Chestnut Hill Coffee Company. Mmmmmmm.

After an *INCREDIBLY* frustrating morning of traffic detours, I finally made it upto the top of Germantown Avenue to the Chestnut Hill Coffee Company. This place makes the best freaking coffee in town, rivaled only by my regular morning coffee hangout, La Colombe. I tried to get here last weekend with Fishy, but we ran out of time. I am generally reluctant to share my favorite places like this with other people, for fear that they'll become too popular and crowded and expensive and I won't be able to enjoy them anymore, but since nobody reads this blog anyway (well, three people do, but they already know about this place, and none of them ever come to Chestnut Hill anyway), I figure there's no danger of that happening.

The first thing I noticed when I walked in was that there were three people at the counter--a man and two women-- who all had their attention focused on me. That's really different from what I'm used to. (At La Colombe it's always a madhouse at the counter, and everyone working there is rushing around like chickens with their heads cut off because the line is out the door.) It kind of caught me off guard, but it was really nice and totally changed my mood after my frustrating morning.

I had a brioche with my coffee first, which I have to say was not as good as the brioche at La Colombe. I followed that up with a chocolate croissant (or pain au chocolat for you snooty French types), which also was not as good as the ones at La Colombe. It's too dense and heavy, and a little greasy, which is everything a croissant shouldn't be. Both were made by "Cake," which must be a bakery somewhere in town. Most of the pastries here, though, are made by Miel, which is in center city, just south of Walnut, I think on 17th, and I can tell you from experience they're delcious. It's one of the few places where even Fishy will spend money on dessert. (Fishy and TvDetective and I went there once and Fishy bought us a sampler tray of tiny versions of all their desserts and we devoured the entire thing. Mmmmmm.)

The atmosphere here is very nice, although slightly chilly from sitting too close to the air conditioner. (It reminds me of this...refrigerated train car I rode in when I was visting my sister in Gabon, semi-delirious with sickness from drinking the local water. It was so cold, and I kept saying, "Je suis climatise," ("I am air conditioned") which sounds every bit as strange in French as it does in English, btw) At least today, early on a Sunday afternoon, it's nice and quiet, too. Just a few people upstairs, all of us alone, reading books and typing on our laptops. As far as I'm concerned, that puts it above most of the other coffee shops I've been to in the city, which tend to be noisy and crowded. Last time I was here, though, it was much more crowded. Packed, really. I think that must have been on a Saturday, when I was here with Fishy. They're playing the Beatles "Revolver," which is one of my fave albums, and it's just the right volume, not too loud, not too soft.

IshDontThinkSo (Hey, I had to think of a nickname for you!) asked me to buy some coffee for him while I'm here so he can try it out, so I'll pick up a half pound on my way out for him. Personally, i don't make coffee at home anymore. Yes, it's cheaper. A lot cheaper. But somehow it never tastes as good as when you drink it at the cafe it came from. Take La Colombe, for instance. Nobody makes La Colombe coffee as good as La Colombe. Maybe it's the atmosphere. Maybe it's the expensive equipment they use. Maybe it's the fact you don't have to go through the hassle of making it yourself. I don't know the scientific explanation for it, but drinking it at the cafe makes it good.

I've had two cups of coffee now, so I should be good for a while (I've learned that one cup just isn't enough). It still pisses me off that I didn't get here until almost noon because of the detours. I should have been caffeinated hours ago, but at least I had a nice time while I was here.