why does the world fall over itself to find love when love is right there, staring it in the face?
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self-portrait.
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ohhh Theology Ryan Gosling…
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David & Ruth Anne, Spark Society’s braddah-sista horn section
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Shattered Glass, Toronto
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"We don’t like to put hands and feet on love. When love is a theory,it’s safe, it’s free of risk. But love in the brain changes nothing…love is too beautiful a thing to keep locked up behind a forehead like a prisoner…love does things."Donald Miller - foreword to Love Does by Bob Goff (via amatteroftheheart)
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Coffeeshops in Hamilton (UPDATE)
About a month ago I posted a review of the pros and cons of Hamilton’s coffeeshops. (http://godarlinggo.tumblr.com/post/19971306182/coffeeshops-in-hamilton) Since then I have had the opportunity to visit a couple of more coffeeshops in the city and want to post my thoughts on those places as well.
1. Red Crow Coffee.
I know I have already posted about Red Crow Coffee, but since I had made that post, there has been an update. Red Crow now takes debit and credit! yay!
2. Cannon Coffee Co. (On the corner of Ottawa and Cannon)
Pros:
-Facebook: Most days, Cannon will post their menu on Facebook. They change their menu everyday, and feature different dishes. Some people may consider this a con, but I feel it’s a pro because it’s exciting to see the different dishes you could try and the different unique things they’ll have. Either way, it’s nice to have Cannon’s menu pop up on my newsfeed on a regular basis, and it’ll certainly influence my decision to go to the coffeeshop to try the food they have featured.
-The food: They make waffle sandwiches. Holy shit. This is amazing. Why on earth did none of us ever think of WAFFLE sandwiches!? I went in there today and had a gruyere waffle sandwich with ham and apples. Absolutely divine.
-Friendly, friendly owners, nice atmosphere.
-They pour their coffee into one of those ceramic filter things which then drops down into the mug. I don’t claim to be a coffee connoisseur, nor do I know how this makes the coffee better exactly, but it looks really cool, and I feel like it should make the coffee better by nature. And the coffee IS really good.
Cons:
-They only take cash, and there isn’t any nearby banks to my knowledge. At least no TD banks…
-Coffee is expensive. $2.25.
-Parking. There is no free parking close to the Cannon. There is a huge lot half a block up Cannon with really cheap parking, which means it’s easy to park and find space, however this lot is closed on Fridays and Saturdays because of the Ottawa St. Farmer’s Market.
-I wish they had more space. Their location is great, being on the corner of Cannon and Ottawa, and Ottawa has a lot of nifty shops on it, but the coffeeshop is small and can fill up pretty fast.
2. Radius (James St. South)
Pros:
-Location. James St. South is a cool and pretty street. There’s an awesome book store across the street. The inside of their coffeeshop is huge and spacious, with really high ceilings. It looks really cool and clean and awesome, and very pretty.
-Parking. It’s the same situation as Red Crow. 3hr FREE parking just a block away on Charlton, Duke, McNab, and Park St.
-It feels like they put a lot of energy into looking and feeling professional, which is good for the people they are looking to attract to their business.
Cons:
-Expensive. Golly it’s expensive.
-They’ve also JUST opened, like a month ago, so I felt like they are still working on things. I don’t know how to describe it, but you know what I mean? You feel like they’re still getting a system figured out and training people and learning themselves. I’ll go back in a month or so and see how they’ve hammered things out.
4. The Baltimore House (King William, close to John St.)
Pros:
-The space: They have a REALLY cool looking space. It’s full of antique chairs and couches, an antique pump organ, oil lamps, candles, antique pictures on the walls, and tables. Plus the space itself is huge. They put a lot of time and energy into making a really awesome looking atmosphere and it pays off.
-Open Mics: Every week they put on an open mic that attracts a wide range of musicians. Regular musicians come out every week to it, and every so often some different ones come out as well, but either way the people that attend are generally quite good musicians and really nice people too. :)
-Licensed: A lot of coffeeshops are licensed. But these guys have such a great atmosphere you just want nothing more than a glass of red wine or scotch and an intellectual conversation on an antique couch. You feel just so frigging awesome.
-They serve their coffee and tea and stuff on cute little trays with little spoons!
-Friendly lovely staff. :)
-Rad place to throw parties. I went to an art crawl party there and it was awesome.
Cons:
-I had a sandwich there once. It wasn’t the best sandwich I have ever had. BH’s strength isn’t in their food I don’t think. But they have other strengths. Maybe I should have tried a different sandwich.
-Parking. Because I live two minutes away I just walk to BH. But that’s also because there’s no free parking nearby. Lots of lots though with paid parking.
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Sebastien Preschoux - Color Theory, 2009
