Bikes, Beans & Bordeaux

Bikes is because the owner seems to be a Cycling enthusiast. Notice the bicycles tied up outside where mine is now also tied. Beans is because, like every "great, good place" they serve great coffee and Bordeaux is the region in France where the fruit of the vine is produced. 3B has only been in Winter Park for a few years and is located right across the street from Stardust on Corrine. The husband and wife team, Darryl and Jennifer, have done a great job to create a unique, friendly and clean atmosphere. Sometimes B3 can feel too sterile and not homey enough but it is always a nice change.

As you can see in the picture cycling is always playing on the flat screen above a comfortable seating area. The art on the walls is interesting, the menu includes healthy sandwiches, that always come with jelly beans and carrot sticks. Right now they have fun things on the seasonal menu like waffles topped with mango, coconut and almonds or vegan black bean soup topped with cheddar, red onions and sour cream. I am having a classic Italian Panini with mozzarella, fresh basil and big slabs of tomato on doughy foccacia bread.

Bikes, Beans & Bordeaux is always a great place to meet a friend, study or work on a blog post.

Whole Foods

These are some friends of mine from Seminary days and The Geneva School. We recently gathered at Whole Foods to discuss languages, books, travels, graduate school, ideas and theology to name a few. One might ask why we would gather at a grocery store but Whole Foods has made an attempt at creating "place". Even now I am enjoying a fresh squeezed juice and a sandwich while writing in this blog, using the free internet and sitting in a comfortable chair. At Whole Foods you can buy your oatmeal, enjoy food from the hot bar, get a massage and use the wi-fi or just have lunch with a friend. These new seating arrangements on the patio are an addition since I went to London but because of the space, the food and access to the internet Whole Foods has caught on to the idea of being a "Great Good Place".

Winter Park Public

For all of the acclaim that Winter Park Public gets for being one of the best public libraries in the state and maybe in the country I don't think that the space is all that attractive. It is a three floor facility with worn out burber carpet and low ceilings. Fluorescent lights everywhere give the building more of a hospital feel than that of a "great good place". When I walk in the door I don't see old friends laughing and calling each other names. Even so, this library has a wealth of resources including books and films. This is the first time in a long time that I don't actually work in a library and I now realize how I took for granted having all of the services a library has to offer at my finger tips. So I keep coming back to Winter Park Public to print things, get music, movies and reading material. I just checked out the sound track to the new movie, Crazy Heart. Sometimes I have one of Beverly's wonderful lemon bars and just the other day I ran into an old friend. Besides as you can see from the picture they are making an effort to create friendly space.

Cup O Soul

Cup O Soul used to be on Fairbanks Avenue just across from Austin Coffee, that I will soon write about on this blog. Cup O Soul is now in a great location on Orange and Holt avenue just behind where I live in Winter Park. This place is literally just down the block and for that reason I should come here more often. The furniture is comfortable as they have plush couches, leather chairs and coffee tables all crammed into a samll attractive space on the corner. Glass windows surround the entire lounge area which most likely makes it difficult to cool during the hot summer months. Outside there is café like seating on the sidewalk that would make for great outdoor dining or conversation. The Wi-Fi is fast and reliable and although there is a dull murmer of chit chat in the background, the music is soft and I am not finding it hard to focus. Cup O Soul offers fresh baked goods and great coffee. I think Cup O Soul is going to become one of my top choices when looking for a place to study, write cover letters (I'm stilling looking for a job) and/or meet friends.

The Drunken Monkey

If it weren’t for writing this blog I would probably have gone to Stardust this morning. I was hungry and cold and just wanted a familiar place. After all, Oldenburg argues that part of the need for third place is simply a need for familiarity. Today, however, I came to Drunken Monkey so that I could write about it but I am also having a really good time. Drunken Monkey is located on Bumby just on the other side of Colonial and across from the Plaza Theatre. ( A concert venue where I saw Bon Iver and Iron & Wine). The Drunken Monkey as you can see is very busy on this unusually cold morning in Central Florida. The service is friendly and they have a number of vegan, vegetarian friendly pre-made things like the vegetable breakfast burrito that just hit the spot after a hard morning run. I am also enjoying my coffee with Hemp milk. The gentleman sitting just behind me is wearing a Boston Red Sox cap and was friendly enough to loan me his extension cord to plug in my laptop. A key to a good third place is plenty of plugs and good wi-fi. The Drunken Monkey has both and although I am not really being very community oriented with my headphones in while staring at my computer screen there are still quite a few people socializing here. Stardust for me has set the standard and feels most like home but Drunken Monkey is doing a great job and if it were closer to my house I would spend more time here.

Seven Sisters Coffee

This is my first trip to Seven Sisters Coffee. It is located on Mills Avenue just just before one reaches Colonial in a small quirky old house. Close enough to downtown, Winter Park, and Thornton Park it is not in a very walkable location unless someone were to live in the neighborhoods just near colonial. I rode my bike here but didn't notice a bike rack outside. Inside the walls are brightly colored and they make good use of space. I am seated at a large central table with a couch but there are plenty of nooks and little side areas where one could sit and study. I don't believe that Seven Sisters has a lunch menu but simply coffee, tea and a few baked goods. The cup cakes look really good and if I weren't eating Pizza tonight I would try one. The girl behind the counter is friendly and hip while the Soy Latté that she made is good. The WiFi is working well as I have a nice strong signal strength. I would come back to study and enjoy a coffee and maybe a cup cake.

Stardust

This is the most important entry on this blog. Of all the places that I hang out, besides where I work or live, Stardust is the most dear to me. It definitely has flaws and the community that it attracts is mostly of an "indie" cultural persuasion, making me feel not cool enough at times. Still, Stardust has achieved so many things as a place. Situated on the edge of Winter Park's historic neighborhoods and in proximity to other relevant businesses like Park Avenue CDs it is walkable from the neighborhood but still commercially zoned. Oldenburg argues that the problem with U.S. zoning laws is that it does not allow for third places within residential communities. Stardust is tucked nicely in between residential and commercial properties. Stardust is within easy access to Orlando, Baldwin Park and Winter Park. Stardust is founded on the business model of selling videos & coffee but it has evolved into far more. I rented films from Stardust years ago but now far fewer films line the walls. Only the back wall is filled with movies and no longer the entire back room providing more natural light and better places to hang out. When they made these changes a local artist/neighbor said that it now looked like a library but I never thought that was a bad thing. It still has great coffee but also has an excellent selection of beer and wine. The food here is great and semi-healthy. The toasted cuban like sandwiches are good. I just had a vegetarian bar-be-que sandwich with field greens and then a great home made cookie. Stardust has St. Bernadus, a first rate Belgian Abbey Ale on draft as well. It also has a old photo booth. Stardust is the meeting place for such events as Critical Mass, Scooter Night, Poetry Slam, The Grandma Market Party. You can come to Stardust to hang out with friends, play scrabble, eat lunch, have coffee, study, use the wi-fi, hear a local band, rent a DVD, have a drink, watch a film, go for a scooter ride hear a lecture by faculty from UCF or even Rollins.