Joules per second

Breakfast after noon again? After spending all day in the Quarter, then a huge meal at Elizabeth’s, then ending the evening with Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers getting the dance floor moving at Vaughn’s Lounge, one needs to sleep in.

After all that we’re at The Orange Couch Coffee in the Marigny. It’s quite a different experience — considering it’s owned and operated by some California transplants, this says more about the new face of the Marigny than any of the old New Orleans style. Chic decor, ambient music, and mochi.

Misty and The Orange Counch

Or maybe not. New Orleans has always been a constant mix of cultures. The iconic wrought iron balconies in the French Quarter are actually from the time the Spanish rebuilt the city after Great Fires of 1788 and 1794. The muffuletta was made for the Sicilian farmers who ate at the Central Grocery. In the post-Katrina construction, one was likely to hear salsa or conjunto music out on the street rather than Cajun or Zydeco.

So why not have a place that serves kombucha among the shotgun houses?

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Not the Moscone Center

This weekend, most of the tech world has their blogs fixed firmly on the Moscone Center in San Francisco (ground zero for Google I/O). I am not at the Moscone Center, and so I’ll let you follow the Android-related announcement action from all the other possible outlets. I’m at the CC’s Community Coffee House in the middle of the French Quarter in New Orleans.

It’s a nice place — mostly quiet as the Quarter seems to be relatively untouristed this weekend. The decor and ambiance is Starbucks-esque, which isn’t bad, but tomorrow I’ll be finding a place a bit more local.

The best part about this edition of The Cafe Project is cupcakes for breakfast! I know I wasn’t going there when I went to Café Verité. But this is New Orleans, and if you can’t have a cupcake for breakfast here, then where can you? Especially if they are fleur-de-lis cupcakes, as modeled by my wife Misty (who named them her “Who Dat” sunglasses).

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It’s been far too long since the last installment of The Cafe Project. When I started this adventure, I had meant it to be a weekly occurrence. It was only life that got in the way, and I haven’t had the time to go out, to find a new spot, and to write.

Empire Espresso in Columbia City

Since this project is also partly about transit, I wanted to take light rail farther south than the International District. Since I haven’t been traveling as much, my trips south of the free-ride zone have been limited to SODO or to catch a Mariners game. I really needed to get out more.

Which is what brings me to Empire Espresso in Columbia City. It’s worth the train ride. It’s a small space, but even on a cloudy Wednesday afternoon it’s lively with people chatting, sipping lattes, and working on a wide variety of laptops. There’s soccer on the television and jazz on the stereo. The spinach and feta panini I had for lunch hit the spot, and the espresso is great, served with a normal pull rather than the common ristretto pull. Best of all, there’s table service! It’s a proper café straight out of the European mold.

It’s something that’s sorely lacking in Capitol Hill, where the cafés tend to be the Starbucks model of waiting in line for your drink and paying up front. (While I love Café Presse, it’s geared more toward a meal or drinks destination than a coffee destination.)

This is a great place to know. It makes me remember why I started this project in the first place.

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Wallingford. I used to call it the “Land of Brunch,” having been here on Sundays at Julia’s, or the Rusty Pelican, or any number of places cooking up for the “let’s have brunch!’ crowd.

Land of Brunch and Dessert

With Molly Moon and Chocolati now around, perhaps it should be called the Land of Dessert, except it seems these days in Seattle one can never be very far from some hip new confection-monger.

Either way, I’m here for neither brunch nor dessert, but to continue the next installment of The Cafe Project at Fuel Coffee.

I must admit, I’m not a coffee connoisseur — at least, no longer one. I used to be, but I stopped drinking coffee altogether for a while, and now when at home I mostly drink tea. So I admit that judging the quality of each establishment’s coffee isn’t really the point of these trips. That said, I have no complaints about Fuel’s espresso.

What is the point of these outings? To have some time writing about other topics than coffee. Time to get to that, although I may also stop and get some chocolate for later on…

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Week Two of The Cafe Project: Vérité Coffee in Madrona. Vérité is also the home of Cupcake Royale, Seattle’s premier source for sugar overload. Since it’s morning, I preferred to remain healthy and opted for a muffin (although according to Jim Gaffigan, muffins are nothing more than bald cupcakes).

The coffee is the perfectly respectable Stumptown, albeit a bit on the burnt side for me. On the other hand, despite last week’s resistance to changing drinks, I decided to use regular milk in my latte rather than soy. I just may not be used to the lack of sweetness. But at least I’m not as much a creature of habit as I think I am.

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