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| Photo compliments of Laguna Coffee Company |
The café culture, perfected by
Europeans and promulgated by Starbucks, is integral to social interaction. We chat
with friends over coffee, or tea. We hold meetings. We linger with a book or computer.
Friendships are forged. First dates.
However unlike the iconic bar,
where one goes to engage, the café also offers an opportunity to maintain a
distance, if preferred, enjoy an eavesdrop, or write, and each one has its own
cultural identity.
We begin with Zinc. Populated largely by
locals, many regulars, who cluster under iconic umbrellas or hide in the tiny
eatery. Zinc is our gourmet café, replete with elegant gifts and dramatically tall
vases filled with exquisite bouquets to set the scene. Stage directed to
perfection, for those who wish to see and be seen.
Down the street, at Anastasia’s, a
more intimate scene, where an artsy crowd favors proximity to fashion,
lingering over beautiful food served to paper-topped tables [perfect for
scribbling notes or numbers.] Patrons there socialize, philosophize, or seal
business deals. The owner, Enrique, is an enigmatic Mexican with a wicked sense of humor and great humility, we love the place just for that.
The Coffee Pub near the Post Office
might be called the un-Zinc, for those who would rather hang out with a
newspaper or colleague. I’m told barefoot patrons at the Orange Inn get high on
organic coffee. Jean Paul’s Goodies, barely visible in North Laguna, is the
place for Francophiles, and Café Vienna in South Laguna the final outpost
before Pain du Monde in Dana Point, the place locals call their own and a personal favorite [the healthy harvest muffin is a must.]
Regulars at Laguna Coffee Company favor
fresh roasted blends and Saturday morning jazz. Close by, Heidelberg serves as
an anchor for Hip District workers and shoppers, and a stop for tourists en
route to town, who might have missed Koffee Klatch two blocks south, tucked way
like a Moroccan teashop, where the pastry case beckons and cushioned banquettes
are perfect for curling up with a good book or a close friend. And, by the way,
the only coffee café open at night.
For those who prefer a bitter
blend, there is always Starbucks, in this town with a view of Main Beach. And so it goes wherever you are, Starbucks versus the others, if you are lucky enough to have such diverse coffee cafe culture.
Café culture is less about thirst
than atmosphere. We choose in the moment where to socialize, or not, or gravitate
to the same spot like swallows to their nest. Where we land reflects who we are
or who we want to be, as much as where we live or what we wear, and as integral
to our society as the art that lines the walls at just about every café in
town. In fact, it has little to do with coffee in the end, especially for tea
drinkers, like me.
