KC Perky

Tea Drops, previously of Westport only, has recently made a splash down in Power and Light.  Good for them.  I love their first shop, the only thing that would make it better would be to have as many samples lying around as Teavana does at Oak Park Mall.  They’ve moved into the space in the H&R Block building where a Starbucks used to be.  You know, just 2 blocks away from the quazi-Starbucks in that hotel and just 3 blocks away from the Starbucks with the one great chair.  So, this is a good thing.

Keeping with TeaDrops’ mission, the downtown branch is taking it upon themselves to educate us about a new tea every day.  I encourage you to subscribe to their blog, as it will certainly broaden your caffeinated morning beverage horizons.

Now on with the review and the explanation of the silly title.

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About darn time.

And no, I’m not talking about the delay to post this review (although it was substantial…).  I’m talking about the space at 310 Southwest Blvd.  Ever since Coffee Girls moved their shop down to Waldo, the Crossroads has been far too decaffeinated.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled YJ’s and Mildred’s held strong.  But it just seemed … off.

I’m amused that they chose the name ‘Crossroads Coffeehouse’, after Rev! had that as a working name for about 9 months.  But that’s where the joking stops.  Crossroads Coffeehouse is a treat to visit.

One thing that is immediately apparent when you walk in, is that the proprietors A) know what makes a good shop, B) had the money to make it so, C) had the restraint to not go over the top.

Power outlets every few feet, and where there aren’t… power strips.

A mix of comfy chairs, meeting tables, solo tables, bar stools… you want to sit in it, they’ve got it.  Rocking chairs!  And if you’re bold enough, an acoustic guitar to casually play.

They seem to have settled upon a new-to-me bean, Intelligentsia Coffee.  Bold move, considering we’ve got great beans in both Parisi and Roastarie, right here in KC.  But the taste doesn’t disappoint.  The espresso tasted good; both the beans and the barista did their things.

And of course, friendly enough people running the place.  All in all, a good morning coffee.

I wanted to try the yogurt+fruit+granola, but wasn’t that hungry today.  But it certainly looked good.  On the flip side, they didn’t seem to have much in the way of food or snacks for mid-day non-coffee cravings.  That’s fine though.  I’d much rather go to LuLu’s for that.

In order of discovery!

Coffee Art

Coffee Art is alive and well in KC, and here’s proof.  I unfortunately have no idea what shop Lesa and her sister were drinking at, but, yeah.  What a beauty.

Starbucks is trimming management.  They claim no baristas will be laid off, but I suspect it is only a matter of time till branches start to feel the pinch.  Its unfortunate, but I fear coffee shops in general will be feeling the pinch of this economic down turn, more so than any other type of food service.

How Coffee Works.  A brief history of coffee, how its made, how decaf is made (worthless), and everything else.  There’s a collalary documentary on Discovery channel some times if you want to watch it.  Pop quiz: Which is the only US state to grow coffee?

Coffee, as told by napkins.  Back in December a NYT guy had a lot of fun telling a coffee story, illustrated by drawing with coffee onto napkins.  This is old news by now (2 months is forever on the internet), but if you missed it, the illustrations and story are pretty amusing.

Twitter brews up business.  Hey KC coffee shop owners, want to improve your customer’s experience?  Try what this shop did: allow ordering via Twitter.  If anybody does this, please, please, PLEASE let me know @mildweed (or this post).  I will SO tweet you some orders, as would the rest of the Social Media Club of KC, probably.

Boozefish goes MORE European with “Le plaisir de jour” (aka Boozefish Brunch).  Now on Saturdays, you can get very special espresso along with authentic crepes.  Of note, its only from 10-2, so don’t wake up toooooo early on Saturday.

Wired Waldo.  Finally back to KC coffee shops specifically, Waldo is about to explode with coffee shops.  Silly me, till this article was published a couple days ago, I only knew about one of these.  As far as I can tell, there are only a few parts of town with this kind of density: Downtown, Crossroads, 39th St / Westport, The Plaza, and JCCC.  Something tells me that Waldo doesn’t have the kind of coffee traffic to keep all 3 alive.  Location, location, location, people.

