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You are here: Home / Travels / Cafes

Cafes

by jlcollinsnh 24 Comments - Updated: April 12, 2013

Cafe in Paris

Un Cafe du Paris

Parisians love their cafes. Over this past Christmas we were there. It was December. It was cold. It was damp. It was sometimes raining. And there were the Parisians sitting in their cafes. Outside. We chose the inside seats.

But the last time, some 23 years ago, it was Spring and the weather glorious. We were visiting Johnny. He’d won the “little lotto” and promptly quit his job and moved to Paris to learn French. How could we not visit? There was wine to drink and outdoor cafes to drink it in. Surprisingly, I even remember some of it.

I have always liked cafes. I like the feel of them, their ambiance, their uniqueness and, on the unfortunately all too rare occasions when it’s good, the food. Done well they are warm, friendly, welcoming places that nourish the body and soul. Being a coffee drinker helps.

Although years have passed since I’ve been there, my long time favorite is the Heartland Cafe. It’s located in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It opened right around the time I moved to my little $145 a month studio apartment on Estes Avenue a couple of years after graduating college and finally landing my first “professional” job on Jackson Boulevard at the south edge of the city’s famous Loop. The Heartland was three blocks from my place. Right on the way to the Morse Street Station for the El train that took me to work each day.

heartland cafe 2

The Heartland

It was born with a 1970s counter-culture vibe that survived, if a bit diminished, at least until a few years ago when I was last there. In those early years it was a place of mis-matched tables and chairs, alternative newspapers, wholesome food, strong coffee and cheerful staff. I might have been the only customer to routinely show up in a suit and tie. It was my frequent on-the-way-to-work morning breakfast stop and, in my office duds, they didn’t quite know what to make of me.

I left Rogers Park in 1979 but, during the rest of the years I lived in Chicago, frequently found my way back to the Heartland . During most visits back to the city since then too. For years I’ve searched for its equal.

The cafe in Pie Town a few miles from my pal Wolfgang’s New Mexico ranch came close.

Pie Town

Pie Town back in the day

cafe Pie Town Cafe

Pie Town Cafe, more recently

But since I’ve been there, maybe five years or so back, it has come under new ownership. Seems it now serves only pie. Next time I’m in Pie Town I’ll certainly give it a try. Mmmm. Pie.

And I guess for a meal (and more pie) I’ll also wander over to the Pie-O-Neer Cafe down the road. I haven’t been there but if these guys…

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Hanging at the Pie-O-Neer

..think it’s good enough for them, it’s gonna good enough for me. Maybe I’ll get a chance to meet…

cafe kathy_knapp_and_pies

Kathy Knapp, Proprietress

Looks like a gal worth knowing, I’d say.

But if you want to visit my two current favorites, you’re going to have to get yourself to Cuenca, Ecuador. Trust me. It’ll be worth the trip.

A couple of years back a young woman named Lindsey Burton packed up and left Hawaii for Cuenca by way of Texas. There on the remarkably lovely Plaza de San Sebastian she found a run-down building, signed a long-term lease and began the six-month renovation project that resulted in…

cafe san sebas

Cafe San Sebas

This is what a cafe should be and Lindsey’s efforts put hers right at the top of my short list: Great food, friendly staff (who put up with my wretched Spanish), beautiful design and decorated with local arts and crafts. San Sebas has become a meeting place for expats and Cuencanos alike. The diverse clientel is easy-going and welcoming to strangers. Never in any of my several visits has it failed but that someone would invite me to join them.

If you go be sure to seek out Lindsey, “La Gerente.”  Tell her I sent you and say “hello.” She’s easy to pick out. She’ll be the good-looking blonde.

Next, cross thru Cuenca’s “Old Town” and at Calle Larga 9-40 you’ll find my other favorite:

cafe bananas

Cafe Bananas

Bananas is owned and operated by my pal Alexsondra, a native-born Cuencana, and she’s been at it the last two years or so. This used to be the Kookaburra Cafe, but I’ve only known it in its current form. And in this form it is everything a cafe should be: Great food, warm people, comfortable surroundings. She’s even started serving dinner and the mocha chocolate cake completely sabotaged my weight loss efforts more than once. At breakfast I fancy myself a connoisseur of Huevos Rancheros. I order them almost every time I see them on a menu. Most every time I am disappointed. Not here. I’d make the trip back to Ecuador just for hers.

If you go be sure to seek out Alexsondra. Tell her I sent you and say “hello.” She’s easy to pick out. She’ll be the good-looking brunette. Mmmm. Maybe not so easy: Picking out a specific good looking brunette in Ecuador can be a challenge. But I’m sure you’ll manage.

