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UPDATED 6/19/19: One of my buddies reached out via email to share our experience and immediately received two very heartfelt, concerned responses from one of the owners as well as their Operations Lead. Wow. This experience was definitely not the norm and out of line with their standards. To have them take their time with their in depth responses like that was extremely awesome. I can’t wait to go back to check them out again. ORIGINAL 6/18/19: Having heard about this place I thought I’d give it a go. A few buddies and I planned an all day ride from southern Oregon that ended at Spoken Moto on a warm June Saturday. Perfect end to a perfect day. Or so I thought… Right off, the location is typical of the cool, hipster, industrial vibe of the area. Great open space, bar, food truck area, cool merch, and so on. I was impressed from the start, loved it. I perused through the shop for a bit and checked out some of the motorcycles in the back before walking up to place our order. Unfortunately that’s where the glam ended. Behind the counter were two “uninterested in whatever we wanted to order or pleasantries we said” employees. We ordered anyway and had a drink but decided to jump ship with dashed hopes and go elsewhere. We had wanted to stay longer but the vibe was shot at that point. Stayed the night with a friend and decided to give the place one more go to fill up on coffee before heading back home. Maybe they were having an off night before. I’m all about second chances and who knows, maybe they had just dealt with an unreasonable customer or something. Met up the at the shop the next morning and were greeted by three employees working the counter. Two of which were from the night before. Second chances here we come. But when I say greeted, I meant given a fairly bored look of apathy by all three. Second chances dashed. Again, the good vibed pleasantries I rendered were apparently not their thing. Then again, it was 8am on a Sunday. But still… Asked a quick question about a berry scone (what kind it was), and the gal took a moment, then asked a little confused, “which one?” I pointed and she paused and said, “a scone…” I almost laughed out loud. Yes, I know it’s a scone, but what kind..? “Ummm… berry… I think,” was the monotone response. Gee thanks, that narrows it down. Sorry I had a question about the two coffees and two pastries I bought for nearly $20. Reading that last part I think it was one of those “had to be there moments” because it was genuinely funny how it all went down. My buddies and I shared a good laugh after. The experience wasn’t totally ruined, however. Met some other great biker customers, took in the industrial vibe, shared some laughs with buddies, but man, what in the actual heck is going on behind the counter? Food truck offerings also looked pretty darn amazing. I half jokingly commented that I have received more openness and “biker” camaraderie in a bar lined with Harley’s with dudes who’s beards sweep the ground of any stale alcohol spilt and who’s nicknames are the stuff of nightmares. With all that said, my coffee was pretty darn good. And I will be back, because I’m also about a proper second, second chance.

Lombard House – Menu with Prices – 7337 N Lombard St, Portland

The owner, Brian, left a really nice note on my truck because he saw my military license plates. He invited me to try out his place and let me know that veterans get their first drink for free upon their first visit. So I took two other veterans and one other person on Sat to check it out. The place was awesome. Just a great vibe, great beer, and a really great staff. Iâ??d like to thank Brian for providing veterans a deal at his place. Aside from that, I just want to take all of my veteran buddies there! Weâ??ll be back with many more in tow! If you want a place to just sit back and enjoy good beer, then go to Lombard House. Food carts are located just across the street.

Jamison Meats – Menu with Prices – 3423 N Anthony Blvd, Fort Wayne

I’m updating this review because I believe in second chances and I don’t like grocery store meat. My 1st visit here was less than stellar. I’m not certain if it was the pending holiday season, long hours, grumpy customers, or a culmination of all of the afore mentioned. For whatever reason, l left feeling some type of way about the service I received. It was less than cordial, almost of the brink of rude, I digress, so let’s skip forward to my visit today (I’ve been several times lately to be honest and fair- the ethos by which I try to live – honesty at all cost) My last several visits have been an extremely pleasant experience. I was greeted and helped immediately with a pleasant smile. The staff here is not big on pleasantries or idle conversation, but they are nice nonetheless. What I really like: their meat is fresh and priced just right. The chicken is farm raised and has excellent flavor. I can get my steaks, no mine per se-by boys- the big fellas, cut to order. What I like most: priced well within reason and budget friendly. What I’d like to see: fresh seafood. I wanted to update my previous review out of fairness. I believe in the customer experience, but I recognize anyone can have a bad day or couple of hours. Once is a mistake, 2 times a coincidence, and anymore than that is a pattern of behavior. I’ve realized a mistake was made on my first visit and that can happen anywhere. I’ll be baccccckkkk!

