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The Nitty Gritty
Phils Coffee
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!
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.
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?
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?
