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