Portland Coffee Hangouts

Three of us took off 30 minutes earlier (7:30) today due to the morning Mothers Day activities that some of us had.   The 30 minute difference results in a notably quieter time for traffic, while the colors and scents are just as strong and invigorating.

We chose the SE Press outlet to do a compare/contrast with the “mothership” which we visited last week.  While this site incorporates the same basics as N. Albina’s, they have different feels. This in part may be due to our visiting at a slightly earlier time, in part due to N. Albina expanding incrementally while Hawthorne was one full scale rehab, and their having different socioeconomic and aged clienteles.  We liked the openness and central barrista area of Hawthorne, as well as its larger windows, but Albina felt like it had been lived in longer and ultimately was more comfortable.       5012 SE Hawthorne

With threatening weather, we chose a 15-20 minute ride to SE Hawthorne to introduce some members to an older shop that we value a lot.   Its website clearly states its mission:

“Common Grounds Coffeehouse has been riding the waves of the specialty coffee industry for over 20 years. Although much has changed in that time, we continually aspire to represent the absolute best thing a great coffee experience brings us all: community. We believe that providing our customers with outstanding coffees, teas, homemade baked goods, and breakfast and lunch fare may bring them into the cafe, but it’s the community we all create that makes it truly special.”

To demonstrate their success at meeting their goal of creating community space, we again found H’s friend Bob having his coffee and reading the paper, 2+ years after our last Sunday visit.

Today’s discussion started with frustrations regarding the pushback we felt against improving our City’s bike infrastructure while cities across the country are instituting some impressive projects, and the recent design charrette for Sullivan’s Gulch where one presenter explained how NE Broadway is missing out on bicyclists’ presence because so many try to avoid the unsafe lane there.  It then morphed into a rich discussion of economist Thomas Piketty’s recent research/findings regarding income inequality, why such inequality is unhealthy for most countries’ economies, its relationship to environmental degradation, why this degradation is occurring in capitalist as well as non-capitalist countries, and how we fear that unlike previous economic/environmental prognostications (Malthus, Ehrlich) the world avoided, it might be too late this time.        4321 SE Hawthorne    commongroundspdx.com

What we’ve chosen to do in terms of categorization, is to include both small neighborhood coffee shops that make most of their own baked goods and large bakeries that sell wholesale, under the same  “bakery” category.  And we’ve discovered that most wholesale-selling bakeries don’t put as much energy into amenities for hanging-out, as do the smaller neighborhood shops.

So with the recently opened Roman Candle.  For example it has 4 lovely wooden top tables but then only plastic seats around them (4 on each side;) and all the tables are lined up neatly and unexcitingly like in an institution.  And though there are nice plate glass windows, there’s not much interesting visually inside  other than a collection of older utensils and kettles.   Thus, despite yummy treats, there’s not much in Roman Candle to encourage patrons to take part in longer conversations.

Still, the four of us did enjoy our Sunday conversation.  Topics included a layout comparison of Roman Candle with Grand Central Bakery, our appreciation of the latter’s sustainability efforts,  T’s challenges with his HS senior, the upcoming primary elections for our State Representative and County Chair, H’s upcoming trip to New Orleans and most of our group’s affection for the TV show Treme.    3377 SE Division     romancandlebaking.com

Members of our group keep being drawn back to the Frog, in part due to the unique alternative seating options in the library, living room, game room, or outside; and in part, to be honest, for the hot fresh donuts.  Today our contingent was down to two happy campers.   2511 SE Belmont     rockingfrogpdx.com

What a memorable first Sunday of spring for the three of us!   It encompassed a pristine, crisp morning and bikeride along the Eastside Esplanade and Springwater Corridor, the delight of discovering a quirky wondrous new hang-out, and a heartfelt discussion on  end-of-life issues that our parents and we are facing/faced.

The entry to Sellwood’s Tea Chai Te outlet is through an old Spokane/Portland/Seattle rail car, which houses some unusual seating/table options.  You then descend stairs to a newly built alcove which houses the shop’s counter, additional seating/tables, full plate glass windows overlooking an outside pond and seating area, and a tie-in to what looks like an older Sellwood home.  Despite our having visited more than 115 shops, and two of us having construction-related backgrounds, we were all impressed by what the owners had created here.  (Be aware we didn’t see any coffee being sold, and the shop opens at 9.)

Our discussion began with D. telling us that his mother was in hospice, and how valiant she had been her last couple of years.  Before being moved to Oregon three years ago, she had talked of not wanting to linger through her last years; but even though she had suffered a stroke, her time in Oregon had been marked by optimism, and making strong connections with her caregivers and the new people she met.  H. and J. shared their own experiences; sadly H’s mom who had always been an extrovert, turned resentful and inward after being moved here.  We theorized on whether we – knowing that most elderly are either upbeat or cranky during their last years – will be able to influence our attitudes when that time comes.

D then told us of his research regarding burial options, and how his mom will have a green burial at Riverview Cemetery.  J told us how in rural Greece bodies are buried for a year, then the bones are dug up and the site is re-used for a new body, with the bones put in a bone house.  We agreed setting aside permanently a plot of land for one body didn’t make sense.

Switching focus from parents to children,  J joyfully told us of his daughter’s purchase of her first home off NE Alberta.               7983 SE 13th        http://www.teachaite.com/tea_s/82.htm