DELMAR LOOP COFFEE HOUSES

EDIT 2014:  There is a new coffee roaster store and coffee house: Blue Print.  Lupe is not in the Loop very often anymore, and mostly passing through, but Blue Print looks wonderful and she encourages everyone to check them out!  There is also Piccione Pastry, which Lupe has visited and does sometimes stop in for a to-go fruit tart and cannoli. YUM.  Decent espresso too! And great staff!)

There are three coffeehouses in the Delmar Loop. Two are corporate: Starbucks and St. Louis Bread Company/Panera. The third, Meshuggah, is independently owned.

Lupe is willing to retract her rants against the corporate chains in the Loop. Especially  Noodles and Company. (Noodles and Company gives a ten percent discount to anyone who works in the Loop!)

MESHUGGAH

However, Lupe does still prefer "the local indies" in all aspects of businesses and stores. And Meshuggah is a great "office" for the student, writer, freelance businessperson, and gentleman/lady of leisure. Meshuggah is a true neighbourhood "public house." (And like a pub, they will serve you a beer at 6AM with your coffee, if you so desire.)

Meshuggah's strength is in their regular coffee (actual watered down espresso), which is rich without being bitter or having that awful burned aftertaste that Starbucks always has. They are also cheaper than both chains, ounce for ounce.

Meshuggah has great salads, and they sell beer and wine. Their space is in the last hippie/indie/boho building in the Loop, with Plowshares, Subterranean, and MacroSun as their neighbours. And the cafe is old-school college-area coffeehouse-- wood floors, a loft, and local art work on the walls.

The staff is usually UMSL students, and there is usually an interesting book on the counter. (100 Years of Solitude and Smonk in my last two visits.) Meshuggah has a culture of book lovers and readers, even among the non-students. You can always eavesdrop on the most interesting conversations with your coffee.

They are also very "green." Every effort is made to recycle and green activities are encouraged. "Local Energy Supplier" is their slogan. They have cute t-shirts and commuter mugs that Lupe likes a lot. More than the Starbucks stuff.

Lupe has heard every kind of music and music genre in Meshuggah. She has also heard NPR and KDHX and staff members putting their iPod on random play. And sometimes there is just silence, especially during finals. Every now and then a singer songwriter will perform, or there will be a movie night or other special event or series.

The drawbacks are that they are often very slow. Everything is made by hand in the manner of a home kitchen. Sometimes there is only one person there, making all of the sandwiches and coffees. The staff puts the cream cheese on your bagel, and the milk and sugar in your coffee. If you are very particular this might annoy you. But if you are annoyed, you haven't slipped into "Loop Time" yet.  (Similar to Jamaican time...relax man, it's all good...)

But you will get used to it. And perhaps even come to appreciate it. Lupe recalls that in England when you ordered a cup of tea, you would be asked if you would like it "as it comes". This meant with milk and two sugars. Lupe thinks perhaps Meshuggah owner Patrick Liberto is simply reproducing this concept.

And the unhurried preparation actually serves to remind us all that we are not fast food, assembly line, corporate automatons, shovelling Soylent Green in our mouths without thought. No! We are humans, and human beings are preparing our food and drink in a civilized manner. And that means you might have to wait a minute and stop being so impatient.

Meshuggah doesn't allow cell phones at the counter, either, probably for this same reason. In this day of texting, and social networking, we have almost forgotten how to interact with each other as people. At Meshuggah, we are reminded of this.

Besides, these few minutes of waiting allow you to perhaps overhear a snippet of interesting conversation, or read a bit of an interesting book, or peruse the New York Times. Or just stare off into space, as Lupe often does, in the morning before drinking her Cafe Du Monde, as it comes.

PANERA

Panera has a great bakery and a lot of really good salads and sandwiches. The old St. Louis Bread Company was of a higher quality, but for a chain Panera is very good. Lupe eats there very often and also likes the chess tables and the fireplace.

Several staff people at Panera are counted among Lupe's favourite people in the Loop.

Lupe cannot recall every noticing if music is ever played in there, but it is definitely the noisiest (and largest) of the three.

Generally, you can count on the bakery (and bakery staff!) to be good, and they have decent coffee. This is also the best place to watch a chess game.

STARBUCKS

If you want a fancy coffee-like drink and to sit and people watch, Starbucks is the place. It is all glass windows inside and big patio outside. As far as the drinks go they are quick and professional and consistent. The music will be something corporate packaged, but probably eclectic and decent.

(Lupe has had too many bad experiences with Starbucks pastries and food in too many different locations, so she does not eat at any of the chain.)

Hope this was helpful!! Lupe is off to get a Cafe du Monde from Meshuggah!

See you in the Loop!!!