Finally, life’s not only about where we’ve been but where we’re going. If only to prove I don’t just hang around cafes run by good-looking women, the next time I’m in England I’m going to The Filling Station Cafe:

cafe filling station

As you can see above, my fellow Triumph-riding pal Lake has made the big time; and after only a year of operation. So even if the chance to hang out with him and maybe cage a ride on one of his bikes (he also runs Lakes Escape a motorbike touring company in the Lakes District) weren’t enough, it sounds like the place and its food are officially certified: Outstanding.

It’s enough to have me looking at airfares. (Not that looking at airfares takes all that much with me.)

What you don’t see is that getting this place up and running was no easy task. The local bureaucracy mounted constant hurdles and, as you can read in the announcement above, those were only part of it. But Lake persevered. Now the complainypants have an award winning cafe in their midst. Lucky sods. I can’t wait to get there!

Meanwhile, here’s a video clip with a bit of the flavor: The Filling Station Cafe

OK. Those are a few of mine. Tell me in the comments: What are some of yours?

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Filed Under: Travels Tagged With: restaurants

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Comments

  1. 101 Centavos says

    February 13, 2013 at 6:18 am

    I’ll put in a plug for Italian “bars”. Not bars at all as North Americans would think. Yes, Bars in Italy do sell alcohol, but they also and primarily serve coffee… and pastries, and sandwiches and whatnot. Great places to sit and visit with friends and watch the scenery.

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      February 17, 2013 at 11:24 am

      +1 on that! great places to hang out and watch La Dolce Vida stroll on by..

      Reply
  2. Kraig @ Young Cheap Living says

    February 13, 2013 at 9:31 am

    On a road trip home from North Carolina to Minnesota last spring, we stopped at a place called Hometown Pizza in Shelbyville, KY. From Google, it looks as though it’s a small chain in that area, but either way, it was a pleasing experience and the pizza was great. It was just a little Southern place, but it had a great feel and came to mind when I read this post. They even gave us refills for the road (even if we didn’t order anything to drink in the first place). That kind of thing sticks with you.

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      February 17, 2013 at 11:25 am

      Yep. Sometimes the best are also the most unexpected.

      Reply
  3. Paul says

    February 13, 2013 at 11:05 am

    Boynton-Mckay in Camden, Maine.

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      February 17, 2013 at 11:29 am

      Mmm….

      that’s not all that far from us….

      Reply
  4. Mr. 1500 says

    February 13, 2013 at 12:43 pm

    We lived in the Uptown area of Chicago for a while, so know the Heartland well. Small world!

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      February 17, 2013 at 11:31 am

      Indeed!

      You were just a short ride up to the Morse Street Station, from Wilson if I recall correctly. What years were you there?

      Reply
  5. Oorah-Eric says

    February 13, 2013 at 1:00 pm

    Not so many cafes where I grew up. But one amazing stop on the road that I never fail to hit is Flo’s Diner. http://www.flosdiner.net/ I remember when this place was nothing more than a double-wide and had its character from the truckers always seated at the old fashioned food bar, the smell of strong coffee, and we always joked the spiders nesting in all the windows. In the past 20 years the place has cleaned up a lot but you can still get some killer strong coffee and the food is still served with a chance of cartiac arrest (try the open faced beef of turkey sandwhiches). I had the luck to know the proprieter and all her daughters and what an amazing place they have created, complete with many fond memories.

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      February 17, 2013 at 11:34 am

      just clicked on their website. Wow! Great prices!

      I’ve always liked Upstate NY, but the sky high state taxes would keep me from ever moving there. The Finger Lakes are a beautiful place to visit, though.

      Reply
  6. gumpt1oo says

    February 13, 2013 at 3:14 pm

    I can highly recommend the Filling Station. I call in every time I am in the Keswick area. The food is superb and the service excellent. I have an expanding waistline to prove the food is top notch!

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      February 17, 2013 at 11:35 am

      Thanks for the verification, Gumpt!

      Man. I really do need to make my way over there….

      Reply
  7. Mad Fientist says

    February 14, 2013 at 10:18 pm

    I have to agree with 101 Centavos that Italian bars are pretty amazing. My most memorable cafe experience was being taken to an espresso bar in Rome by an Italian colleague of mine. It was after midnight but the place was packed and everyone was drinking coffee and having a great time. I have no idea how the Italians can sleep after drinking coffee so late because I definitely wasn’t able to.

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      February 17, 2013 at 11:36 am

      of course it was packed after midnight. they were all too wired on caffeine to go home. 🙂

      Reply
  8. femmefrugality says

    February 15, 2013 at 10:11 pm

    They all look wonderful, but I love Cafe San Sebas’s review the best! I love places that are chill like that and put up with foreigners trying to learn a new language. I don’t want anyone to baby me out of using their native language, but it’s certainly nice when people are patient with you!

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      February 17, 2013 at 11:38 am

      It is a wonderful place. Between there and Bananas it took an act of will to try anything else. 🙂

      Reply
  9. Johnny Moneyseed says

    March 11, 2013 at 12:15 pm

    The one in Ecuador looks awesome.. It’s a bit far from Quito. Probably going to have to make a second trip!