Tea’s Me Cafe Indy – Menu with Prices – 140 E 22nd St B, Indianapolis

This is a comfortable tea shop with a variety of teas from white, oolong, green, black and herbal. You order at the counter, given a number and your order is delivered to your table. It wasn’t long before my tea arrived at my table and the lemon scone was seconds behind. The menu has a nice variety of sandwiches, soups, salads, vegetarian options to desserts. The seating area has 3 large sofas, one in front of the fireplace, and several round and square tables. While I was here several business meetings were underway along with those having lunch. Most seemed to be staying for awhile so tables didn’t turn quickly. I ordered a hot caramel almond tea with cream and a lemon scone. The scone was a pie slice size instead of the small round scone. The scone was on the dry side and didn’t have much of a lemon flavor. I wouldn’t order again since I prefer a softer texture scone. The caramel almond tea was very good and served hot with a small serving of cream as I requested. The atmosphere is laid back and conducive to getting work done. Lots of natural lighting from the large windows so you don’t feel closterphobic. If your a tea drinker or looking for a lunch spot, stop in. Everyone around me was saying their lunch options were excellent.

Peet’s Coffee – Menu with Prices – 13307 NE Hwy 99 Suite 115, Vancouver

I was extra thrilled about this place for two reasons: 1) This was the first coffee shop I have been to that had coconut whipped cream – yay! Being allergic to dairy, this was a huge bonus for me. 2) The young gentleman there was so friendly! Overall great customer service. I ordered a medium iced vanilla latte with the coconut whipped cream on top and a lemon ginger poppyseed scone. The coffee was delcious! The scone, however, was good but tasted like it had been sitting out all morning and I wasn’t asked if I wanted to heat it up. Unfortunately I was so hungry that I was halfway through the scone by the time I even thought, “this would be way better warm”, but I am pretty sure it wouldn’t be sanitary for them to heat up my half of a scone ? Flavors were still good though. Only other complaint is that the outlets are few and far between and the one that I did find wouldn’t hold my charger inside of it.. I had to literally ask my mr. nice coffee friend for some tape so I could tape my charger into the outlet to hold it to the wall. Possible fire hazard? Maybe, but it worked!

B’s Cool Treats Ice Cream Truck – Menu with Prices – 1051 N Jefferson Ave, Sarasota

Best ice cream truck in town. The owner is super nice and great with kids. Plus the truck is pretty cool. They’ve got a bunch to choose from and I even found my favorite orange-sicle from when I was a kid. They even have locally made PopCraft popsicles. I asked and she’ll bring the truck out for parties and other events, so I’m calling her for my daugther’s birthday party. Great local business.

Ancient City Brewing – Menu with Prices – 3420 Agricultural Center Dr #8, St. Augustine

What a cool place!! They hosted the Totally Awesome 80’s 5k and we had a great time. Large facility in the middle of an industrial park close to the outlets in St Augustine. Great outdoor seating. Great indoor seating. Lots of great beer on draft. I had a Golden pale after the race. My wife had the orange ale. Very good beer. Service was amazing, especially since they were serving regular customers and dozens of runners. Nice, clean bathrooms. Love the outdoor area here. They had a DJ playing 80’s classics, but would be great for live music. Prohibition Kitchen had a food truck there. Not sure if that’s a regular thing or not. Great time!!

