Portland Coffee Hangouts

On a chilly threatening morning, two of our group ventured back to the Pearl – by way of a Naito Parkway detour for additional mileage – to visit a unique destination in our portfolio of 115 shops/bakeries/roasters.   Yes, Christopher David houses a coffee shop there, but it shares the space with a florist and interior design/furniture business.   The result was a special treat for our senses.

As you might imagine, the seating, aromatic and visual amenities were all quite comfortable, mixing rustic (the wood of the counter and a pile of firewood) with modern flair.  For the two of us with time on our hands, and a sprinkling of other customers, Christopher David’s was an ideal hang out spot.   However, if all 7 active members were to have descended there, the space might have felt a little tight.     901 NW 10th     cdexd.com

Wrote last week about the recent string of three early, exhilarating, dry rides down NE Broadway across the Broadway Bridge, so today chose another NW destination to replicate that sense of freedom,   But because the road and bridge were frosty today, we had to be more cautious or one of today’s five might have slipped and fallen.

The first thing we noticed about the Sterling shop was that bike parking outside was a challenge.   The second thing was that inside it was postage stamp sized, with limited bench seating on two sides, making discourse and hanging out for long periods of time a challenge.   The third thing was that the small tables had linens – we think the only one of the 110+ shops visited – and the baristas were the most formally attired.

As it was difficult for the five of us to engage in the same conversation, there were usually two going on at the same time with topics as far afield as: M’s upcoming week in Alaska to watch the Northern Lights with his son and son’s Australian friends & friends’ fathers; the vagaries of teaching credentials needed at PCC, OSU, and PSU’s various schools;  whether a Phd. vs. a MS is appropriate to be an occupational therapist; the stumbles a spouse or two were having in retirement after devoting so much of themselves to their work; and some success stories of inmates being trained/placed in obscure trades such as eyeglass repair.      417 NW 21st    Sterlingcoffeeroasters.com

Our bike route to NW takes us along NE Broadway down a short hill to the Broadway Bridge, across the Willamette into NW, then down the Lovejoy ramp.   Traffic and lights usually make it stop-and-go.  On the last 2 early Sundays, however, we experienced clear skies, no traffic and no stops, making this portion of the ride exhilarating.   Having enjoyed Barista Pearl two weeks ago, today’s five chanced pushing our luck, revisiting this ride in order to visit the relatively new Barista NW, and revelled in another dry, liberating ride.

We found this NW outlet to be well appointed with great lighting, seating options, and wall art, especially compared to the original spare Pearl shop.  At the same time, it lacked some “personality” features when compared to the Alberta and Pearl shops.

It was probably our appreciation of the unique lighting fixtures here that led to a string of free flowing topics, among them: the You Tube video that teaches how to retrofit canned flourescent lighting to LED; there’s a DIY non-cable television channel that airs You Tube type how-to-do-it videos; what does it say about our bike/coffeeshop group that only one of today’s five has cable, and there the daughters pay for the service; that cable viewing is waning primarily due to the younger generation finding new ways to access entertainment; via the site firstrow.eu, one can access sporting events from around the world; D. told us about the documentary The Queen of Versailles he streamed, about the downfall of a narcissistic family building an over-the-top Versailles-like mansion, then later told us about the Wolf of Wall Street movie (focusing on an over-the-top greedy character,) and American Hustle; and the Jennifer Lawrence-Joan Rivers spat.  Speechless after the last topic, we decided to ride off into the sunrise.    827 NW 23rd     http://www.baristapdx.com