THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 21, 1994 TAG: 9410210067
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JENNIFER DZIURA, TEENOLOGY WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 176 lines
WHAT THE SODA fountain and the drive-in movie once were, the coffee house has become. The word ``coffee'' no longer sparks images of the muddy instant Maxwell House beverage Mom and Dad drink in the morning to keep from falling face-first into the ``in'' boxes on their desks; coffee houses have become as much of a hangout as the mall, Taco Bell or the beach.
``Southern Pecan decaf iced latte,'' is now a standard order in many teenagers' favorite haunts, as opposed to the ``coffee, two sugars,'' of the olden days.
In an effort to make your coffee consumerism more enjoyable, I have personally visited several local coffee houses, attempted to describe the atmosphere of each and dutifully recorded the price for a regular/medium cappuccino just in case you'd rather not blow a minimum-wage salary.
Chris Bowers, 16, and a junior at Princess Anne High School, accompanied me on my excursions, making terse observations and playing opera in the car. My analysis:
The Perfect Grind Specialtie Coffees and Pastries
Location: Waterside Mall, Norfolk
Coffees brewed daily: 3
Cappuccino: $1.95
Appropriate discussion matter: The latest episode of ``Seinfeld''
The Perfect Grind is located in a little kiosk in the middle of the Waterside. This is, of course, convenient. The mall atmosphere does, however, preclude any calm, rational discussion of, say, Greek drama or Jungian theory, as such discussions are more productive in environments in which at least 50 percent of pertinent comments are uninterrupted by wailing children and people ordering sub sandwiches.
Chris, my coffee-tasting companion, was quite ecstatic that The Perfect Grind served strawberry bow ties, a reddish type of pastry. About the coffee, he succinctly stated: ``It's really hot. I mean really. I've never had coffee this hot before.''
Perhaps the inordinate temperature of the coffee was part of a mallwide plot to keep patrons inside as long as possible, the theory being that if one's coffee is too hot, one will sit and wait for it to cool, leaving one nothing to do but go and buy things.
Chris asked me to note that the establishment in question had ``cool stuff'' to put in the coffee.
Rumley's Coffee and Tea Co.
Location: 3198 Pacific Ave., Virginia Beach
Coffees brewed daily: 3
Cappuccino: $1.75
Appropriate discussion matter: Recitation of ``Jabberwocky''
Rumley's is a tiny place with a light, cheerful atmosphere. It may, in fact, be populated by Care Bears after closing. The tables, of which Chris was quite fond, were copper-colored; he also admired the tall glass in which his iced cappuccino was served.
Because of its small size, however, Rumley's is not a good place to discuss recent hernia surgeries or anything else highly personal in nature, because the person working behind the counter and the other one to three patrons will have full knowledge of every syllable you utter, and you might just run into these people later in life, which could develop into a rather awkward situation.
First Colony Coffee and Tea Co.
Locations: 204 W. 22nd St., Norfolk, and Hilltop East, Virginia Beach
Coffees brewed daily: 4-5
Cappuccino: $2.75
Appropriate discussion matter: (Norfolk) Archetypal images in opera; (Virginia Beach) Whose turn it is to mow the lawn.
First Colony is the Wal-Mart of coffee houses - it's big, it's clean and there's an abundance of selection. Both First Colonies are not only coffee houses but also full-blown restaurants, and both sell T-shirts, umbrellas and other such merchandise, but in a subtle and tactful way.
First Colony in Norfolk is conducive to intelligent discourse, reparation of the ozone hole, etc. First Colony in Virginia Beach is quite lovely as a restaurant but is somehow lacking in coffee house atmosphere. It's like you walk in and say: ``Oh, look, there's my typing teacher at that table over there. And there's Buffy, reading Seventeen. My parents come here a lot.''
The Happy Hog Coffee & Tea Gallery
Location: 3101 Virginia Beach Blvd., in Rose Hall Shoppes
Coffees brewed daily: 3
Cappuccino: $1.75
Appropriate discussion matter: Rush Limbaugh
Neon ``open'' sign. Pig paraphernalia. Coffee in styrofoam cups. Brochures about historical houses. No, these aren't new lyrics to ``My Favorite Things.'' The Happy Hog is kind of a two-in-one deal; it's both a coffee house and an art gallery for local artists. The aforementioned pig paraphernalia adorns those portions of the walls that are not usurped by watercolors. The whole place is really dark and severe. If I were depressed, my subconscious might lead me to The Happy Hog, where I could sit with my styrofoam cup of cappuccino and write about the futility of life. In sentence fragments.
