with a fervor that has caused his legs to contort in a spectacular way. Or maybe it's something in the air on that side of the room, because the next patron down the line also has his legs tucked under him. He's so buried in his laptop screen that I wonder how many hours it's been since he came up for air. Does he even remember where he is?

Biggest con:  Benches are pretty uncomfortable.

Recommended for: A quick sit-down, coffee, meetup with a friend

Not recommended for: A long day of serious cafe-sitting, a tasty meal

Allow me to elaborate on that last point. The sandwiches and wraps here are acceptable, and they are also served warm, which is a nice touch. They just aren't anything to get excited about, and your tastebuds will agree. Today I ordered a tuna melt on whole-grain, which looked promising. Nice nutty bread, lettuce, sprouts, and pickles, plenty of tuna. Unfortunately, the most flavorful ingredient was the iceberg lettuce. Granted this is quite a feat, and it was the healthiest-looking iceberg I've seen in a long time, but who loves a lettuce sandwich? I should have spent the extra fifty cents to add cheese.

I was here to meet up with a woman who I'm pairing up with to lead a seminar on Wednesday. We've been reading about copyright law and what it means for creative folks who work in genres that are considered "traditional". Tradition depends on the notion of collective creativity, that is, people collaborate to produce something, and nobody cares whose "original" idea it was. But the people who write legislation operate under the assumption that one person comes up with an idea or creates an object, and this is then adopted by an entire community. Therefore, copyright law need only protect individual artists.

So what happens when a first world artist hops around the third world making field recordings, uses them to produce a record that is then commercialized, and gives no royalties or credit to the (often impoverished) community who developed and performed the music on the recording? Or some affluent white visual artist sees a cool "Native" design somewhere, stylizes it, puts it on a t-shirt/keychain/magnet and sells the hell out of it? Who owns that design?

Now take it a step further. Pharmaceutical companies are constantly trolling folk knowledge of marginalized cultures, to see what plants are being used medicinally. They take these ideas, test them in a lab, then patent them. How often do you think the holders of this folk knowledge can actually afford the medicines that the pharmaceutical companies use to make bank?

On the other hand, what would a different sort of legislation look like? Can a community own an idea, a design, a song? That's a dangerous thought too. How would knowledge and aesthetics circulate? Who would the royalties go to? Who would decide if an outsider gets permission to perform this song, take this medicine?

I don't have any answers. Maybe we'll collaboratively come up with something in this seminar tomorrow. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the issue, even if you're just going to offer an anecdote that complicates the matter even further. If this sort of puzzle turns you on, check out this article too: http://www.slate.com/id/2267004/

Back to the cafe. It was a good central location to meet, and it was kind of funny to talk about this heady stuff with a backdrop of comic book covers and a giant mural of a volcano. Nobody seemed to be bothered that we were talking; in fact, more people started chatting once we'd broken that ice.

Too much thinking today. Sorry for the lack of snark in this post--my brain is uncharacteristically stuck in serious mode. S'Bitch will soon be back and S'mug as ever. Promise.

Hudson Bay Cafe

The Nitty Gritty

Hudson Bay Cafe

Location: College and Manila

Hours: Mon-Fri  6am-8pm; Sat-Sun 7am-7pm

Java: $1.56 (drip coffee) - $4.10 (double mocha, double caramel latte)

Goodies: $1.85 (various kinds of large, delicious looking cookies) - $2.00 (big, crumbly scones)

Breakfast: $2.25 (bagel with hummus) - $4.25 (bacon, egg and cheese bagel)

Lunch/Dinner: $3.75 (cup of soup du jour) - $6.95 (veggie lasagna)

Credit cards: It really *is* everywhere you want to be.

WiFi: Just ask for the key when you order. You get one hour per $3 purchase. *UPDATE* This is what they tell you, but it's on-your-honor. You don't get booted after an hour.

Power outlets: Requires a bit of tactical maneuvering, but there are plenty.

Bathroom: Clean, odor/fragrance free, and adorably asymmetrical.

Seating: Sofa and easy chairs with excellent window lighting, if you can nab them before someone else does. For the rest of us, there’s a counter facing out toward college (this is where the outlets are), and lots of tables and chairs big enough for 2 or 4 people. There are also a couple of bar seats.

Music: Radio, so I can’t guarantee what you’ll get. Today it was primarily early folk rock, but thrown into the mix were some newer bands that try for the same sort of vibe. And, inexplicably, a Chuck Barry cover artist. The volume was unobtrusive, but loud enough that your headphones would require an uncomfortable number of Hertz (Haha, get it? Uncomfortable because it HERTZ?! Damn I am one funny S’Bitch) if you wanted to drown it out. [note: I realize that Hz is not actually a measure of amplitude. BUT higher frequencies - more Hz - do lead to an increase in our perception of loudness. So there.]

Ambient noise: Almost everyone here is dutifully typing away. There’s a minimum of quiet chatter, and the charming squeak of hinges on the front and bathroom doors.

Temperature: I was here on a chilly day, and the temperature inside was just right, even though I was sitting near the door and folks were going in and out a lot.

Parking: The side-streets here have free FOUR hour parking. Bonus!

Bicycle parking: You’ll have to go around the corner and make a hitchin’-post of a street sign, but I wouldn’t hesitate to park even my nice bike around here (locked up, of course).

Biggest pro: Really conducive to work. Nice, but not comfy enough to make you want to stay all day and check your email just one more time.

Biggest con: Need for outlets limits seating options.

Recommended for: Working at the counter, cozying up on the couch with a good book

Not recommended for: Conversations that you wouldn't like everyone present to hear

I wish I had an awesome story to tell you, but really we just sat and worked. Like, we were ridiculously productive. I rewarded myself with a slice of the pumpkin bread, which was amaaaazing. As S'mug Bastard pointed out, it actually tasted like pumpkin. It still had all your classic pumpkin spices, but not so much of them as to overwhelm the pumpkiny goodness. I think there might have even been cream cheese in it. Such a good plan.

As far as cafe atmosphere goes, I'm not super excited about this place. I am excited about the imbibables and prices thereof, and Hudson's feasibility as a workplace. I will definitely be back.