Dogwood Coffee Bar

This is my mug, not theirs

Dogwood Coffee Bar is exceptional coffee in search of a better coffee shop. It's gourmet coffee that is well worth the gourmet price, but I'll probably only get it when I'm taking my coffee to go.

Dogwood Coffee was already a well established and well respected locally owned coffee roaster, but the location in Calhoun Square in Uptown, Minneapolis is their first stand alone coffee bar. They serve single-cup brewed coffee from their own locally roasted beans, which means that every cup you get is made just for you while you watch and hasn't been sitting in a pot for who knows how long. The end result is a delicious, fresh-as-can-be cup of coffee, of course, but it's also a lot of fun to watch the process. Dogwood is sort of like the Benihana of coffee, and it's worth checking out for the show as much as the cup of coffee you get at the end of the performance. Lots of coffee shops brew by the cup using the same tools as Dogwood, of course, but the open layout of this place makes the baristas' efforts almost impossible not to watch, and they are all very friendly and open to questions and comments about anything coffee-related. This is very cool, but do take note that it'll take around five minutes or so to get a single cup of coffee, so this isn't the kind of place to stop into on your way to work.

However, it's also not really the kind of place to stop and chill with a cup of coffee either, which is a shame because drinking a great cup of coffee is almost like a religious ritual, and when it all works out right, it's something to be savored. Dogwood is just... uncomfortable, and I mean that literally. There were two plush chairs, only one of which was taken when I went the other day but they were both pushed so close together that had I sat in the free one my legs would've become entwined with those of the other gentlemen. And, no, I couldn't move the chair, because the layout is long and narrow leaving zero space for anything to be nudged even an inch. There's also a bar by the window with a bunch of stools, and I have sat their before but this time I had my laptop and was going to do some work, so I wanted a chair. I opted to sit at one of the four or so tables with actual chairs around them, but immediately regretted this decision since the chair was hard and incredibly unforgiving on my bottom. Also, the legs of the chair were too narrow and jutted forward to far, so it was almost impossible to find a comfortable place to put my legs.

Making my coffee

When I looked around for a power outlet, I found only one, but it was already in use. One of the sockets was taken up by the laptop of the guy who was already taking up the comfy chair spot, and the other was taken up by a lamp. Now, I'm not one of those self-entitled snobs that thinks every coffee shop needs to have enough outlets to supply every customer's electronic devices (laptop, phone charger, heating pad, vibrator, or whatever you're bringing to a coffee shop), but it does seem like a smart decision to have more than one, single power socket available at any given time. I'm not saying that only one socket is a deal-breaker, but it's something the owners should probably look into if they want to cultivate returning customers, or if they just want to please people who review coffee shops on their blogs.

Oh, and just to be clear, the chair thing kind of is a deal breaker.

This used to be a Starbucks

The bar itself is quite lovely, however, with a lovely design and a very open, airy feel, even though the space is actually quite narrow and confining. Dogwood is located in the front of Calhoun Square that, perhaps ironically, used to be a Starbucks years and years and years ago. If you remember that Starbucks, this place has the same basic shape and dimensions, only they seem to have knocked some walls down so it feels more open, and there are lots of windows looking out on Hennepin Avenue that should make for great people watching during the summer.

They offer pastries from Rustica Bakery, but I didn't get anything so I won't comment on the taste, freshness, or selection. I have been to Rustica, however, and can comment that the stuff I've gotten there is usually overcooked and so flakey more of the pasty gets on my shirt than in my mouth, but lots of people rave about them.

Dogwood Coffee Shop is definitely a great idea for a coffee shop (a hand-crafted coffee bar run and serviced by a local coffee roaster), but there is still much to be desired from their execution. If this place was more comfortable (meaning chairs that don't actually hurt to sit on) and offered a couple more outlets, I'd probably come here a few times a week. On the other hand, it's probably a good thing that this place is kind of awkward because I definitely can't afford a $4 cup of coffee more than a few times a month, but you'll notice that I never once complained about the price because the flavor, taste, and freshness are well worth what their asking, and maybe even worth more.

I say... check it out. It's good coffee, and there are plenty of chairs and couches in and around the rest of Calhoun Square to chill on.

Ice Ride

I saw this odd site outside of Calhoun Square on the corning of Hennepin and Lake. I'm assuming it's a promotional ad for the Nice Ride bikes that are available to rent during the summer here in the Twin Cities. Anyway, I just thought it was pretty cool. And, yes, that's a real bike encased in real ice.

Cheapo

Uptown Location on Fremont between Lake and Lagoon

I probably go to Cheapo way too much. I'm the current Foursquare Mayor of Cheapo, and I've only been checking in on Foursquare for a little over a month. It helps that I live so close that it's only a five minute walk from my apartment, but the real draw is in the name: There's a lot of cheap stuff here, and you've gotta go often to find the best deals. And if that means I have to go four or five times a week, so be it.

Cheapo is a small, independently owned chain of stores that sells music and movies, both new and used. I think there's either three or four locations in and around the Twin Cities, but I'm not really sure since their garish website is kind of hard to read and even harder to navigate. The stores themselves are also garish, but at least they are organized well and make browsing easy. I've only been to the Uptown store, but it's basically just a giant room the size of an airplane hanger with row after row of CDs, DVDs, records, and even VHS tapes as far as they eye can see. Maybe they even have laserdiscs, but I wouldn't know since I've never owned a laserdisc player so I've never looked.