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      March 12, 2013 at 12:25 am

      Bananas or Cafe San Sebas? I loved them both. Maybe we’ll have to have another Chautauqua in Cuenca!

      Reply
  10. Jeremy says

    March 29, 2013 at 5:36 pm

    A couple years ago we were in Victoria, BC, Canada, and stumbled upon Tre Fantastico

    Their espresso and lunch were amazing (duck confit salad, pork belly sandwich on fresh pretzel bread) and the chocolate cake is hands down the best we’ve ever had. This was all made in a small kitchen that could barely fit a single person

    Thanks for the recommendations in Ecuador, we’ll have to look them up when we get there

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      March 29, 2013 at 6:50 pm

      Looks like a good enough reason to head to BC to me!

      If you make it to those in Cuenca, be sure to report back!

      Reply
  11. Cativa says

    May 16, 2014 at 8:21 pm

    Late to the party, but I cannot recommend “Our Place” highly enough:
    http://www.yelp.com/biz/our-place-cody
    Biscuits and gravy so good, you’ll think you’ve died and gone to breakfast heaven.

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      May 19, 2014 at 2:33 pm

      No worries Cativa…

      …but we were beginning to wonder if you were going to show up at all! 😉

      Thanks for another reason to make my way back to Wyoming!

      Reply
  12. tifaucz says

    October 29, 2015 at 11:15 am

    If you ever pass by Vicunã in Chile, check out the Oveja Negra https://instagram.com/p/xvd59IDIRt/

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      November 10, 2015 at 5:48 pm

      Wow, that looks like a really cool place, as does Vicuna itself.

      How did you happen to find it?

