Travel Talk
helps roast beans for Pablo’s bold, dark Danger Monkey label. He and Nick, a roaster/barista who joins the conversation, recollect the days when Pablo’s roasted just once a week. That’s some time ago, because the shop now supplies beans to 40 other businesses. Clear plastic buckets display
5 By Tom Hess
Where do you get your caffeine fi x? Do you sometimes venture beyond your usual source—the Keurig in the kitchen, the McDonald’s drive-through, or the Starbucks at Safeway? We’ve noticed independent coffeehouses all along the Front Range gain-
ing notoriety and enticing new customers by offering craft local roasts, alternate brewing methods, milk alternatives (almond, rice and soy), creative menus, local artwork and brainiac, blogging baristas. So we asked ourselves, what attributes of an independent coffeehouse
motivate members of the EnCompass team to venture out? AAA inspectors do not rate coffeehouses, so you won’t fi nd them in
the TourBook. This is a much less formal, far more subjective review. And here’s the short list of things we chose to look for in a coffeehouse: p People watching p Menu p Taste p Ambience p Uniqueness
Your own list might be a little different, and if you want to share it
with us, send us a friend request on Facebook (EnCompass Tom Hess) and post a comment on our wall, or request to follow us on Twitter (@EnCompassEditor) and send a message. We visited shops all around Denver and beyond, and found our favor- ites, listed by category:
The best place to people watch: Pablo’s Coffee 630 E. 6th Ave., Denver. 303-744-3323,
http://pabloscoffee.com
On the rough, red wooden front door is an illustration of a frowning lap- top, a tear falling from its eye, and a message below it: Pablo’s doesn’t offer Wi-Fi. “We do however offer free hi fi ves.” Sure enough, my iPhone couldn’t pick up a Wi-Fi signal. I put it away and talked instead to Josh, the guy in the next chair. In his spare time, he
26 EnCompass May/June 2012
www.AAA.com
independent coffeehouses that get us talking
What’s your favorite coffeeshop? Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.
Pablo’s international selection of beans. The menu is simple—coffee, tea, pastries and a breakfast burri- to—and set in an ancient gold picture frame above the cash register. If you need something more to eat, go next door to Angelo’s Pizza, or across the street to Mr. Lucky’s Sandwiches, or Brothers BBQ. What I found most compelling
about Pablo’s is something more than coffee and food. It’s the conver- sations. Most of the people here live nearby, in the Governor’s Park neigh- borhood, but curiosity draws outsid- ers here, too, because they want to see why Pablo’s appears on local and national A-list and top-10 ratings. I saw a table of conversationalists ages 20-something to 70, and another with two people deeply engaged in a discussion of their big idea. A young- er couple share their dreams, and an older couple reminisce. Pablo’s is unlike any other inde-
pendent coffeehouse in Denver—a comfortable, friendly, unpretentious community, and most of all, alive.
Honorable mention, people watching: Aviano (reviewed on p. 27)
The best menu: Crema Coffee House 2862 Larimer, Denver.
720-235-2995,
www.cremacoffeehouse.net/mobile
Crema is just north of the Ballpark historic district, in an area of low-cost innovation. And that’s what Crema’s décor suggests, with its mismatched plywood, reclaimed lumber, drywall, and brick walls, its uneven concrete fl oors bearing the stigmata of past lives, the chairs of differing styles. Crema invested more heavily in its choice of beans (from craft roast-
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