Chances Social – Menu with Prices – 419 E 18th St, Kansas City

The perfect place to open up another coffee/cocktail place! Chances offers amazing local products in a beautiful, unique spot. Walking in, I was taken away by the beautiful floral arrangements on the ceiling. I was then greeted cheerfully by the employees. Upon looking at their menu, I was surprised at how big it was. From coffee to cocktails, Chances seem to have it all! What I loved the most was the amazing house made syrups they offered such as blueberry sage! They also offer a bunch of milk alternatives such as almond, coconut, and oat for any vegan or lactose intolerant customers and baked goods from Mudpie Bakery! I opted for the ube horchata latte a strange but interesting combo. The latte was pretty good. It tasted predominantly of ube, but there was a hint of sweetness and cinnamon from the horchata. Overall, I was pleased with my drink. What I liked the most about Chances Social was the amount of space they have to study. To be fair, not many people know about it yet, so it is not crowded; however, they have a good amount of tables upstairs and on the patio to get work done! There are also some tables on the patio outside as well! I definitely liked my experience at Chances: the patio is cute and the drinks are great! I’ll probably stop by sometime soon if I’m in the area!

The Jefferson Market Menu with Prices 609 W Jefferson St, Ann Arbor

With the new ownership comes a great new vibe. Jefferson Market it the cutest place to walk to for brunch, lunch, coffee, or tea from the Old West Side of Ann Arbor. I had eaten brunch here about a year ago and hadn’t gone back until this past weekend because of the experience I had then. My first visit here with the former management in place was entirely lackluster and honestly disappointing. The food was a little pretentious, they were completely missing in the breakfast and brunch basics, and the vibe was very clique-ish and unwelcoming. Needless to say after that visit I vowed never to go back again. Until I saw that there were new owners. My experience this past weekend was fantastic. Stopped in for an iced tea and a baked good right before closing during the old west side homes tour. The owner was working the register and he was so friendly and kind and welcoming. Such a different vibe than previously. I looked at the menu for my next visit (which there will be) and saw multiple dishes I want to try. Elevated brunch basics, some specialty items, and a good selection of breakfast and lunch offerings. Can’t wait to go back for a meal. So glad to have a welcoming atmosphere back in this neighborhood business. And let’s say that the specialty scone I tried was amazing. Probably one of the best scones I’ve ever had, and with Scottish ancestry that’s saying something. Will definitely be back.

Heine Brothers’ Coffee – Menu with Prices – 3541 Outer Loop, Louisville

Okay so I told myself I was going to come to this location a couple times before writing a review. I have been here twice now and I feel that with both my experiences I am comfortable writing a valid review. So this location is brand new. I think they may have been open a week or two now. My husband and I went in over the weekend. This was our first visit to this location. We have been to the Bardstown rd location several times and we love it. He always orders the caramel macchiato with extra caramel. It’s a super easy transaction. So we came in and he ordered his usual, the girl was trying to explain the drink and the manager (I think) stepped in and tried to explain that there macchiato differs from places like Starbucks. She said she can make one like them, but there’s were different. He said okay and that was that. I ordered the latte and once again they explained the drink. We also ordered a lemon poppy seed muffin and a chive and cheese scone both warmed up. I feel there was both good and bad here. As I mentioned I also came a second time because I wanted to have a good foundation considering they are so new. So both times staff was extremely friendly. The manager was great and all but I feel that when she was explaining the startbucks was of making the drink it confused him. Also just a few minutes prior to that she was leaned up against the counter on her phone. It looked extremely unprofessional, so I didn’t appreciate that. Let’s move onto the taste, although my husband was not overly impressed with his drink he said it was good but would have preferred it his usual way. Mine was pretty awful. It was so bitter it was almost hard to drink. I do understand a latte is very bold, but as mentioned before I have always loved this drink from the other location, it is all I have ever ordered. I am giving them the benefit of the doubt and will take it as a learning curb for them. The other issue I had with my drink was that it was not filled to the top. It has a good couple inches before the brim so I was a little disappointed. I was not at all satisfied and felt that hadn’t even had any coffee so I went back up and ordered just a coffee and that was really good. The food however was great! The lemon poppy seed muffin was sweet and moist. The cheddar chive scone was my favorite. As a matter of fact when I came back I ordered that again. On my second visit I ordered a traditional coffee and scone and I was very pleased. During the first visit we came during the late morning. The location seemed very inviting and warm. During the second visit I came in the early morning. The parking lot was so dark and a little eerie. Not only are there no lights in the parking lot, but there was not light on the window showing open. I kind of just took my chances by walking up, but I was a little nervous walking in the dark. Okay, so we have covered staff and taste, I want to move onto looks. This place is decorated so cute! They have both inside and outside seating. When you first walk in you can see how open and clean it is. They have a display of their merchandise and coffee on the wall when you walk in and it is so neat and organized. The seating is also amazing, the have a short table with four chairs that is perfect for really sitting back and relaxing. They also have several traditional height tables, and several high top tables. The decor really offers a calm cool coffee house feel. Overall I feel satisfied, but also feel that they still need a little time to get into the swing of things. I am giving them 4 stars and I would say this place is worth checking out. I think that in another few weeks or so I will try the latte again, and see if it has gotten any better.