When I go, the first place I head is the section for their recently arrived inventory of used DVDs, which are sorted by the day they arrived. So if it's Monday, I head to the section labelled "Monday" and then work my way backword, usually a day or two until I reach the point in the week when I last came. Since the refresh these sections daily (multiple times a day, actually), I go often because the great stuff will sell out quickly, so you've got to get their at just the right time to find the great deals. That's how I got the Godfather trilogy for ten bucks. That's how I got all six Star Wars films on Blu Ray for about 40 bucks. That's how I got the entire Rush Hour series on DVD for five dollars. Ok... so maybe not everything I buy is great, but when you go you can get what you want. Do you unnderstan' the words that are comin' outta my mouf?!

And just to be clear, I only shop there for used stuff, since their new movies and CDs are way overpriced. As much as I want to support local businesses, when a new movie or CD comes out, I'll probably buy it at Target, since something that they sell for ten or twenty bucks will be twenty or thirty bucks at at Cheapo. But if you don't mind used stuff -- and why wouldn't you? Who are you, the King of England? -- Cheapo has the best selection in town.

There's even a huge section of stuff that is "$4.95 or Less," which mostly contains stuff that no normal person would want to buy, but luckily for me I'm not normal. A little while ago I managed to find the entire Matrix trilogy for about two bucks each. There's always something in this section that's worth picking up for a few bucks, as long as you're willing to pick through dozens of copies of Spider-Man 3, Superman Returns, and various movies you've never heard with pictures of actors like Michael Biehn and Jeff Fahey on the cover.

I'm not at the point where I'm on a first name basis with all the employees, but that's only because I'm antisocial and they're all a bunch of hipsters who seem too cool to chat with that geeky guy who comes in, like, every freakin' day. That's not an insult to them by the way. If I were them I probably wouldn't want to talk to me either. Actually, one of the reasons I feel comfortable returning way too often (and I've been known to go twice in one day) is because they don't try to chat with me. If I'm buying the Rush Hour trilogy on DVD, I don't really want to have a conversation about it. I appreciate the fact that these people allow me to live in my shame without any kind of commentary or judgment.

So that's Cheapo. Check it out if you love music and movies and hate spending a lot of money, just be sure to say hi to me when you stop in.

Happy Hour: Common Roots

Went to Happy Hour this evening at Common Roots Cafe, a great place to get a locally brewed beer and some great, fresh appetizers and entrees with food supplied from local farmers.

Today I got a new beer called Camo from Lucid Brewing, a place that I was told was a new brewer based in Minnetonka. I actually first tried this a couple days ago, but came back again for more because I thought it was fantastic.

Here's the description from their website:

Description: Our version of Imperial Pale Ale is as drinkable as beers with half its alcohol prowess.  Be careful because at 9% alcohol, this beer will sneak up on you fast!

Lucid CAMO use a combination of the citrus, floral, and pine characteristic from Cascade, Amarillo, Summit, and Centennial hops give this beer a floral hop nose and significant hop flavor. We kept this one as pale as possible and let the hops carry the weight without losing balance. This beer finishes dry and clean creating a refreshing, and very drinkable beer.

Food Pairings:  The intense citrus hop flavor goes great with smoked meats, and spicy dishes.  Pair with a strong blue and cheddar cheeses for appetizers or desserts.

Anyway, I don't know about all that. I just thought it was a really good beer that was crisp with just the right amount of bitterness. Also, it definitely has a high alcohol content because I just had a couple before I felt... happy, if you know what I'm saying. These things will get you drunk.

I paired my beer with their Soft Pretzels, that came as advertised. They were soft, hot, and served alongside a cup of some kind of cheese sauce. They weren't huge, but of a pretty good size and came in a pair.

The Donut Cooperative

(This restaurant has closed)

 This place was ok.

The Donut Cooperative is some kind of cooperatively owned bakery where the employees all own a stake in the company, and everything is made daily from locally sourced ingredients. I love their politics, respect their business ethics, and always want to support small businesses that support their communities, but I'm sorry to say that their donuts were kind of mediocre.

Now, I say that in the sense that all donuts are good and none are bad, by virtue of the fact that they are donuts. I'll happily accept a donut from a grocery store or Super America, even if it had fallen on the floor. But while all donuts are eatable and enjoyable, not all donuts are created equal, and these were nothing special. In fact... they were kind of forgettable.

I got a "Strawberry Preserve" donut that I assumed was a jelly donut, but it was actually just a cake donut with strawberry preserves stuffed into the hole. When I picked it up, almost all of the preserves fell through the hole onto my plate. I managed to pick up most of the preserves by dipping, but I was still annoyed that the filling wasn't actually inside the donut. And then I bit into it, and it was pretty try and tasteless.

My friend Sarah got a Maple Walnut donut, and it was the same dry, bland cake donut, only covered with some maple frosting and crushed walnuts. It was a little better than mine, but it still wasn't that good. But, again, we ate them both because they're donuts.

I also got a chocolate chip cookie, which was the best part of the meal, but still not altogether fantastic. It was ok. 

We also both got coffee that was pretty good, and sat in the cafe which was cozy and cute and bright.

I had heard great things about this place, and came away unimpressed. This was Sarah's second visit, and she had actually taken some convincing to come with me because she had been unimpressed on her previous visit as well. We both agreed that her original impression was right, and that we never needed to go there again.