bean town* vs the bean scene
after dropping off sm at the train station this morning, i dragged my poor decaffeinated self to a local coffee brewerie, the Bean Scene, located in the convenient downtown Mountain View just minutes from my horrific parallel parking job. i've been trying to detox from my expensive habit, an effort made infinitely easier by the dearth of a car in the suburbs, a state that in the sprawling norcal equates to house arrest.
first few days were headache-ridden, followed by the worst side-effect of all: rapid weight gain (especially sans daily dose of diuretic)...which i nursed sorrowfully with more food and therefore five more pounds. if there is anything that northern california has NOT a dearth of, it's good, cheap, authentic chinese food. i think my arms swelling up was the last straw...i needed my fix.
~*~*~
coffee couture is a strangely accurate barometer of the population. to put it in a general equation:
neuroticism of population = number of coffee shops per square block/population density
when i was interviewing in midtown, for example, i encountered six starbucks within three blocks of the office. ny in general seems to have fast coffee, a little strong even for my dead tastebuds, fairly expensive (but quality insured by fierce competition that quickly makes the mediocre go under).
boston has the cheerful pretentious coffee that i have grown to absolutely love, with only one common bad effect: the hoity toity refusal to consider dietary concerns in sheer culinary snottiness. at upstairs in the square, for example, the waitress huffily denied my skim cappucino request (though i suppose skim lattes really do taste like water to those who are used to the real thing.)
at aqua in SF on wednesday, for example, which is probably the last expensive meal i will ever willingly pay for myself until i get kicked out of my job, the cappucino i ordered tasted fantastic (then again, at $6.99 a cup, what doesn't taste fantastic?) most importantly, the answer i got to a very timid request for skim was answered with a puzzled, "of course! you could even have it with non-pastuerized, organic, or soy if you want." god bless californians (and our health-freak natures.)
in any case, back to the bean scene...i sipped the coffee and honestly, barely noticed it. it tasted an awful like the weather; pleasant, steady, and incredibly unnoticable. i call the weather here un-weather. the coffee itself was, i think, on the whole pretty decent, somewhat watered down, simply and unassumingly comfortable. that's my California coffee...with really sounds a lot like my California.
*can someone tell me why boston is called bean town? i really don't get it. aside from the fact that it begins with a b and ends with an n, like bean.
***
anyway, daily dose of pictures 
thanks sm and wil for coming to visit!!!
one epic ghiradelli's sundae, three hungry girls, equals no sundae and three not-so-hungry girls.
attack!
l'fraise d'aime (i'm sure i translated that wrong...). the strawberry of love. because of karen's incredible cuteness, we got this baby for free from the eager young asian store clerk. score!
a moment monumental in history...wilfred cutting into his first in-n-out burger. indeed, i wept.
ambiguous picture. i think i'm pointing at the mannequin's boobs.
yay union square...and strolling what a beautiful day...
or better yet, volunteer yourself! i'll make you delicious food...!
Recent Comments