A PERFECT LOOP DAY

The sun is shining but it's not too hot. Down in front of Ben & Jerry's a sax player is tooting out Dave Brubeck's TAKE FIVE. On Westgate next to Blueberry Hill the St. Louis Symphony Street Team is spray painting a street mural. (And you thought that only hip hoppers and indie rockers had street teams.)

The sidewalk tables at Blueberry Hill, Meshuggah, El Maguey, Brandt's, and even the neglected Starbucks are filled. (Lupe's random, sporadic, and unscientifically conducted poll has statistically determined that the Starbucks customers are not usually Loop locals or regulars. If you are in the Loop, skip the homogenized, bland chain and head on down to Meshuggah for some real coffee.)

Plenty of bare legs and bare arms as summer weather finally makes it's debut. You don't have to walk far to hear someone laughing. Or come across a chess game (mostly at Bread Co.) or a really interesting conversation, or see someone reading a book you've never heard of.

Lots of beautiful and stylish young muchachas are out shopping. Let New York keep Fifth Avenue, and L.A. can have Rodeo Drive. Loop ladies have something you can't buy from a designer: fearless personal style. (And if you do need to buy it, or at least be inspired, go to Ziezo's. You won't find one on Fifth Avenue, or on Georges V in Paris, or anywhere else on the planet.)

The world is here in the Loop, and the Loop is "u"-nique in all the world. There is no other neighborhood like it. New York has it's Greenwich Village, Los Angeles has Melrose and Venice Beach, Chicago has Belmont, New Orleans has the French Quarter, London has King's Road and Mayfair, Paris has Rive Gauche and Champs Elysee. But those places are like a rich man having money to spend.

For a city of two million to have such a wealth of culture and counter-culture, fashion and style, interesting and interested people; to have so many unique and one-of-a-kind businesses, and in a stretch of city pavement that barely measures a mile- well, that's like a poor man who knows how to spend a hundred bucks like it's a million dollars.

Stroll down past Napps Hair Salon and you will hear the lyrical tones of African women talking as they take a break from dreadlocks and braids. At El Maquey you will hear food ordered in staccato Spanish. Down Westgate and there is the Lebanese grocer and falafel restaurant.

Have a yen for some japanese sushi? There's Seki's. How about delicious garlic laden Middle Eastern food and belly dancers? Right across the street at Saleems. Want some Ethiopian? There's the Red Sea. Greek gyros, an abundance of Thai restaurants; toasted ravioli and St. Louis Italian style pasta at Cicero's.

There are American cheeseburgers and root beer at Fitz's, and plenty of eclectic choices at Blueberry Hill. (Mmmm, Lupe loves BH's mac and cheese. They have good jerk chicken, and BBQ beef sandwich, too. ) And fine dining is available at the Delmar Lounge and Riddles.

You have hippies, rappers, bohos, hip-hoppers, punk rockers, fashionistas, emos, rastafarians, trend-setters, collegian grungers, and enough tourists from the county to remind all the rebels what they are rebelling against. You can hear jazz, classic rock, reggae, soul, r&b, and indie rock at the different clubs. And you can find all these different kinds of music, and more, at Vintage Vinyl for a reasonable price.

Whenever Lupe shops at her favourite bookstore, Subterranean Books, she is always amazed at how refined it is. Every book Lupe wants is there. And a thousand she never would have found at a big chain- even if they'd carried it. Because Sub Books, like the Loop, has sifted through the fluff and down to just the best, the most interesting, the most provocative. There is no excess, just counter-culture excellence.

The City Planning Association was wrong. The Loop isn't one of the ten best neighborhoods in the U.S., it is the best neighborhood in the world!

And one of the best thing about the Loop, that is not true in any of those other places (except Paris), is that any restaurant will be happy to give tired doggies a complimentary bowl of water.

See You in The Loop!

BREAD CO @ 10 AM

The Bread Company this morning looked like the set of a movie. In addition to the always colourful and interesting Loop locals (including a lovely African woman wearing a full length dashiki and headdress), there were three men wearing balloon animals on their heads and carrying baloon paraphanilia. They were accompanied by a magician in a sparkly top hat.

They were promoting a new movie at the Tivoli: TWISTED A BALLOONAMENTARY. The movie runs from today through the 29th. It looks good. The ad postcard quotes "James, A Grandfather" from Atlanta saying "I do balloons because I wanted to find something to show the kids that everybody don't have to be a drug dealer to be successful."

This reminded Lupe of Tommy the Clown in South Central Los Angeles, and the dance craze Krumpin', documented in the movie RIZE. Lupe had to watch RIZE twice in a row it was so good and awe-inspiring. Hopefully TWISTED will be just as good.