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.