While I'm on a Stumptown kick...
Since coffee is all I ever seem to post about anymore, here's a copy of the "yelp" review I did for the Stumptown Cafe located in SE Portland (Belmont location).
I stand in a line full of young Portland hipsters and wait to order my coffee from young hipster Stumptown baristas. I hope they don't notice how un-hip I am. But really, I just want coffee.
The french press of the day is one of the Guatemala Finca El Injerto varieties, so I go with that. I add a little raw sugar and half-n-half 'cuz that's just how I roll. I french press my own Stumptown every morning, so this better not disappoint! Not to worry -- the coffee is rich and smooth, with chocolate and light berry undertones -- not even a hint of bitterness. I've found coffee nirvana.
I got a pastry, too -- some sort of croissant thing -- it was good, but I don't really remember it. Mostly I remember the coffee.
Somehow my wife and I were able to find a small empty table. We sat and talked... and watched hipsters... and wondered if the hipsters were watching us. The decor was stark and cold, but I wasn't there for the decor. I was there for the coffee.
We eventually finished our breakfasts and relinquished our table to the next hipsters in line. But only after I got one more cup of coffee to go.
The five stars are for the coffee. That's the only reason I went, and it's all I really cared about, and it remains the best cup of coffee I've ever had (ok, I guess it was two cups).
-An Unapologetic Coffee Snob
