Barefoots Joe

On a Tuesday night after work Barefoot Joe's, the campus coffee shop, is quiet but still has a steady stream of business. The art of students is displayed tastefully on the walls and She & Him is playing softly in the background. I have seen Barefoot Joe's much busier late at night and even mid-afternoon but at dinner time a few students lounge on the veranda talking and eating dinner. Inside, where I am seated, the female Union student who works here chats quietly with a friend about class and at a nearby table a few students are working on assignments and drinking coffee.

There is a stage at Barefoot in the middle of the floor where some up and coming local or Nashville musical acts have played. Like Brooke Waggoner or the Civil Wars. You can check out their page to see events and get a fell for the culture. The stage also provides a venue for debates, theatre and open mic nights. Since my interview back at the end of March I have felt that Barefoot Joe's was one my favorite spots on Union's campus. The soft green walls, plush leather chairs and excellent coffee provided by Gusta Java make it a nice stop to meet a friend, study or read. It is a great stop before I go into the office and a nice way to unwind after work. It is also a very important place on campus because it provides a great good place for Union's students away from the structured academic classroom and the chaotic dorm-room. I am curious how the library can learn from the atmosphere at Barefoot Joe's and potentially provide services, virtual and in person to student who choose to study at Barefoot's.

The Green Frog

I walked to the downtown location of The Green Frog this afternoon as things are calming down a little bit from the hectic move to Jackson, TN over the weekend. The Green Frog is in the downtown area of Jackson just across from the Madison County courthouse and describes itself as, "a sophisticated southern coffee café". The green frog has been instrumental in my move to Jackson. As my Dad and I were hunting for apartments over a month ago now we were nearly settled on one particular apartment that was close to where I will be working at Union University. Just to explore all the options, however, we came downtown to have lunch and see if there were any living options. We found the Green Frog and had their specialty a "Frickin Sandwich", fried pickle, grilled chicken and a special dill sauce on a croissant. It really is quite good! It was on this trip to The Green Frog that we saw an advertisement for the renovated downtown apartments that I now live in. We called the number for the apartments and my now landlord/property manager met us here at the Green Frog.



The Green Frog has Wi-Fi which is now a must for most coffee shops but what is special about it to me is that they are open until 11pm on every night except Sunday. This will prove to be a "great place" when I am have left Union and don't want to be in my apartment anymore but still have work to do. It has an assortment of coffees, teas, hot chocolate and baked goods. It will be a good place to come to enjoy something hot on a cool Tennessee evening. A friend of mine who works at Cup O Soul in Winter Park ironically recommended The Green Frog to me after I visited it for the first time.

Carpe Diem

Mobile, Alabama is the city of my birth. This past year I ran my marathon PR here and although I have never really been a part of the Mobile community I love to ride through it's winding streets and hear my Dad's stories about growing up in downtown Mobile.



Just outside of Mobile's downtown is a historic neighborhood called Springhill. Springhill's historic homes and winding avenues are shaded by tall oak trees and it is home to a small Jesuit college, Springhill College. I visited Springhill during my senior year in college before I settled on Rollins. Across the street from Springhill is Carpe Diem, a small wooden house with a front porch that has renovated and transformed into a coffee shop. When I'm in Mobile I usually try to come into Carpe Diem for a cup of coffee and chocolate covered espresso beans that I buy out of machine for a quarter. Students from Springhill and the University of South Alabama, which is nearby, seem to come through these doors often to have a cup of coffee, talk or use the free wireless. Several adjoining rooms, leather chairs, a fire place and the smell of roasting coffee give Carpe Diem an inviting atmoshpere. Even on a Tuesday afternoon in the middle of summer time Carpe Diem is hoping. This is most likely due to the fact that it is conveniently located so near to two universities and has established itself as Sprignhill's local coffee shop. Southerners are slow to change and seem to respect their institutions and Carpe Diem has become an institution that will most likely remain for some time to come.

Stacey's Drugstore

Located just adjacent from the train station in downtown Foley, Alabama is a tiny drugstore called Stacey's. The entire downtown Foley is a throwback to a time when main-street existed in America. When small downtowns were clustered around train stations. This was an age when everyone knew their neighbors an age before Walgreens, Wal-mart and big parking lots. Stacey's is an actual drug store that fills prescriptions and has a professional pharmacist on hand but it also has chewing gum, cologne and delicious ice cream sundaes. The sign above the ice cream counter at Stacey's reads Fizzsician indicating that an ice cream soda expert is ready to make a delicious creation. They also serve fresh squeezed lemonade and lime sours, this is a real soda fountain like something out of the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life". They also have self-serve coffee for just 10¢ per cup.