P.J. Baggan Java Cafe
Location: 960 Laskin Road, Virginia Beach
Coffees brewed daily: 3
Cappuccino: $1.69
Appropriate discussion matter: What happened to Mr. Ed after his show ended.
``Make sure you write that it's like a gourmet deli,'' said Chris, ``with lots of wine and pictures of vineyards.''
The Java Cafe is relaxed and beachlike, offering probably hundreds of various types of liquid and a plethora of bagel selections. Chris was impressed with the decorating scheme, which was kind of teal, black and silver. He even liked the music, despite the fact that he usually listens only to Beethoven.
Gloria Jean's Coffee Beans
Locations: Lynnhaven Mall, Virginia Beach, and Greenbrier Mall, Chesapeake
Coffees brewed daily: 3
Cappuccino: $2.50
Appropriate discussion matter: British politics
No matter how much one despises the mall, disgruntled shoppers and the design of Gloria Jean's Coffee Beans, it is difficult to complain about the excellent coffee. The iced caramel supreme with whipped cream and sprinkles is especially good. The only problem is that there are no tables at Gloria Jean's. Honestly, now, what kind of planning is that? It's like designing the Louvre without a ceiling. The ramifications of this are that, at the Lynnhaven location, one must either pace back and forth with one's coffee in front of the entrance to Leggett's or sit down on a bench and watch the escalators.
Cafe 21
Location: 742 W. 21st St., Norfolk
Coffee specialties: elaborate alcoholic or non-alcoholic coffee beverages.
Cappuccino: $1.95
Appropriate discussion matter: Marxism and classical literature
By the time we reached Cafe 21, Chris was no longer talking. It seems that he finally realized that anything he said could end up in the newspaper. He thus limited his comments to small talk concerning classical music and Amish furniture, in that order.
Our Cafe 21 excursion, however, was distinguished by the presence of a photographer. ``This has a jazzy feel to it,'' the photographer said. ``The only thing missing is a little smoke in the air. Seems like there should be a chessboard and maybe a debate about communism going on.''
As Chris and I are under 21 and will be until roughly the next ice age, the alcoholic coffee drinks were not a possibility. I was, however, quite content with my cafe melange, which is espresso with whipped cream.
Cafe 21 was the only establishment Chris and I patronized that served cuisine such as shrimp and calamari. It's really more a restaurant than a coffee house.
Cuppa Jo's Coffee House
Location: 301 25th St., Virginia Beach
Coffees brewed daily: strudel cake, toasted almond and a couple of other flavors are usually kept brewed, but they'll brew whatever flavor you request.
Cappuccino: $2.25
Appropriate discussion matter: Random oddities. For example, when a set of twins marries another set of twins, how much alike will their children look?
From the art on the walls to the biological signs for man and woman on the bathroom doors, Cuppa Jo's was easily the trendiest coffee house on our tour, but in a comfortable way. Chris and I were so impressed that we consumed caffeine-laden items with reckless abandon, including the espresso milkshake and the Java sundae, both of which were excellent. Even the menu at Cuppa Jo's was entertaining. It offered a ``veritable plethora of daily dessert specials,'' and the listing for tuna salad promised: ``Don't worry. We didn't hurt any dolphins.''
Chris doesn't play chess, but he was impressed that a chess set was left out for any intellectual patrons.
Now that you've read my guide to coffee houses, your life will be incomplete until you visit a few. So put this article in your glove compartment for easy reference, gather your friends and go out for coffee. Just don't try all of the places at once like Chris and I did, because you'll end up consuming way too much caffeine. MEMO: Jennifer Dziura is a junior at Cox High School. Her regular column
appears bimonthly in Teenology. If you'd like to comment on her column,
call INFOLINE at 640-5555 and enter category 6778 or write to her at
4565 Virginia Beach Blvd., Virginia Beach, Va. 23462. ILLUSTRATION: JOHN JOSEPH KOTLOWSKI/ Staff color photos
Jennifer Dziura sips an iced coffee at Cuppa Jo's Coffee House in
Virginia Beach.
Photo
GARY C. KNAPP/Staff
Jennifer Dziura and friend Chris Bowers sample the coffee and
desserts at Cafe 21 in Norfolk.
by CNB