I Heart East Austin

An open love letter to East Austin,

You dazzle me, Eastside. Every time I trek across I-35 I am reminded of how un-cool I am. I get the overwhelming notion that I just don’t belong in this relationship.

Too cool for me. Although I do love Weezer.
photo courtesy of cracked.com

I don’t wear 1950s reminiscent horn rimmed glasses; my body is free of anti-establishment indie band lyric tattoos and I drive a big, gas guzzling Ford F-150.

Honestly, I’m surprised you haven’t kicked me out of your city limits yet.

But I think that’s why I love you, you have yet to close your cluttered streets and independently owned shop fronts to the likes of me. I don’t look like your “type,” but you welcome me anyway.

I know I don’t visit as often as I should. Sure I do the occasional walk of shame to Juan-in-a-Million for the liked named hangover-curing breakfast tacos, but its not enough.

So today I thought of you when I stepped outside in the beautiful Austin, Texas weather. Where else in the world is mid-February shorts season?

You’ve changed East Austin. Actually, you’re always changing. You find a way to surprise me and make me fall in love with you all over again each time I see you.

View of Austin from Progress patio

I’m writing you from the narrow patio of Progress Coffee on San Marcos street,  overlooking the metro rail and looking up to the geometric Austin skyline. It could be the latte I’m savoring talking, you know what sugar does to me, but I can’t imagine going another week without seeing you again.

In the meantime I figure I should tell you why I feel the need to profess my love right now. I’ve found another great coffee shop in your ‘hood.

Studying up online I learned that Progress Coffee is one of those forward-thinking businesses that really value making a positive impact on its patrons over making money; weird, I know. They compost their trash and use recyclable materials, in addition to providing only fair-trade coffee and local organic food.

I approached the bar timidly, waiting for the barista to throw up his arms and point me and my corporate branded clothes out, bellowing “YOU SHALL NOT PASS.”

He didn’t, so that’s good news. Actually he was very friendly. I asked Rick, his name I later learned, “what does Progress Coffee do different?”

He answered without skipping a beat, “We’re sexy.”

uh, yum.

After I let out a snort of laughter he pointed to his coworker and asked him to pose for me, proving their sexiness. At this point, I had to hand the title of sexiest Austin baristas over to them.

When we finished discussing the exact magnitude of sexiness the Progress Coffee baristas exude, I asked Rick what I should order.

He first offered me the very popular Progress “Iced Lightening,” which is an iced coffee with hazelnut and chocolate syrups topped off with sweetened condensed milk. With the impending doom that is bikini season looming, I laughed and asked what else he could give me, despite how deliciously decadent it sounded.

We settled on another popular drink to this café, the Eastside latte; nonfat of course. The menu explains it as an iced latte with Ghirardeli chocolate, cinnamon and Mexican Melipone Vanilla. I consider myself a bit of a connessuier when it comes to Mexican chocolate drinks; a lot of people do them, but few do them right. Usually the drink is way too thick and sweet, as a result of too much chocolate (usually milk chocolate, unfortunately) and the spice is minimal.

Sting. The best word to describe how I felt upon my first sip.  The espresso in my cup is made known with a definite vanilla taste. I don’t usually like vanilla lattes- they taste fake to me, this tastes real; almost as if the beans are stored with actual whole vanilla beans.

Some coffee shops try to be different with their menu that they make their drinks a contrived sugary concoction of syrups; a red velvet latte with a pump of Irish cream, topped off with a chocolate drizzle, for example. Progress Coffee doesn’t resort to this surface level superficiality. Progress does what it does, well. No false pretense here.

First the dark chocolate hits your tongue in the Eastside Latte and then dissipates into a poignant vanilla, only to fizzle out with a bit of cinnamon. You can’t forget the cinnamon.  

When I finish my drink I feel like I’ve been let in on yet another Austin secret.

And to think you’ve been hiding this from me, East Austin! You should be ashamed.

Alas I love you still. I can’t resist the cultivated charm I find within independently owned cafes such as this one.

Thanks a latte for the memories,

Kelcey  

p.s. special shout out to the smokin' barista Rick- thanks for your help!

Hours:

Mon-Fri: 6:30am-7pm

Sat: 7:30am-7pm

Sun: 7:30am-5pm

Location:

500 San Marcos

Austin, TX 78702

512.493.0963