      Reply

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    • ► January (4)
      • roundup: Some random cool things
      • Stocks — Part XXI: Investing with Vanguard for Europeans
      • Case Study #7: What it looks like when everything financial goes wrong
      • 1st Annual Louis Rukeyser Memorial Market Prediction Contest 2013 results, and my forecast for 2014
  • ► 2013 (40)
    • ► December (4)
      • Closing up for the Holidays, see you in 2014
      • Betterment: a simpler path to wealth
      • Case Study 6: Helping an ill and elderly parent
      • Stocks -- Part XX: Early Retirement Withdrawal Strategies and Roth Conversion Ladders from a Mad Fientist
    • ► November (3)
      • Death, Taxes, Estate Plans, Probate and Prob8
      • Case Study #5: Zero to 2.6 million in 25 years
      • Case Study #4: Using the 4% rule and asset allocations.
    • ► October (3)
      • Republic Wireless and my $19 per month phone plan
      • Case Study #3: Let's get Tom to Latin America!
      • The Stock Series gets its own page
    • ► September (2)
      • Case Study #2: Joe -- off to a fast start!
      • Chautauqua 2013: A Week of Dreams
    • ► August (1)
      • Closing up shop plus an opening at Chautauqua, my new podcast, phone, book and other random cool stuff
    • ► July (1)
      • They Will Kill You For Your Shoes!
    • ► June (4)
      • Stocks -- Part VIII-b: Should you avoid your company's 401k?
      • Shilpan's Seven Habits to Live More with Less
      • Stocks -- Part XIX: How to think about money
      • My path for my kid -- the first 10 years
    • ► May (4)
      • Stocks — Part XVIII: Investing in a raging bull
      • Dining with the Ghosts of Sarah Bernhardt and Alfons Mucha
      • How we finally got the house sold
      • Stocks — Part XVII: What if you can't buy VTSAX? Or even Vanguard?
    • ► April (4)
      • Greetings from Prague & a computer question
      • Swimming with Tigers, a 2nd chance on the Chautauqua, a financial article gets it wrong and I'm off to Prague
      • Storage, Moving and Movers
      • Homeless, and a bit on the strategy of dollar cost averaging
    • ► March (4)
      • Wild Turkeys, Motorcycles, Dining Room Sets & Greed
      • Roots v. Wings: considering home ownership
      • How about that stock market?!
      • The Blog has New Clothes
    • ► February (5)
      • Meet Mr. Money Mustache, JD Roth, Cheryl Reed & me for a Chautauqua in Ecuador
      • High School Poetry, Carnival, cool ads and random pictures that caught my eye
      • Consignment Shops: Best business model ever?
      • Cafes
      • Stocks -- Part XVI: Index Funds are really just for lazy people, right?
    • ► January (5)
      • Social Security: How secure and when to take it
      • Fighting giraffes, surreal landscapes, dancing with unicorns and restoring a Vanagon
      • My plan for 2013
      • VITA, income taxes and the IRS
      • How to be a stock market guru and get on MSNBC
  • ► 2012 (53)
    • ► December (6)
      • See you next year....until then: The Origin of Life, Life on Other Worlds, Mechanical Graveyards, Great Art, Alternative Lifestyles and Finding Freedom
      • Stocks -- Part XV: Target Retirement Funds, the simplest path to wealth of all
      • Stocks -- Part XIV: Deflation, the ugly escort of Depressions.
      • Stocks Part XIV: Deflation, the ugly escort of Depressions.
      • Stocks -- Part XIII: The 4% rule, withdrawal rates and how much can I spend anyway?
      • How I learned to stop worrying about the Fiscal Cliff and you can too.
    • ► November (2)
      • Rent v. owning: A couple of case studies in Ecuador
      • So, what does a month in Ecuador cost anyway?
    • ► October (4)
      • See you in December....
      • Meet me in Ecuador?
      • The Podcast: You can hear me now.
      • Stocks -- Part XII: Bonds
    • ► September (6)
      • Stocks -- Part XI: International Funds
      • The Smoother Path to Wealth
      • Case Study #I: Putting the Simple Path to Wealth into Action
      • Tales of Bolivia: Calle de las Brujas
      • Stocks -- Part X: What if Vanguard gets Nuked?
      • Travels in South America: It was the best of times....
    • ► August (1)
      • Home again
    • ► June (4)
      • Yellow Fever, closing up shop for the summer and heading to Peru y Bolivia
      • I could not have said it better myself...
      • Stocks -- Part IX: Why I don't like investment advisors
      • Happy Birthday, jlcollinsnh; and thanks for the gift Mr. MM!
    • ► May (6)
      • Stocks -- Part VIII: The 401K, 403b, TSP, IRA & Roth Buckets
      • Mr. Money Mustache
      • The College Conundrum
      • Stocks -- Part VII: Can everyone really retire a millionaire?
      • Stocks -- Part VI: Portfolio ideas to build and keep your wealth
      • Stocks -- Part V: Keeping it simple, considerations and tools
    • ► April (6)
      • Stocks -- Part IV: The Big Ugly Event, Deflation and a bit on Inflation
      • Stocks -- Part III: Most people lose money in the market.
      • Stocks -- Part II: The Market Always Goes Up
      • Stocks -- Part 1: There's a major market crash coming!!!! and Dr. Lo can't save you.
      • You can eat my Vindaloo, mega lottery, Blondie, Noa, Israel Kamakawiwo 'Ole, art, film and a ride on the Space Shuttle
      • Where in the world are you?
    • ► March (7)
      • How I lost money in real estate before it was fashionable, Part V: Sold! and the taxman cometh.
      • How I lost money in real estate before it was fashionable, Part IV: I become a Landlord.
      • How I lost money in real estate before it was fashionable, Part III: The Battle is Joined.
      • How I lost money in real estate before it was fashionable, Part II: The Limits of the Law.
      • How I lost money in real estate before it was fashionable, Part I: Impossibly Naive.
      • You, too, can be conned
      • Armageddon and the value of practical skills
    • ► February (6)
      • Rent v. Owning Your Home, opportunity cost and running some numbers
      • The Casanova Kid, a Shit Knife, a Good Book, Having No Regrets, Dark Matter and a bit of Magic
      • What Poker, Basketball and Mike Whitaker taught me about Luck
      • How to Give like a Billionaire
      • Go ahead, make my day
      • Muk Finds Success in Tahiti
    • ► January (5)
      • Travels with "Esperando un Camino"
      • Beanie Babies, Naked Barbie, American Pickers and Old Coots
      • Selling the House and Adventures in Staging
      • The bashing of Index Funds, Jack Bogle and a Jedi dog trick
      • Magic Beans
  • ► 2011 (22)
    • ► December (1)
      • Dividend Growth Investing
    • ► November (2)
      • The Mummy's head, Particle Physics and "Knocking on Heaven's Door"
      • "It's Better in the Wind" or why I ride a motorcycle
    • ► October (1)
      • Lazy Days and School Days
    • ► July (2)
      • The road to Zanzibar sometimes goes thru Ecuador...
      • Johnny wins the lotto and heads to Paris
    • ► June (16)
      • Chainsaws, Elm Trees and paying for College
      • Stuff I’ve failed at: the early years
      • Snatching Victory from the Jaws of Defeat
      • The. Worst. Used. Car. Ever.
      • Top Ten reasons your future is so bright it hurts my eyes to look at it
      • The Most Dangerous Words Your Customer Can Say
      • How not to drown in The Sea of Assholes
      • What we own and why we own it
      • The Ten Sales Commandments
      • My ever so formal and oh so dry CV
      • How I failed my daughter and a simple path to wealth
      • The Myth of Motivation
      • Why you need F-you money
      • My short attention span
      • Why I can’t pick winning stocks, and you can’t either
      • The Monk and the Minister

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