Savor the Moment – Menu with Prices – 4080 Rocky River Dr, Cleveland

Stopped in on a Saturday morning, not busy. Placed is decorated in 50s decor (Attack of the 50 ft woman poster, Lone Ranger lunchbox) and random stuff like a rhino head on the wall serving as a rubberband holder. More couches than tables to sit on. Comfy. Staff was super nice and friendly. Had an Orange cranberry scone, which was actually scone-like: most US scones are just cake in a triangle shape, this reminded me of scones in Ireland. Solid, not too hard, not too sweet, quite nice. Bacon, egg, cheese on everything bagel: typical, nothing surprising or bad. Didn’t have hot sauce ? Overall really liked it. So few non-chain places of any sort in Cleveland it was wonderful to find a cool coffee place we liked.

Tuk Tuk Sri Lankan Bites – Menu with Prices – 574 N Limestone, Lexington

Good food. I found this food truck at the Arcadia brewery on a Friday night during the Lexington Craft Beer Festival. Having no idea of Sri Lankan flavors, I was very curious to try it out. I was looking for a quick bite and got the Meatballs. The lady behind the counter was really nice. She promptly gave me a heads up that it will be a few minutes as they have a huge back order to catch up. I quite liked the honesty. The Meatballs came up soon and I totally loved them. For $4.50, the portion size was very good. Their other very popular items are Kadala and Chicken Fries – the guys behind the counter recommend it highly. Would keep an out for this truck to get and try their other items. But I do have to admit, that my first encounter with Sri Lankan food was definitely very good.

DreiBerge Coffee – Menu with Prices – 111 E Grand Ave Suite 109, Des Moines

I just got back from having coffee here with some friends! I had heard how good it was so I couldn’t help but have some expectations… First off, it has a somewhat similar vibe to Horizon Line, in that it is very minimalistic in style, which I like. Concrete floors, natural light, nothing much on the walls, etc. The major difference though is the cozy that this place has over Horizon. If these places were iPhoto filters, Horizon would be Dramatic Cool, and DreiBerge would be Vivid Warm. Go ahead, look at your phone now, I know you want to. Coffee is of a similar high quality, which is what really matters. However, DreiBerge is really competitive with price. Only $4 for a cup of their house with an added shot of espresso. Totally reasonable, and this coffee was GOOD. They’ve also got kombucha and nitro on tap for only $4. My friend also said that their scone was one of the best ever, and that it was more like a shortbread. For those of us who think scones are flavorless dust wedges (hello, that’s me), DreiBerge is worth a try. The kiddie play area is such a nice addition, too. There were three littles in our group and all the blocks, plastic food and puzzles kept them busy. To me, this says that DreiBerge knows their clientele, and isn’t trying to put anyone off by being too cool. Kids ARE cool, and who needs a coffee and chill more than parents?! No one, that’s who. Good job, DreiBerge. I’ll be back all semester to study at your beautiful live edge tabletops.