Archive for the ‘Coffee’ Category

A Clockwork Awesome

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

You were probably among the hundreds who gathered at a retooled space on Commercial Street last Friday to celebrate the opening of Clockwork’s Cafe and Cultural Center, a project dreamed up by Ryan Rogers and his merry men (and women) of Culture Shock.

I wasn’t.

I was throwing together dinner while preparing Dash for his oh so early 7 p.m. bedtime. But I heard it was a great party and I knew I had to get down there soon to see what’s brewing.

For one, Stumptown! Perhaps the best development for us coffee-addicted snooty sippers, the cafe is serving the country’s best coffee. Stumptown doesn’t let just any old coffee place serve its roasts. From what I hear from Ryan, they  interview you. Clockworks must have been deemed worthy because I’m sipping some Indonesian varietal at this very moment.

As you can tell from the pictures, Clockworks isn’t your garden variety cafe that’s been thrown together with no concept. Opening as it does, just as the Steampunk aesthetic is reaching the mainstream, it’s got a clock fixture and found art sensibility that hasn’t been done well (if at all) in Salem before.

Clockworks is a nonprofit, and as such, it will be offering a wide program of events. I’d be tempted to say something for everyone, but I kind of throw up a little in my mouth everytime I read that, so I’ll just say that I might even want to offer my own writing class in its rocking spaces.

Some things one might do at Clockworks:

  • Take a class (perhaps even by yours truly, more on that to come) at C4 Academy
  • Give a class (Salem creatives, contact Christy Seehey, 503-399-7076)
  • Learn how to dance
  • Rock out, slam towards, puppet over, laugh in on the Clockworks stage (seen above)
  • Make out in the huge barrel at the back of the main room
  • Let your kids play in the kids space in the mezzanine
  • Cut some digital audio once the sound room is finished
  • Find some space to clear your head in the little writing nook
  • Hang with friends in the (actually very cool) lounging area
  • Read a book in a pillow-laden bathtub (to come!)

Something for everyone? (Blech! Sorry…) Perhaps not. There’s definitely nothing for the Keep Salem Lame-r’s here, but they’ll just stay at home anyway.

Posted in Art, Coffee, There's something about Salem, These are the people in my neighborhood, Uncategorized | 6 Comments »

Statesman Journal's Best Of's – Where the Masses Get it Wrong

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

It’s that time of year again, folks. It’s time to furrow your brow and shake your fist and cluck incredulously at how the public in Salem so often gets many of its own Best-of’s wrong. Say what you will, James Surowiecki, about the Wisdom of Crowds, but there are areas in our lives where it really helps to have a real taste maker tell you where to go and what to eat, what to see and what to do. Otherwise you might just end up eating your Cheap Eats in the charming digs of Costco instead of at La Perla downtown.

Some categories of the Statesman Journal’s annual best-of’s are obviously spot-on. Word of Mouth wins Best Breakfast? Yeah, I’ll agree with that one.

But man, are there some hilarious entries and hilarious winners in this year’s poll.

Best Place to Give Birth:

1. Silverton Hospital
2. Salem Hospital
3. At-home with midwife

What’s number 4? In the the back of your Subaru on the way to the hospital? Under the rotunda at the State Capitol building? Spontaneously in line at Fred Meyer?

Best Hot Dog

1. Casey’s
2. Costco
3. Mt. Angel Sausage Co.

I love a hot dog, but does the hot dog really warrant its own category? A better bet would be best grilled cheese. Casey’s would win that, too.

Best Coffee Shop

1. Dutch Bros.
2. The Grind
3. Starbucks

Love me some Dutch Bros. on the way down to Eugene to work sometimes, but people people PLEASE!, Dutch Bros. is not a coffee shop, unless you consider sitting outside on a lawn chair next to the water feature a coffee shop experience. Best coffee shop is the Beanery downtown. Best coffee SHACK is Salem’s Latte.

Best Food Cart

1. Casey’s Cafe
2. Capitol Dog
3. Adam’s Rib Smokhouse

Do these restaurants really have food carts or are they just selling food cart food? Someone please enlighten me. Where are the Salem food carts? I know there are a few on Silverton, and there’s a Latino fruit cart that parks sometimes on Savage Road. Can we count Canby Asparagus Farms at the Chemeketa St. Farmer’s Market as being a food cart? If so, they win.

