What's the deal with The New Deal Café?

Name: The New Deal Café

Location: 5250 NE Halsey, Portland

Hours:
Weekdays 7am – 4pm, Weekends 8am – 4pm.

Review: As you may know I’m always looking for the most perfect place to enjoy a latte and get some $#!* done. It’s difficult to find a place with good light, plenty of tables, lots of outlets, great food, relaxed atmosphere and where I feel comfortable sitting for a couple hours to do the things I need to do. This place comes awfully close to “Unicorn” status—it meets all these expectations and offers up even more. This is one of my current favorite places to do homework, and I’m sure the staff can verify that I practically live there! There are plenty of outlets so you don’t have to fight others for your right to compute. The layout of the place allows for both work and family gatherings, the food is scrumptious, and the coffee is caffeinated. Well that last one’s not a surprise, but it’s certainly a necessity, right? It’s little jewels in Portland like this one that make me glad I don’t have a huge readership of this blog or I’d never get a table!

Wifi: Yes indeedy.

Web page: http://www.thenewdealcafe.com/

Price Range: $-$$

Bean: Stumptown

Leaf: Tao of Tea

Food: Breakfast all day and Lunch starting at 11am, a hearty selection of delicious choices with specials that change regularly. They’re quite willing to make adjustments for those of us with dietary restrictions and their ingredients are fresh and well paired. The specials usually include two breakfast, two lunch and two soup options. Breakfast scrambles are served with home fried potatoes and a biscuit, and strawberry freezer jam is available at every table to add to the fun.

Vegan/Vegetarian: They have vegetarian options, and are willing to change things around and switch out meats for vegetarian sausage. The breakfasts do tend to be egg and cheese based, so vegan friends may have a little more of a challenge finding something here, though there are two different kinds of oatmeal and several salads that may do the trick.

Beer/wine: Nope. Just caffeine!

Music: Varies quite a bit, tends to be upbeat and fun. I’ve heard Dolly Parton’s rolling melodies more than once over the speakers.

Art: Rotating shows, often with an illustrative or clean line flair. Currently there are several small-ish letterpress prints of household or common items done in simple lines, matted with pastel patterned paper in white frames. There are also depression era posters and a mural in the children’s play area that give this place a friendly family feel with a nod to hipster ethics of whole foods and simple urban living.

Crowd: A wide variety of folks over the course of the day. Some are professionals on lunch from the nearby hospital and medical center (Providence), many students and writers with laptops, and lunchtime tends to bring in families to enjoy a meal together.

Kid friendly: This place is one of the best one’s I’ve seen yet for kids to come along. The café is large, and the space is divided into two areas, one with tables and plenty of outlets, the other with booths and a fairly large play area with plenty of toys. This means those with families can be close by to their kids, but those trying to work without distraction can be a little farther away from the giggles and squeaks.

Extras: There’s also a lovely back patio area with several tables and a nice mix of dappled shade and sun, for those who enjoy dining al fresco!

Rating: ****

Date / Time of visit (s): I practically live there, but most recently July 26th, 2011

Old School Portland For the Win: Anna Bannana's

Anna Bannana’s Northwest

Location: 1214 Northwest 21st Avenue, Portland

Hours:
Weekdays 6am – 9pm, Weekends 8am – 9pm.

Review: There are few coffee shops that I care more deeply about. Anna’s has been a favorite for many years (ZOMG! 15 years or so!), and is an example of the Portland I grew up in. It’s comfy but I still get work done, it’s intellectual without being pretentious, it’s quirky without getting caught up in its own shtick. There’s a basement room that reminds me of the dark underworld nooks that I we used to overtake as a crowd and play crazy board games into the night in my high school years. The upstairs has a great mix of tables and soft couches or chairs for your own perfect study mix. There’s a smoke free front porch for those who like the daystar, and there’s a covered smoking area out back for those who enjoy those old days of coffee and cigarettes. In the back room, make sure to look up and notice the flying pigs on the ceiling. And don’t forget to try their famous drink: a mix of espresso and chai you can request by saying “Doot da doo me.” Come and support this local favorite!

