Kicking Butt and Taking Orders

Community is the theme for this coffee shop. Well that, and martial arts. Yes, the beautiful pairing of coffee and martial arts. Thanks to this coffee shop, coffee now goes with martial arts like peanut butter and jelly, chips and salsa, or Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn.

Kick Butt Coffee can be a little overwhelming when you first walk in. The espresso bar that stretches before you is plastered in community flyers advertising local events, music, and wanted ads. Across the back wall are nine pictures highlighting the lucky regular customers deserving of a $250.00 worth of Kick Butt Coffee gift cards.

Maybe it’s because my pockets are drowning in emptiness that I suddenly see Kick Butt Coffee as a viable part of my future. Not only is it cheaper than my usual haunt Starbucks, but there is glimmering hope of a check in exchange for my continued patronage looming in the future.

Kick Butt Coffee Bar courtesy of littleaustinite.com

After walking the span of the long narrow store and picturing myself beginning my 15 minutes on the open mic stage in the back corner, I drudge over to the counter and scope out the pastry case. Nothing looks too appetizing, although the lack of options may be due to my coming so late in the day.

There is a lone barista tending the espresso bar donned in an Asian style black shirt, complete with thread buttons and red trim. He moves quickly but with precision through the bar, snagging espresso shots from the coffee machines as if they were a flies in the hand of an old sensei. He snaps his head in my direction and asks what he can do for me.

I give him my order, and our dialogue proceeds much like a martial arts movie from the 1970s:

Me: DOMO ARIGATO. Put your passion to the test. Create the ultimate latte.

Him: I see. Tell me, Kelcey-San,  who sent you?

Me: PR 317. But there are two rules of coffee-rate.

Him: Oh? I accept your challenge.

Me: Much like the empire on which the sun never sets, I want my coffee iced and nonfat. GO.

Okay, so our conversation didn’t sound JUST like that- but I’m sure that if I started conversing like that, the lively barista would have followed suit.

Nonetheless the martial arts/coffee master accepts my challenge and begins my mystery drink. Its ready in moments and waiting for me at the bar. I snatch it off the counter quickly and look around suspiciously; expecting some sort of ninja or samurai to interfere with my liquid goal. Alas, I am safe…for now.

Kick Butt Coffee courtesy of kickbuttcoffee.com

I take my drink and sit on a comfortable sofa chair. Turning the cup around in my hand, I notice that a large white sticker is attached to every cup with a different proclamation of love for Kick Butt Coffee from a satisfied customer. I feel reassured.

As I sip slowly on my drink I am watching a martial arts movie playing on the TV screen. My coffee is sweet, but not too sweet. I can taste the espresso kick. I ask what I am sipping on and he unwillingly reveals his secret after a brief pause and a knowing smile, “an Almond Joy latte.”

The deed is done and my mind is made. Kick Butt Coffee is kick ass.

On the back bar is an array of ground coffee for sale with boldness measured on a scale of “ying” to “yang.” Near the coffee rests a binder chalked full of flyers advertising local community events; everything from belly dancing classes to the music line-up at Emo’s. The biggest surprise of all? All the information is current.

This binder is not on display purely to emanate the appearance of community, but to actually foster it. This is something I can appreciate.

I have a little chat with the working barista and ask him about Kick Butt Coffee. He hands me a menu with information about the owner. He informs me that the owner is actually an accomplished martial arts master and that there is another location off of Airport Boulevard.

I ask him about the stage tucked in the back and he tells me that it represents the very definition of an open mic. He says that the store is “almost a community center,” and that they support all performance art; stand-up, poetry, music, and the like. The Airport blvd. location even has a blues dance night every Friday from 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Check out their website for the complete calendar of events for both locations.

The cherry on top of Kick Butt Coffee? They have a full bar on stock. YUP. Not only do they serve coffee, but they can serve wine and beer and mixed drinks. They have even created a special menu of blended coffee and liquor that sounds mouth-watering. Only one more year until that golden birthday…. Perhaps I will return to Kick Butt and review its other kind of bar.

I love that despite all the sugary syrups added to my latte I could still taste the crisp espresso. I love that the baristas are friendly and creative. I love that the menu has a clear voice. And lastly, I love the community. Kick Butt Coffee fosters connectedness within Austin. Everyone at Kick Butt has an opportunity to express themselves and share that expression with the rest of this unique city. Kick Butt is not so much of a coffee house, but just like the kind barista said, a community center.

Bottom Line: Kick Butt is alive, fun, and funny. It’s perfect for those nights that you never want to end. Enjoy the espresso, enjoy the enthusiasm, and enjoy the community.

