Cahoots Coffee Bar

Weather: 7°, Sun
Coffee Shop: Cahoots Coffee Bar • 1562 Selby Ave • St Paul • First Time
Drink: Latte ($3.40)
Book: Happy to Be Here by Garrison Keillor


Coffee
Cahoots Coffee Bar was never high on my list, but not for any particular reason. Perhaps I was just judgmental because I had never heard of it, or because the pictures I saw didn't impress me. However, I was going through St. Paul today on a tight schedule and this was my nearest choice. Cahoots is in the Merriam Park neighborhood on Selby, a great little area filled with shops and restaurants.

The shop was pretty quiet with only two individual men quietly going about their newspapers and drinks. The menu was pretty normal, and the prices were decent. However, I unfortunately didn't have any cash (I hate using my card at coffee shops!) and I felt really bad, so I ordered a medium latte to up the price (they had a $3 minimum for cards, or a $0.25 fee). The barista, whom I just assumed was the owner, was so nice that I wanted to tell him to charge me the $0.25 fee to clear my conscience. Of course, that would've been weird, so instead I just gave him a big fat tip.

So as I was saying, the barista was a very kind fellow. He made sure to ask what kind of milk I wanted (whole!) and after I impulsively sucked off some froth while he charged the card, he grabbed the pitcher and topped it off with some more. Sweet man, I liked him. The latte was good, it was a latte.

That was basically my entire experience. The shop is really odd visually. Most of the chairs are wheeled office chairs, which looks really weird until you sit down—comfy! There is stuff to look at in every direction: tapestries and oriental rugs hanging on the walls, knick knacks for sale as well as teapots, jewelry, dishes, greeting cards. It's strikingly odd, but also endearing. It has a very moroccan restaurant feel. I hear the patio is awesome so I might just try to return this summer.

Book
I've had this book sitting around for years. I only decided to read it because I was so non-fictioned out with my other two current reads that I couldn't read another word unless I got some easy fiction into my system. Short stories seemed just the cure. I have had a tumultuous relationship with Keillor's writing. In short, I greatly enjoyed the novel Wobgeon Boy and I also enjoy his radio show, but I disliked The Book of Guys and, to a lesser extent, Happy To Be Here. I think there's just something about his short stories that leaves me unsettled and doesn't offer enough substance/plot for my tastes.

The first section of the book kept me in mind of the way I felt reading the short stories in Salinger's Nine Stories. This is another author whose novels I love but whose short stories leave me wanting. Fortunately, the subsequent sections of Happy To Be Here were far more satisfying for me. There were quite a few stories I actually enjoyed, which was more than I could say for The Book of Guys. He has an interesting way of creating real-life pictures that end up being absolutely ridiculous. His subtle wit shows through in a lot of the pieces in this book, that same wit which causes so many people I know to say "I don't like A Prairie Home Companion...I don't get it, it's not funny." My favorite piece from the book was probably "How It Was in America a Week Ago Tuesday" - I found it endearing and amazing, and had to constantly remind myself "this isn't REAL, he's just making up numbers!" but found that whole circle of realizations amusing.

This book contains a ton of different writing styles, and I think anyone could pull out at least one piece from it that they find worthwhile and entertaining. But that means the rest of it may be found much less satisfying.

People Watching
So there were two old guys at first. One kept getting up and paying for more refills. Then a teenage (early college?) couple came in, and they were awkwardly funny to me. They were talking about biochem. The kid was so...he had this confidence that made him seem just kind of silly. A guy came in and ordered a depth charge and sat at the table next to me while I did my crossword. A lady came in and pre-paid for like a bazillion refills, which made me chuckle. It was early, and I heard the barista say to someone that it is usually quiet, until the church crowd gets released, around 11am.

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