Bob's Java Hut

Weather: 35°, Foggy.
Coffee Shop: Bob's Java Hut • 2651 Lyndale Ave S • Mpls • First Time
Drink: Chai ($3.25 S)
Book: Turn Here Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works by Atina Diffley


Coffee
I'll admit it: I always avoided going to Bob's Java Hut because it intimidated me. Bob's Java Hut is a biker cafe. In the summer, the whole front and side of the shop is often lined with Harleys and Ducatis, Kawasakis and Victories, the tables occupied by large tattooed men in leather jackets. However much I may have wanted to check out this neighborhood coffee shop, I dreaded the hungry eyes following the little blonde girl through the crowd of biker men (who surely had more of a right to be there than I) and into the coffee shop. Thus, Bob's Java Hut became untouchable to me.

Until today. Perhaps it was the weight-lifting class I had taken earlier in the morning that boosted my confidence, but I finally decided that it wasn't worth it to live in fear of a coffee shop anymore; today, Bob's Java Hut would be mine. And that's where the excitement ends. Everyone who has been to Bob's knows that it's not at all intimidating, and is in fact filled with a diverse crowd of people and the drinks are just normal coffee, not some sort of engine oil/coffee concocotion. The mystery is over, and another space in my neighborhood has been opened up to me.

My stomach didn't feel so great today, so I begrudgingly passed on the coffee in favor of a chai. I've also been told that the coffee at Bob's isn't that great, so I may have been subconsciously trying to avoid disappointment. The cases were full of amazing looking treats that I was terribly tempted by, but I only had enough cash for the drink and stuck to my cash-only-at-coffee-shops guns. The chai was mediocre at best, but I never expect a good chai because I find that very, very few places do them well. It mostly just tasted sweet, and lacked pretty much any spice. However, it was warm and creamy, and I really didn't expect much more than that.

The cafe itself is a strange world. First of all, they let dogs in, which I'm pretty sure is illegal (however, I have no problem with it, and actually enjoy seeing the pups). They have a huge television which was playing the Sunday football game, not something you expect to see in a coffee shop. However, the sound was off, so it wasn't terribly distracting. Lastly, the crowd was about 98% men, and not solely the men that I generally see in coffee shops but old men and bearded men, biker men and hipster men, men with young daughters and men watching the football game. Also, this was the only cafe I've been to where people regularly step outside to smoke cigarettes. It is truly a unique place. The only other thing worth mentioning is that the music selection was top-notch: Tegan & Sara, Dresden Dolls, Caroline Smith...it was a musical love fest.

Book
So I just started this book today, and I only made it to page 9. I was far too distracted by the music and the people to concentrate on corn and kale. Turn Here Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works is a book by a local author/farmer that I've had on my list since it came out this year. The book is a memoir about small organic farming in Minnesota and the challenges that it entails. Namely in this instance, fighting a corporation that is trying to take the land by eminent domain.

The book starts with a very depressing tone as the author surveys the damage left by a hailstorm the previous night. I have a strong feeling that this book is going to encompass a lot of this kind of heartbreak (and back break), but I look forward to learning more about small farming here in my own state. This is just another book in a number of farming/food growing/food justice books that I've read this year. It's by far one of the topics that I am most passionate about, and I try to learn and absorb as much information about it as possible. This book, however, is a little more story-like than most of the ones I've read; a little more emotional, and less technical. Through the trials of farming and fighting the system it also follows the love story between the author and her farmer husband and how they met and ended up farming together. Those who have read the book thoroughly enjoyed it, so I expect only good things.
He whispers in my ear, "Mon petit chouchou." Nothing could be more romantic than "You are my beautiful little cabbage..."

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