Cafe SouthSide

Weather: 10°, "Feels Like" -1°
Coffee Shop: Cafe SouthSide • 3405 Chicago Ave S • Minneapolis • First Time
Drink: Americano ($2.25 M 16oz)
Book: Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed


Coffee
Sometimes the cafes you've never heard of before end up being joyful little gems that you promise yourself to return to soon. So it was with today's choice of coffee shops: Cafe SouthSide. This coffee shop made it to the list not through word-of-mouth, but through an internet search. Of course, because I'd never heard mention of it, I was a little skeptical. As often happens though, my skepticism was quickly demolished.

Cafe SouthSide is nestled in the Powderhorn neighborhood on Chicago Avenue, just two blocks from Powderhorn Park. The cafe shares the building with a second-hand store and is covered in beautiful murals on the south facing side, which is next to a community garden that the cafe facilitates. The cafe seems to be very neighborhood focused and you can feel that just by spending more than five minutes inside. The inside is so cheerful that it's hard not to smile regardless of how you walk in feeling. All of the signage (of which there is a lot!) is artistically hand drawn. There are murals on some walls, and framed art on others. There's a computer with internet and a shelf full of board games. There are a few normal tables, two squishy armchairs, and a window seat (the huge west-facing window lets in great afternoon sun).

I ordered my standard americano today and my mom, who joined me, had a small hot cocoa ($2.25). From what I can tell they brew Equal Exchange coffee, but I didn't ask if it's the only thing they brew. The coffee was not super amazing, but it was definitely good; I enjoyed it, and would definitely order coffee here again. They offer a menu of breakfast, salad, sandiwches, soup, and plenty of non-caffeinated beverages. I think this would be a great spot to have lunch with a friend.

The most notable part of Cafe SouthSide was the staff. The woman and guy behind the counter were thoroughly entertaining and beyond friendly. The woman answered my questions about the community garden while she finished off my espresso, and encouraged my desire to dance throughout our visit. This desire was spurred by the music on the PA. The radio was initially tuned to KDWB (Top 40 music) and had me and the male worker, Jonathan, belting out "Call Me Maybe" and "Somebody That I Used To Know." However, when he needed motivation to sweep the floor he turned on some dance music...and by the time Gangam Style came on he was in the back dancing with a broom and I was ropin' it up in the front of the store. May I also clarify that my mother and I were the only ones in the coffee shop (other people had come and gone before and after the dance party episode). As my mom and I left, Jonathan yelled out "HAPPY HOLIDAYS!" It was by far the most fun I've ever had with cafe workers, and I can imagine they enjoyed it on such a slow day.

In only a few words, Cafe SouthSide won my heart.

Book
It seems like every Sunday I've just been starting books, and never fully into one; today was no different. I was just beginning Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail today.

The author, Cheryl Strayed, grew up in Minnesota, lived in Minneapolis, and now lives in Portland, Oregon. It is her memoir of hiking the Pacific Crest trail from Mojave to the Oregon/Washington border in the mid-1990s. As an avid hiker I've been looking forward to reading this book. Although I would prefer to have a companion (Strayed did the trip solo), a long-term hiking trip is an exciting option of mine (I wouldn't say it's a goal or dream, but I would definitely love to do it if I decided it was the right time).

So far the book has been pretty emotional. I've mostly read about Strayed's mother dying when Strayed was 22 years old and the subsequent crumbling of her family and her young marriage. It was interesting to read briefly about her childhood, spending her teen years growing up in a "house" that they built in a field in the middle of nowhere-Minnesota. I'm only now getting to the beginning of her hike, as she is in Mojave getting ready to set out. I think one of the most interesting things is that she had never backpacked prior to this three-month hike. It will be interesting to see how that plays out. She gives a little taste when she starts with an Introduction that is set some time into the trip when she accidentally drops one of her hiking boots off a cliff and, finding it useless, flings its lone match over the cliff as well.

I don't know if this book will inspire me to head out on a solo-trek, but it is certainly making me yearn for summer and think sadly about my Hawaii hiking trip for February that I've had to postpone indefinitely. I can't wait until hiking season returns (or I go find it somewhere southerly).

People Watching
Nothing. It's Christmas weekend, not a whole lot of people hanging out at coffee shops.

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