Also, I’m posting some map updates right now.  Thanks for all the tips Kay, Darrell, Mike and Bret, keep ‘em comin in to scott@kcperky.com:

Bean Counter Cafe, 9019 S Highway 7, Lee’s Summit, MO 60464
Dean & Deluca, 4700 West 119th St, Leawood, KS
Kansas City Coffee Company, 1807 East 123rd Terrace, Olathe, Kansas 66061
Java Crossing, 8830 West 95th Street, Overland Park, Kansas 66212
Latte Land, 7224 W 135th St, Overland Park, KS 66223 (Where Beanology used to be)

Its getting hard to keep up with all the Latte Land locations.  They’re possibly the city’s most successful local coffee chain.

No longer a full coffee shop, Planet Cafe has been downgraded to just a myspace page. They’ve been closed since June 29th. Kudos to AMNewsBoy for the tip.

Anybody need some run-down furniture?

In the productive department, The Broadway Roasting Company’s new location seems to be well underway. They’ve already closed down their east Westport location. This new location will be in the old firehouse just north of Broadway and Westport, near the BP.

Finally!  A new shop to really get excited about.  Songbird Cafe.

Hiding in the Fairfax District of Kansas City, KS for the last 4 months, Songbird Cafe seems to have brought the spirit of YJ’s Snack Shop to ‘The Other KC’.  Don’t get me wrong, The Q Brew in KCK is an endearing shop of its own accord, but its not a place I’d cross over for.  What aspects of YJ’s spirit do I see reflected in Songbird?  The non-assuming feel of the shop.  The lunch menu with just one meal on it per day (today: BBQ pulled pork).  The friendly-as-get-out service.  The clientele are real people too, not your average coffee-shop junkies (… you know, like me).

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Bella39, a brand new restaurant and ‘coffee shop’ on W 39th St was originally slated to open down in the River Market, right next door to Eljay’s.  Their main thrust is local, fresh food, trying to be all eco-friendly.  Farmers markets and whatnot.  When they were planning on opening on Delaware St, the coffee shop was not a part of the concept, they were right next door to one.  It should be no surprise then, that this morning, they continued to treat the coffee as an afterthought.

Do not let what I say next affect your perception of their food or juice drinks, which I’m sure are supurb.  After all, InkKC said Bella’s watermelon sippers are awesome, and their menu looks quite respectable.

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Cafe Nouri, the coffee shop with a heart, has closed.  They were a wonderful little shop that not only had good coffee, but gave a portion of their proceeds to needy people in Africa.  Sadly, this wasn’t sustainable.  Perk Up has now opened their second Grand Blvd location in its stead.  We’ll see which kind of Perk Up this becomes:  the good kind or the bad kind.  The owner is still working at this location, so the coffee and service are still good.  Lets see what happens once its flying on its own.

What would this city do for coffee without God? A Cup Above is yet another installment of the church-group-fronted coffee shop series. I suppose that its not entirely a bad thing, as coffee shops have a tendancy to be barely-or-un-profitable. They need a 501c3 status to stay afloat.

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Know how places will sometimes subscribe to magazines and just leave them laying around? Or maybe if they’re Magazines And Coffee, carry more mags than Barnes & Noble? The new cafe, Rev!, doesn’t subscribe to any. Particularly, not Rev! Magazine. I am shocked and appalled, I tell you, SHOCKED.

Personally, I was excited that Rev! finally opened. That “Coming Soon: Crossroads Coffee House” banner taunted me for way too long. Back on March 24, they finally opened. And a solid opening it has been. Right from the first week, their coffee has been good, the service friendly, and the atmosphere quite pleasant.  Plenty of power outlets around for using their WiFi.  Extra bonus points to Rev! for having the little coat hooks on the wall near the tables.  Reminds me of the handy under-bar coat hooks at McFaddens.  That’s right, check under there next time.  SO handy.

Rev! managed to get open for the first big First Friday of the year (May 4) and have a good gallery showing. Word is that next month they’ll have live music on top of the art. Certainly a solid addition to the overall Crossroads scene.

[map to Rev! Cafe and Gallery]

Even more turnover! Java Time at Union Station is no more. The Bistro at Union Station has picked up its duties in a small way with this little cafe next to their main dining area.  Creative geniuses came up with the name of the new shop… Union Cafe. The coffee is much like the name: so-so, but gets the job done. The cinnamon rolls on the other hand… fabulous.

[map to Union Cafe]