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?