Oh, and the password to the wi-fi is Chuck Norris. Need I say more?

Coffee Drinkers:

Mint-Mocha is the definite favorite of the regulars. Can you ever go wrong with chocolate?

Non-coffee drinkers:

Birthday Cake Frappe. DELISH!

Kick Butt Coffee

4600 Guadalupe
Ste B-2Austin, TX 78751

(512) 467-4365

Hours:

Mon-Fri 7 am - 10 pm

Sat-Sun 8 am - 10 pm

Fancy This.

Walking down Sixth Street I happen upon a wall of windows painted sweetly in plain colors sharing with the street all this charming venue has to offer. I read “Walton’s Fancy and Staple,” and I realize immediately what I’ve come across.

What kind of Austinite would I be if I never visited one of Sandra Bullock’s bakeries/restaurants?



I know I made the right choice at first glance inside Walton’s Fancy and Staple.  There is a long light-up pastry case stretching half the length of the store and a refrigerator housing beautiful bouquets of flowers on the other half. The air smells of fresh baked dough and aromatherapy candles. Everything, and I mean everything found in this store is available for purchase.



Walton's pastry counter



The baristas are warm and inviting as I inform them that I am writing a blog. I tell them that I want to try the best the coffee shop has to offer.  Immediately the two baristas turn to each other and hold a mini-conference; It’s clear they are dedicated workers and don’t want to disappoint.  

After asking me my coffee and flavor preferences, one of the baristas turns to the other and says very seriously "give her the cocoa puff." I'm sold; an off-the-menu coffee likened to my favorite childhood cereal.

While the baristas craft my drink I am free to run around the small warehouse made quaint and drool over the pastry case: cream puffs and tartlets and grasshopper brownies, oh my!

 Luckily I've brought my best friend and trusty coffee shop side-kick along to snag a pastry. She decides on the Honey Bee: a petite honey layer cake filled with caramel buttercream, rolled in ganache, covered in slivered almonds and topped off with a marzipan honey bee. The store’s best selling pastry. In one word: delightful.

Honey Bee Cake

The barista takes her time preparing my drink, which I don't mind because the bar is small and allows for customers to watch as their drinks are being created.  There is just something about the way the silvery steam dances above the espresso machine that gets my mouth watering.

At long last, my latte is ready.

On first sip, I flashback to Saturday morning cartoons and a giant bowl of cocoa puff cereal: the coffee is appropriately named. What's unique about this off-the-menu delight besides its name, is it's deep dark chocolate taste. The espresso and the dark chocolate flavors share the mug politely- neither overshadows the other.

Perhaps the reason my latte was so delicious is due to the fact it was crafted with Cuvee coffee. The talkative barista, with her hair effortlessly wrapped in a white bandana, tells me that Cuvee Coffee is a product of a local roaster from Spicewood, Texas. The friendly barista’s name is Abby and she indulges in my multitude of questions and tells me how local this roaster really is. His name is Mike.

I like Mike.

Abby informs me that the Cuvee beans come from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Brazil. “Mike is very careful,” she says, “he knows all his farmers by name.”

Abby says that a local superstar, Clancy Rose, works for Mike. “He is the barista of Austin. He actually trained us.

Before my friend gets half way through the decadently rich Honey Bee cake, I've sucked every last bit of warm latte out of my mug. I even made the obnoxious slurping sound as I struggled to pull up the last little pool of chocolate syrup and foam. But no one throws angry glances my way; here, this sort of desperation is understood.

The "Cocoa Puff"

Once I have successfully satiated my caffeine craving, I approach the counter once more to ask Abby why she likes Walton’s Fancy and Staple (as if I needed another reason).

“It’s more of a traditional coffee shop,” she says. “So many coffee shops now are like the turn-and-burn coffee of Starbucks. It’s about experience here; not just slinging coffee to the masses. Here it’s carefully picked and carefully chosen.”

I pack up my bag, pry my friend from her buttery cake and mentally prepare myself to leave this true Austin treasure. But, I can’t walk away without asking if Abby has ever met Sandra Bullock; she smiles and nods her head as if she’s been asked this same question a thousand times “Yes, I have.”

Bottom line: Although Walton’s has no wi-fi, it adds to the allure of this café. Walton’s is an escape and a chance to lose yourself in butter, caffeine, and conversation. Make Walton’s Fancy and Staple a staple of your Austin experience.

Coffee Drinkers:

If you’re feeling adventurous enough, tell the baristas what flavors you like and ask them to surprise you.

Non-Coffee Drinkers:
Drown your taste buds in the immense number of Italian soda flavors. Create your own soda or choose from the tried and true classics. Perfect for a scorching hot Austin day.