Best Bookstore

1. Borders
2. Book Bin
3. Tea Party Bookstore

I’m done talking about how much Borders sucks. But here’s a note in case you’ve forgotten. My friend and I meet often at Borders for our Bored Meetings. Can’t find a book there because they never have what I want or need. I heard they carry Twilight, though.

Best Adult-related Business

1. Santiam Wine Co.
2. Enigma Adult Toy Boutique
3. Eve’s Boutique

That’s not a best-of list, that’s a recipe for a kinky Saturday night!

Ah, best-of’s. You say so much about Salem. I’m nominating this mobile from our nursery for Best Sculpture AND Best Zoo.

Posted in Books, Capital Shots, Coffee, Emily: Angry!, Food, Media, There's something about Salem, You are what you read | 12 Comments »

Salem Monthly June issue is OUT

Monday, June 1st, 2009

deathofprint_feat

As my girl Heidi always says: “Either you’re in, or you’re OUT.” For print publications, it always feels good to be out  in the world, getting lapped up by thirsty readers.

I’ve got three smaller stories in the June issue of Salem Monthly. For one, my appeal to the world to check out Salem’s coolest junk shops in this month’s DSS column.

When I finally told husband Adam what I was writing about this month he kind of freaked out, since he has this idea that I have portrayed him as a cheapskate. Well, let me tell you that all of my nonfiction stories are true. We are only cheap in some areas of our lives so we can eat out and travel a lot.

Also, I have played down the stories of my father-in-laws parsimony so as to make them sound more believable.

You will also find a story about our very own Salem’s Latte, which has made an appearance on this blog before, if only in the comments section. Here’s an insider’s view of the coffee stand.

Carrie

I finally looked up Salem’s Latte – THE BEST LATTE IN TOWN! – a few months ago after hearing through the grapevine that there is indeed a place where you can pick up Stumptown coffee in Salem. I think you’ll find that it’s a nice little story of quiet people trying to do great things.Stop by and see Carrie sometime – no, the irony of sharing a name with a Stephen King character is not lost on her – and tell her I sent you.

Also, if you’re really into coffee, you’ll want to read a story of how New Yorkers responded to the arrival of Stumptown in a recent story called “The Messiah Hails from Portland.”

Finally, I’ve got a story on the Salem Public Library’s “Read to a Pet” program. As my feature writing students will know, Rule #1 for newspaper feature stories is to put a dog in it. People love dogs. Of course, that’s not always possible, but I do find myself drawn to animal stories and have been looking for them here in town.

I have long been fascinated by therapy dogs — actually, assistance monkeys are more my thing these days — and found that the Top Dogs at the library are doing a great job of getting kids to overcome their inhibitions towards reading. Hey, whatever gets kids picking up books!

Here’s a pic that didn’t make it to print, of  the two kids in the article reading to Snickers.

ReadtoaPet1

Doneva Milletta, the local woman who runs the program, sent me a really nice email that I received after the story went to print, so here’s two more of her cents:

“Because it is unusual to see a pet in the library in a public place, people are drawn to open their books more than not, just to pet and interact with the the animals. Since I started the program with the Salem library a few years back, their are quite a few children that continue to come back every month just to visit, read and even give the pets a few hugs or two. This has proven to be a positive experience for both the child as well as the pet. Unfortunately, some children don’t have a parent or special person that has made time for a child to read to them.  Coming to the library and reading to a pet, gives them this opportunity.”

And as always, there are other people writing great stuff in the Monthly, so be sure to check out:

Editor Eric Howald’s story on dying newspapers.

A story by the editors on NE Salem’s new community garden.

Nate Rafn’s column on food preservation, which is very HOT right now (I even checked out a pickle book the other day).

Posted in Books, Capital Shots, Coffee, Food, Media, Portland, You are what you read | No Comments »

Coffee: Making to-do's into to-done's

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

beanery1

It is a fairly well-known quandary that items at the end of the to-do list stay at the end of the to-do list.

Well, not today.

Today, I started my novel — a story that has been brewing within me for a few months now and which I have been telling  myself in the shower, when I go to bed, when I’m watching Highlander, when I’m supposed to be working on other things.

Here’s the thing: I do not see myself as a novelist. I read a lot of novels, and I review them, but I haven’t tried to write fiction for about five years. The leap from nonfiction to fiction requires something of an adjustment, and I’ve been breaking my head over how to do it.

