Mouthful - Snugglin’ up with joe
Five coffeehouses to substitute as your living room
Few things are more interminable than the Atlanta summer. Our friends up north are already pulling light blankets out of their linen closets, but down here, we’re still bustin’ into a profuse sweat just trolling down the sidewalk to get the mail.
But if you pay close attention, you might just feel that subtle twinge. Not a nip, exactly, but if you’re out walking the dog one evening, stop for a minute and you’ll notice the air’s not quite so thick anymore. Fall, believe it or not, is almost upon us. And you know once November rolls around, you’ll want nothing more than to put on a pair of sweatpants and gain 40 pounds. There’s no denying or escaping it.
If rolling yourself up in faux-fur throws and eating five slices of cheesecake a night is a bit too heavy for these still-warm weeks, do the next best thing: Drink a giant mug of coffee in a quiet corner whilst you pore over reading material and snarf down something chocolate. You’ll feel a lot less like your life is a Lifetime Original Series, but you’ll still be seasonally fulfilled all the same.
Drinkmor Coffee
This bright, fresh and friendly cafe looks and feels like a room setting out of the Ikea catalog. The coffee and espresso are from J. Martinez Fine Coffees, which are offered in the usual latte and cappuccino forms as well as a variety of iced drinks. Blended treats are hefty, irresistible dairy bombs that double as eye-openers and dessert. Try the mocha coconut blended drink, a frosty adult milkshake that will keep you crankin’ until sunset. Green tea fruit shakes are delicious and refreshing alternatives for those who wish to sleep at night. A computer station with Internet access offers further distraction beyond the good selection of current magazines. Wireless connections are available, too. Perhaps the spiffiest thing about Drinkmor, however, is the selection of pastries and sandwiches from Joël Restaurant. That chocolate croissant calling to you from inside the glass case really is worth the calories and pocket change.
4715 Atlanta Road, 404-794-8900. www.drinkmor.com.Outwrite Bookstore & Coffeehouse
Yes, boys, there is a life beyond Ansley Starbucks. It’s called Outwrite, and for the past 11 years it’s been a cultural center, social hub and saving grace to Midtowners, gay and straight alike. Outstanding Batdorf and Bronson coffee keeps the blood pumpin’ and Bagel Palace cakes and brownies calm that killer urge for sugar. There’s a cruise-y balcony at the corner of the cafe’s seating area that looks out over the corner of Piedmont and 10th, verily spilling over with all manner of male pulchritude.
991 Piedmont Ave., 404-607-0082. www.outwritebooks.com.
San Francisco Coffee Roasting Company
I like that San Francisco roasts its own coffee and bakes most of its own pastries. I’m not such a big fan of the coffeehouse surliness. Although the name sounds like a chain, it’s not. The owners “met and fell in love and all that crap in San Francisco” as one hipster barista informed me, hence its name. Cheery. Despite the nuggets of ‘tude, I keep going back to this coffeehouse for the same reason all the other folks pack this place all week long: its XXL interior invites pause. There isn’t a rush to caffeinate; you come here to sketch, quietly observe others or read the paper away from the confines of your own apartment. A spacious, oft-overlooked balcony in the back is one of Atlanta’s most tranquil spaces.
1192 N. Highland Ave., 404-876-8816.
Aurora Coffee
A few visits is all it takes for the lovely folks at Aurora to learn your name and greet you with your coffee, just the way you like it. Founded in 1992, this locally owned coffee shop brews up Batdorf and Bronson coffee and Mighty Leaf tea. A surfeit of great reading, from the local free press to current copies of Atlantic Monthly, and candy for the cafe brain, such as Jane and Lucky magazines, is on tap for lingerers. The tiny patio out front at the Highland location is a cozy place for a chat. The large selection of bagels pads your tummy before you pound down a cup of crack-like Colombian Narino, a tar-black roast that would melt the varnish off a car and wake the deadest of dead men. If you are a member of the ranks of the overworked, this brew is a lifesaver. The cafe itself feels like a getaway from daily chores and reminders.
992 N. Highland Ave., 404-607-1300, and 468 Moreland Ave., 404-523-6856. www.auroracoffee.com.
Octane
Oh, only if my living room looked like this. Who says coffee shops necessarily mean scabby couches and dumpy interiors? Octane is Atlanta’s most stylee coffeehouse, where tables are plied with copies of Dwell, Metropolis, Wallpaper and I.D., and the chair you’re sitting on is one you’d gladly own yourself. Gorgeous paintings by local artists hang on the brick walls. Large, steel-paned windows look out onto a Westside intersection that will surely see further, stylish gentrification. House made peanut butter cup brownies are a treat to go with coffee from North Carolina-based Counter Culture. Become a regular at this third wave wireless spot and you’ll reap almost all the benefits of having a phat loft without the steep mortgage.
1009-B Marietta St., 404-815-9886. www.octanecoffee.com.