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.

The Princess Louise

This particular pub in central London has an ornate interior of partitions made of intricately carved wood and colourful glass. It might not make the best use of space but it gives the pub an intimate feel. It is very close to The British Museum and London University and so is frequented by locals, professors and graduate students. It is a tied house meaning that it can only serve the product of one brewery. In this case the lack of variety is not a bad thing since they serve Samuel Smiths from Tadcaster, York. I have always loved their Oatmeal Stout and Nut Brown Ale. At the Pub they have Organic Cider and a great Bitter that is under two pounds per pint.

It should also be noted that there are no gaming machines and no music at all played at The Princess. That is because the primary entertainment is conversation and great pints of Samuel Smiths'. One time I met three "lovely" elder men who had been coming to the Princess to have a pint since the 1950s. They used their free tube pass for the elderly to get home after sharing old stories with each other on a regular basis. This is the type of "Third Place" that Oldenburg highlights in European cultures and juxtaposes with the lack of community in American society.

Barnes & Noble

This major book vendor is now taking strides to create a "third place" in American Society. Since I have returned Barnes & Noble has taken two major steps. They released the Nook, a paperless, lightless, book reader and they have begun to provide free wireless internet in their stores. They also have a café with Starbucks coffee, some nice teas and a few sandwich items. This changes the entire character of bookstores because now they are a legitimate place to go and study/work and you don't even need to buy one of these things people used to read called books. The Nook, Barnes & Noble new eReader offers access to over 1 million eBooks as well as access to Google Books' collection of digitized materials. What's more one can upload their own PDF files allowing you to take Academic Journal articles on the go!

Still my criticisms of Barnes & Noble is the lack of intimacy. Ray Oldenburg argues that one of the reasons American needs a "third place" is simply to have somewhere that everyone knows your name. I don't know anyone here but everyone seems to be in and out and primarily to themselves.

Latté Da & The Page and Palette

The Page and Palette is a small book shop located in downtown Fairhope, Alabama that is connected to a small coffee shop called Latté Da. Fairhope is a very well to do community with New Orleans Style architecture situated on the Eastern Shore of the Mobile Bay. Fairhope is a town that captures Gulf Coast life as the city holds fast to its French Heritage. It is a quaint, charming town but one is constantly aware that it does not accurately portray the demographics of Alabama. Yet downtown Fairhope is a sleepy little secret and The Page and Palette is at the heart of the community. Two middle aged writer/artist types are sitting at a table laughing at the women who can't parallel park outside, telling jokes with a box of chalk next to them. They yak it up with the women who is working behind the counter wearing an Alabama Crimson Tide sweat shirt. She was very welcoming and helpful when she served us our coffee and tea. I always like to visit the Page and Palette when I'm at my parents house and they put on some great community events. They have hosted New Year's Eve dances, 5Ks and book signings.