The Spyhouse on Hennepin and 24th.

Coffee Shop Moment #309: It is the midst of an afternoon.. A lone barista is working the floor. Most tables are filled around the coffee shop. You count the laptops – one, two, three… twelve? Holy Burundi! Almost everyone has their face buried in a screen. Then, slowly, you notice it happening. One person looks up from behind the lid of their laptop. The motionless statues start to move. Another person looks to their left and then their right, with bewildered eyes. What happened, they seem to say. Pretty soon all the customers are looking at each other. “Is it happening to you?” they say to each other without words. “I don’t know what happened,” the others silently respond. As the befuddled looks spread across the entire coffee shop, you notice the barista watching the scene, with a subtle sneer. The coffee shop is full of muted commotion. Finally, the arms and legs of a laptoper come alive. The person dislodges their body from behind the table and wanders up to the counter. “Can I help you?” the barista asks while already knowing the problem. “Um, yes. My internet isn’t working. Can you check the router?”

The Battle for Minnesota

It’s time to get political on you. I imagine most of you readers are somewhat plugged into the news. You may not read the NY Times or even the Strib regularly, but I’m sure you know we have a new president, a wicked recession on our hands, and a governor whose main interests appear to be his “no new taxes” pledge and positioning himself for national office.

Coping With Winter: Tea Time!

News flash: despite what the miraculous rash of warmth that descended on our fair cities for the last week or so might indicate, it’s only the middle of February. That’s right, folks, approximately 2.5 months of winter to go. And even though 35 degrees (positive!) is a far cry from the negative-14 we cursed for most of January, it’s still cold by any standard. So what’s a chilly, financially challenged person to do when she desperately needs a warm-up, but can’t afford the 70%-cacao pure Guatemalan hot chocolate she craves?

The Latest Chatterbox

As you probably know the Chatterbox gang has opened up a new location in southwest–right smack on the border between the marvelous peeps of Minneapolis and those cake eaters from Edina (sorry, ever since I moved to Minneapolis and learned that the “bad guys” in Mighty Ducks were supposedly from Edina, I have been looking for the right opportunity to throw that in). I had high expectations for the latest Chatterbox. After-all, Southwest (read: my life) was in dire need of a pub. Many of them have been met, and several have been disappointed. Let’s break it down.

The Things They Noticed

Working in a coffee shop is not unlike being in a war zone. That is, in the morning. Customers keep coming in and coming in. They never stop walking through the door. New faces all the time. They keep ordering drinks and it never stops. Your job is to fend them off one by one.

Restaurant Review – Roat Osha

Let me start by saying that the food was fantastic. Roat Osha’s changes, both subtle and major, to traditional Thai cuisine really did it for me. The green curry was especially creamy and flavorful, made with bell pepper, eggplant, carrot, bamboo, and coconut milk to give it that great texture.

Phil’s Take – The Y-Dubs!

The winter tends to make me, like many others, very lazy. I’m like a big sedated bear, and most days I can be found horizontal on my couch. Somehow–and I know I’m not alone in this–my repeated self-reprobations to get into shape weren’t actually motivating my butt to get up. Thankfully, I live with someone who is willing to ambush me into action. And so a few weeks ago I found myself joining the Midtown YWCA, that great bastion of progressive health nuts.