Before Interstate Highways, Urban Sprawl and McDonalds I imagine that America had many great and good places like Stacey's.

Fairhope Public Library

I have discussed the small town of Fairhope on this blog before in a post on The Page and Palette and Latté Da. It is a beautiful, quaint little town that lies on the eastern side of Mobile Bay. Historically the town was a Single Tax Colony and to this day one cannot actually own land in Fairhope. The Fairhope Public Library is a gem. It has lots of comfortable places to sit, fast efficient wi-fi that is open to the public, great resources and nice reading tables that remind me of The Boston Public Library. The current facility was built opened in 2007 but the Library itself has a rich history that dates back to the turn of the century and it is intertwined with Fairhope's unique ideals. You can read about the history of the library here.



As you can see above the Fairhope Library is also a great place to find out about concerts, reading programs, film nights, and general community events. Also on the web, the library's home page is not the catalog but rather an informative page of local events. Currently they sponsor a story time at The Fairhope Farmer's Market. This Library seems to do a great job of being at the heart of public life in Fairhope and in the digital age Libraries will secure strong positions as hubs for life in many of their communities.

Austin's Coffee

I rarely come to Austin's because during my graduate school days I had several very unproductive experiences here trying to get things done. One night I was working on a paper and I decided to come to Austin's thinking that I might be productive. The space is quite small and I sat down where I could at a table with my lap top and a sandwich. There was ridiculously loud horror movie playing that everyone was laughing and talking over. The commotion is a good sign as the teenage hipster all have a welcoming and fun community hang out at Austin's but for a "serious graduate student" like myself this was the worst environment possible. Finally I went outside on the porch that overlooks Fairbanks avenue as cars whiz by. Just when I got myself situated outside, the movie inside had ended and everyone came outdoors for a smoke break. So now these teenage hipsters were laughing, talking loudly and unintentionally blowing smoke in my direction. Well, at least the movie was over so I went back inside to try and get something done until I found out that another movies was starting in just 5 minutes. I gave up and went home.

The last time I was at Austin's Josh Bales, a friend of mine, was here playing his brand of poppy chic pleasing country for all of the girls that go to my church. The place was crowded, my friend Karie Brown was here selling her plumery (artsy trinkets and hair pieces made from feathers) and the atmosphere wasn't half bad. Still I wasn't convinced to become an Austin's fan.

All that being said, today is much better. I walked here and realized just how close it is to home. Although I did pass Cup O Soul and probably would have gone there had it not been one of my purposes to write about Austin's for this blog. After a pleasant walk here I was greeted by a friendly young woman who recommended a passion fruit green tea on ice (pictured above) that is really hitting the spot on a hot day. One of the trademarks here is that with each order you get a Hershey's Kiss on your plate and I have always thought that to be a nice touch. In addition I found a nice spot on a comfy retro couch with an electrical outlet located conveniently next to me. In addition I have a table to sit my things on and the wi-fi is working well. Life is good!

I used to meet with friends from church to hang out, talk and play board games here at Austin's. Named after the trendy city that is home to The University of Texas this is great place to study or to meet friends. Just avoid movie nights.

Palmano's

On Thursday morning I had breakfast with one of my favorite librarians at Palmano's on Park Ave. Like many other great and good places Palmano's business is rooted in coffee and from what many connoisseurs have told me Palmano's has the best coffee in Winter Park and maybe in Orlando. They roast their own coffee beans and I can say that the Soy latté was very good although some would say that soy milk obscures the real taste of the coffee. Palmano's does offer free wireless internet but it has never been a good study venue as their is very little seating inside and it is not conducive to lingering for long periods of time. The outside seating is located in a little alcove off Park Ave. and many people go there for breakfast or to meat a friend from coffee. They also serve dinner and have live music and from what I understand the place is hopping on a Friday night. Recently they have renovated and there is now seating on the sidewalk outside besides in the alcove. This gives the place a sort of Parisian sidewalk café feel but yet the menu and decor are really not that Parisian. White and red checkered table clothes and breakfast paninis give the place sort of an Americano/Italian feel. But it's good and I would have to say that it is probably the place to spend time and meet friends in or around downtown Winter Park.