Walton’s Fancy and Staple                                                                                       

609 West 6th St.  

Austin, TX 78701           

(512) 542-3380

Hours

M-TH: 7 a.m.-8 p.m.
F and S: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sat.: 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

                                 

Once Upon a Cappuccino

Swinging open the glass door, a rush of aroma pushes past me and all of a sudden I am swimming in smells of deeply roasted beans and a mossy, dusty fragrance; the dusty but welcoming smell like that of 19^th century mystery novels.

Intelligent. Brooding. Smooth. Houndstooth Coffee.

3.29.2011

The space is completely open and square. There are no secrets behind this barista’s bar. The walls are tinted a plain grey and from the open, dark ceiling hang clear orbs of light in line with one another.

3.29.2011

The coffee bar is the only thing remotely colorful.  Light piney wood swallows two strips of deep mahogany wood, and together, they sprawl across most of the free space in the center of the room defining the separation of the bar area and the lounge area.

3.29.2011

This coffee house blends together so smoothly- from the bar to the seats, to the rugs to the paint, to the windows to the lighting: the edges are seamless. Even the door to the bathroom is painted with a hat reminiscent of the 1950s but modern enough to match the furniture.

I approach the wide counter and ask the barista to serve me the best coffee drink the coffee house has to offer. His confidence in the Houndstooth cappuccino, reassures me in my leap of faith. I am very, very particular with my coffee.

Once I agree to a cappuccino, the placid barista asks which house blend espresso I would like.  Both espressos are from a coffee distributer, Counter Culture Coffee, that is dedicated to the purity of direct from farm coffee and to providing international varieties of coffee beans. One, the Espresso La Forza has a “dark chocolate taste with a smoky, tobacco undertone” he says, and the other, the Espresso Aficionado, a lighter chocolate taste with a suggestive berry finish.  Dark chocolate being the only other thing running in my veins besides coffee, the first blend is the obvious choice.

The barista immediately busied himself with the preparation of my drink and in a matter of moments it was ready and gingerly placed on the wide, raven-colored bar.

Cappuccino made with La Forza Espresso



I carried it carefully over to my seat so as not to spill the delicate frothy cream brimming the sleek black mug.  I cupped the mug in my hands and took a sip. The barista was right: I tasted dark chocolate and a hint of tobacco. Worry not; the tobacco taste is light, and suggests more of an earthy flavor than of a smoky one.

Before I knew it, I could see the bottom of my empty cup. And much to my dismay, the thick, sweet foam layering the espresso, and my travel deep inside the old dusty novels of the 19^th century, was over and I was back into the real world.

Houndstooth Coffee is not a place for studying. The sparse decorations and open layout makes for a noisy environment. However, it is the perfect atmosphere for socializing. All the patrons of Houndstooth are lively and friendly, and the air is full of laughter.

Bottom line: the menu is limited, and the prices a little high, but everything is prepared well. Every flavor and aroma is hand-crafted and beautiful.

Coffee Drinkers: Get the cappuccino and choose the espresso based on your own taste preferences. My guess is, you can’t go wrong.

Non-Coffee Drinkers: Don’t go here. Unless you are content noshing on a variety of slightly over-priced baked goods. Or you are over 21 and can revel in the wine and alcohol selection.

Houndstooth Coffee                                                                                                Hours
4200 North Lamar, Suite 120                                                                        M-F: 6 a.m.-10 p.m.
Austin, TX 78756                                                                                          Sat.-Sun.: 7 a.m.- 10 p.m.
(512) 531 9417

Consistent Coffee, Consistent Experience

I decided that because the week after spring break is unfairly riddled with assignments, quizzes, and tests in order to maintain sanity I needed consistency; so I headed to my hometown favorite 24-hour coffee house, Bennu.

Bennu Coffeehouse never fails to meet my expectations and leave my taste buds delightfully caffeinated.



photo courtesy of hercampus.com

Bennu is one of those Austin secrets that won't be a secret for much longer. Driving down East MLK Boulevard it is easy to over look this Austin gem, because it is tucked away between apartment complexes and looks more like a warehouse than a coffee house.

But upon opening the doors of Bennu your body experiences a sensory overload. Your eyes adjust to the dim light, your nose to the awakening scent of fresh roasted coffee beans, and your ears to the alternative indie music faintly suspended in the air. The best part of Bennu is the inviting seating layout comprised of oversized couches, high-backed padded chairs, and tall barstools. Bennu is intended to provide the same comfort found in your living room.