One solution is to see it as an experiment. One best catalyzed by some major caffeine-infused coffee drinks.

Back in Iowa City, I used to frequent this place called Tarrapin, which was owned by these two humongous, sweaty brothers. They made great coffee, no one knew me there, and I could write for hours without being distracted by news.

I’ve found I do some of my best writing in coffee shops, but haven’t yet tried to write often in downtown Salem. So today marked day one of Operation Caffeine-Fueled Debut Novel. And at least today, it was a success!

I got about 600 words laid down today at the Beanery, the first Salem coffee house I ever visited. My plan is to put down about 500 words every day and just see what happens.

Get a load of that glowing screen! To me, that means some god-gifted inspiration, right? not the harrowing challenge of the blank page?

The first time I visited the Beanery it was November 2008, the rain was coming down to welcome us to Oregon, we had just driven from Portland for one of my husband’s interviews, and we were about six hours away from the next.

We ordered a 20 oz. latte and shared it while watching the passers-by duck and cover from the storm.

We congratulated ourselves for having chosen the Beanery over the two Starbucks that bookend the same street. (Good job! Way to consume! Sleep well tonight!)

We leafed through apartment guides and imagined our lives here. Then we went to see Madagascar 2 at the downtown movieplex.

Five months later, here I am, at the Beanery, writing, drinking, listening to conversations and wondering why all rooms can’t have 20+ foot ceilings.

I’m not sure if I’m set on the Beanery yet for this work-in-progress. Hopefully I can try out a handful of other coffeehouses downtown and see what fits best.

Then someday, when someone is interviewing me for a change, maybe I’ll tell the writer that I wrote the novel at the Beanery, or the Coffeehouse Cafe, or the Governor’s Cup, and the place will become a stomping ground for all levels of lit fans. Salem will rise in the hearts and minds of book-lovers as myths are created around the places where people in town create works of art.

How’s that for counting your beans before they’re roasted?

Posted in Coffee, Movies, New slogans for old products | 7 Comments »

Satisfyingly Found: Salem Farmer's Market

Saturday, April 4th, 2009

smarket

I have known many markets: Lancaster County’s Central Market, the oldest indoor market in the United States. Munich’s Viktualienmarkt, a foodie’s heaven, Washington, D.C.’s Dupont Circle Market, a hub of food politics in the nation’s capital, Iowa City’s Farmer’s Market, a packed small town square and big f-you to Iowa’s big food producers.

And now Salem’s Saturday Farmer’s Market, which opened today for the season.

It’s still early in the season, and I’ve heard that the space near the capitol building where the market sets up shop fills up as the season progresses, but it is still possible to buy the compenents of an entire meal there this early in the year.

I went there knowing no one. I left with a bag of coffee, a dozen organic eggs, and the names of at least five people.

And I ran out of money.

(My own fault).

Here’s a selection of some of the market’s 50 stands.

Flower and Produce Stand

flowers

Farris-Seaman’s Bird house, Dog and Cat Cookies, and Knitted Hats and Bags (obviously a multi-talented family), also known as CUTETASTIC HATS!

cutetastic1

Now all I need is a kid to force these cutetastic hats on…

Rainforest Mushrooms

brownbags

Shitakes and Maitakes in brown bags, Oh my! And one of the hunters was there with a pan full of olive oil, frying some up. Told them my husband once found a 25-pound maitake in the Iowa woods. They weren’t pleased. (Actually, he now tells me it was 40 pounds. They were apparently not impressed by the size since they grow them indoors and don’t hunt them).

Cape Foulweather Coffee Co.

coffee

For now, let’s call them the most honestly named Pacific Northwest coffee producers I’ve encountered. I bought a pound of their ground Brazil. More on that later.

I spoke to Elaine, one of Foulweather’s owners, who is a former marine biologist. A FORMER MARINE BIOLOGIST! Seriously, isn’t that what everyone wants to be when they grow up?

No way man, that’s like so 15 years ago.

These days, they dream of roasting coffee.

Posted in Capital Shots, Coffee, Food, Shopping, There's something about Salem, These are the people in my neighborhood, Uncommon gifts | 5 Comments »

A date with my city councilor

Saturday, March 14th, 2009

cannondrawing

As a journalist, I’m kind of old-school. I hate the telephone and I sometimes insist on meeting people in person. I’m a mess on the phone — all my charm disappears.