Wifi: You betcha.

Web page: http://annabannanascafe.com/

Price Range: $-$$

Bean: Café Del Arte

Leaf: Tao of Tea

Food: Soup, pastries and bagels, overstuffed sandwiches brimming with spinachy goodness, and my personal favorite for warm weather: an açai smoothie served with granola. YUMMO.

Vegan/Vegetarian: LOTS of drink options, soy, rice, hemp… you name it. For a snack there are some solid options… my favorite is a bagel with chipotle hummus, spinach and tomato.

Beer/wine: Nope. Just caffeine!

Music: Excellent selection, chosen by the barista. Music I’ve heard here often is jazz, gogol bordello, Brazilian music, massive attack… all sorts of interesting stuff.

Art: Rotating shows of local art. Often surreal or with an urban edge. Currently dark oil abstract paintings in rich earth tones.

Crowd: Intellectual, alternative, a fair amount of writers. As the night gets later the crowd gets younger, and takes over the basement room.

Kid friendly: You could bring your kids, but there’s no real play space. Instead this is more of an adult friendly spot to get some serious work done, or some serious goofing off done, depending on what you’re up for.

Extras: If you are a twitter fan, follow one of Anna’s longstanding (and devilishly handsome) baristas, Ike, for updates on his excellent music choices and a secret word of the day that will get you 10% off your drink and make you look like a super spy. Follow him at baristaike.

Rating: ****

Insiders Tip!

Hello my dearios,

It's finals time, so I'm practically camping out at my favorite local coffee spots. One of my favorite study environments is the legendary Anna Banana's at 1214 Northwest 21st Avenue. I'll write a more involved review soon--a spot so great, Rachael Ray gave it good mention when she visited Portland for one of her many food network shows.

The reason I feel the need to share with y'all ASAP, is that Ike, one of the excellent baristas at Anna's has started a twitter account in which he posts a "special word of the day." Look like a super spy when you order, and receive a 10% discount until the end of Ike's shift.

To follow him, check out Barista Ike on twitter! And today's word is Jimmerson until 5pm!

Now go out and get caffeinated, y'all!

NOTE TO NEW READERS

Please pardon my dust, i'm still working out the design so that everything on the page is visible. I apologize for the inconvenience.

The Ugly Mug

The Ugly Mug is the kind of place that welcomes students and community members alike. The bathroom has all sorts of flyers and business cards of events ranging from the gamut from traditional to transcendental. The outlet to table ratio is high, so it’s a great place for getting some work done, assuming you can find a table in this gem. It’s well out of the way, being in the center of Sellwood, which has kept it from being too overrun. Nonetheless, I’ve never been in there when it was empty and the last time I was there I was surrounded by hipsters. Then again, it was finals week…

Location: 8017 SE 13th Ave in Sellwood.

Hours: Mon-Fri 6:30am – 8pm
Sat-Sun 7am – 8pm

Wifi: Of course!

Web page: www.uglymugpdx.com

Price Range: ** (Reasonable)

Bean: Stumptown. The house was full bodied and rich, without becoming bitter. I didn’t even need much milk in it, and I’m a creamy coffee fan.

Leaf: yes! Several varieties of loose-leaf teas.

Food: mostly breads and pastries, two kinds of quiche.

Vegan/Vegetarian: Both Rice and Soy milk available at a small charge.

Beer/wine: Yes, five wines and six beer/ale choices.

Music: Indie singer songwriter type music on the PA.

Art: A new artist every month. This month is large printed photographs of tree bark.

Crowd: Very community friendly. Sometimes a little crowded considering that this space is relatively small, but the people are calm and easygoing. At times swarmed with hipsters.

Kid friendly: There used to be a kid’s nook, but it looks like that’s been moved. The place is pretty small, so not much room for kids to play but a good place to do some coloring or read a story together.

Extras: Check out the row of truly fugly mugs on a high shelf that lines the walls.

Rating: ***