The Bennu menu is simple and traditional. You won’t find any zany coffee concoctions or strange flavors, but where it lacks in inventiveness it makes up for in mastery. Each drink on the menu tastes just as it should.



photo courtesy of Kristen K. of yelp.com



Like many Austin coffee shops, Bennu is dedicated to supporting its local community by selling tasty food from iconic Austin vendors like Torchy’s Tacos, Hoboken Pies, and Fricano’s Deli. And because it’s open 24-hours, you are more than welcome to study and satiate your “munchies” cravings well into the wee hours of the morning. Bennu almost makes all-nighters enjoyable. Almost.

In 2010, Austin Chronicle chose Bennu as the "Best 24- Hour Buzz." While this is a fantastic award for a business little older than a year it has led to an influx in patrons and a deflux in seating. The only problem with Bennu is its rising popularity; getting a seat is more frustrating than UT Austin’s last football season. In order to guarantee a spot in this cozy coffee shop arrive before 7 p.m. or after 11 p.m.

Bottom Line: Put Bennu on your short list of “go-to” coffee shops when you have an impending deadline and no time to find the newest under-the-radar study spot.

Did I mention its open 24-hours?

Coffee Suggestions:

            Non-coffee drinkers: Peruse the list of decadent mochas named after famous works of literature found on the back of the counter menu. These coffees will leave you as content as the classic novels itself.

            Coffee drinkers: Fill your mug up with the smooth and voluptuous house blended coffee and walk over to the bar to enhance the already bold flavor with as much simple syrup, sugar and/or cream as you prefer.

Bennu Coffee LLC                                                                                                   Hours 
2001 East 19th St.                                                                                Mon- Sun 12 a.m. - 12 a.m. Austin, TX 78702

La Tazza Fresca

Picture yourself sitting in a soft leather chair in a room large enough to be considered big, but quaint enough to feel cozy. Or perhaps you would rather imagine yourself sitting in a courtyard beneath hundreds of twinkling lights hanging from trees old enough to have centuries of secrets.  The sound filling the air is composed of favorable and reminiscent songs of the 1960s with undertones of laptop keys being eagerly pressed. You sit back and relax as you wait for your carefully crafted Café Au Lait to slightly cool. Life in Austin is beautiful.

Welcome to La Tazza Fresca.

Sitting in La Tazza Fresca makes you feel like you are amongst the modern-day Transcendental Club. You can’t help but imagine that you’re surrounded by future Aldous Huxley’s, Thoreau’s and Joseph Strauss’.  That’s the beauty of La Tazza Fresca, just being in the proximity of proposed genius gives you enough fuel to power through your essay due at midnight or enough reason to finish stalking the entire pledge class of Kappa Kappa Whatever. This coffee shop is the perfect balance of distraction and concentration, socialization and isolation.

As customers weave between the sea of sturdy wooden tables, perfecting their poise so as not to spill the overflowing cup of coffee perfection they hold in their hands, you feel as though you are observing a punctual and beautiful coffee ballet.

 As soon as the lone barista froths up a double non-fat German chocolate iced latte, the customers assume the position and begin toiling away reading books, typing furiously on laptops, or playing a game plucked from the tower of board games charily balanced on a shelf. There are no interruptions or intermissions, only coffee refill breaks.

The menu at La Tazza Fresca is long, overwhelming and delicious. The beverages span the drink spectrum from wines and beers, to Italian cream sodas and milkshakes; from Turkish coffees and lattes, to macchiatos and cappuccinos.

The best part about this expansive menu is that you can’t go wrong. The flavored lattes are perfectly sweet and ideal for non-coffee drinkers who need a buzz. The specialty espressos are for those coffee connoisseurs who are always ready to try something new and palatable. The espresso at La Tazza Fresca is bold, but not bitter. The coffee drinks as smooth as silk.

And if a study snack is what you crave, La Tazza Fresca has you covered. Create-your-own pizzas steal the menu show, but the French toast muffins and decadent layered chocolate cake are a commendable second act.

Bottom line:  With it being so close to campus and such a unique balance of serenity and excitement, there is no reason not to make a La Tazza Fresca a priority.

Coffee Suggestions:

Non-coffee drinkers: Sip on one of their many flavored lattes. The caramel mocha latte is a personal favorite. Try the lattes iced for an extra caffeine kick.

Coffee drinkers: Steal away to a Far-East bazaar and envelop your taste buds in the Turkish Coffee.  You won’t be disappointed.

La Tazza Fresca                                                                         

519 W. 37^th St.                                                                    Hours:

Austin, Texas 78705                                                           Mon-Sat 8 a.m. – Midnight

512-453-0403                                                                      Sun 9 a.m.-Midnight