Meeting people in person is not always possible, but in a town/city/environ as big/small/accommodating as Salem, I apparently have a city councilor who is willing to have coffee with me for two hours on a Friday afternoon and talk with me about how Salem has changed in the past 40 years.

That man is Bob Cannon.

(By the way, only two councilors responded to my inquiry about the other story I’m working on, Salem’s urban chicken movement. Bob invited me to coffee).

More to come on that, but in the meantime, I give you Bob Cannon’s illustration of Oregon. Among little sketches of Oregon — and I’ve received many since moving here in December, I think Bob’s has a particular charm. For one, he did it on the corner of a Salem Monthly. But also, it has a big dot for Bend, where he is from, and has clearly outlined the region of Oregon that pretty much runs the state, with Salem in the middle.

Maps are great filters of the world.

Posted in Coffee, There's something about Salem | No Comments »

Falling for Silver Falls

Thursday, March 12th, 2009

silverfalls

You can hear them before you see them. The sound hits you like a crowd roaring in the forest just around the trail head. Then, as you turn the corner of  South Falls Trail, it hits you full in the face: Mist rising from hundreds of feet below, and through the hazy glow, the South Falls themselves,  a 177-ft. drop from a millions-year-old precipice into a churning canyon pool.

People visiting Oregon may duck inside coffeehouses to escape the rain, but as far as I can tell, they go to Silver Falls to get struck in the face with it.

It is not difficult to love a waterfall.

They are perfect short-term affairs — fast and furious drama that doesn’t leave a bad taste in your mouth.

The challenge, of course, at Silver Falls, is to love all of them — each and every one of them. To stand with all ten of them long enough to get to know their sound and fury.

The same is true of paintings — you learn most by standing there long enough to let them reveal themselves to you.

Unfortunately, on our trip to Silver Falls, we had just three hours to hike the smaller loop, which means we haven’t even seen them all yet.

(Which means we’re going back).

Posted in Coffee, Travel | 2 Comments »

Press Your Luck

Sunday, March 8th, 2009

frenchpress

Speaking of an obsession with the more marketable objects de France, French Press finally opened on Commercial Street SE yesterday. We stopped by this afternoon to see how they were weathering the heavy press and hype.

The place was totally, totally tauptastic!

As in, the decor is this weird combination of things Americans like about France, tempered by a taupe decorative palette that will offend absolutely no one. Except  me, who hates taupe.

If you’ve made pancakes, you know the cardinal rule: The first one’s always going to suck. So with that in mind, I would say that the crepemasters are doing an excellent job while still not having mastered, perhaps, the French crepe stand guy’s once-around undulating wrist motion that is the hallmark of the best crepe stands.

We had a 3-cup French press coffee  and the Emilee’s Love crepe (obvious choice), which is a sweet crepe filled with Grand Marnier-flambeed bananas, hazelnut chocolate spread, topped with chocolate, hazelnuts, and served with a wispy mountain of whipped Chantilly cream.

I was sorry we were sharing it.

emileeslove

Posted in Coffee, Food | 4 Comments »

See you in another lifetime, brutha.

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

dutch-bros-pic

Dear Dutch Brothers Guy:

I don’t know how you do it.

I don’t know how you can seem so hoppingly happy every time I roll into the drive-thru window at the Dutch Brothers Market Street location in Salem. Perhaps you are still jazzed up from your first latte of the day. Perhaps you are just doing your job.

In the two months that I have been frequenting your little blue parking lot kiosk I have learned a lot about you. That you have worked in all six Dutch Brothers locations in Salem. That you are a young father and work full-time crating coffee drinks that rock my face off. That you have lived in Salem all of your life and still love it here. That you’ve got the fastest hands in the West. That you make the best coffee I’ve ever drunk out of a plastic cup (and no, I don’t want a straw).

If it weren’t for our conversations, which clearly label you as a real human with a story, I might think that the Dutch Brothers corporation farms its baristas — like robots farming humans in the Matrix. How else could they have hired people that are so preternaturally peppy?

I refuse to believe that your interest in my day is merely part of your job description, that our jibber jabber is the “solid communication” touted on the Dutch Brothers website.

So I thank you, Dutch Brothers Guy. I didn’t need anything else in life to connect coffee to my happiness, but you have given me something to look forward to the one time a week that I can afford to buy a real coffee drink. I’m only sorry I can’t come more often.

Posted in Coffee | 7 Comments »

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