Pictures of the New Cafe

[osprey_archer]

This is a picture of the cafe from the mezzanine level. I like sitting up there so I can watch the action below.



And this is my hot chocolate, accompanied by my notebook. The hot chocolate was not as good as I had hoped (really good hot chocolate needs a little vanilla, but this was just milk and syrup) but it was passable, and I had a good time sitting there and reading my book.

Comments

[exuberantself.livejournal.com]

I kind of love that first shot. The coffee house I went to all the time in college had something similar, but it was also next to the main entrance so everyone was always passing by.

[girl-called-sun.livejournal.com]

It looks lovely - sitting upstairs and watching the world go. Also, the light fittings are pretty.

[visualthinker11.livejournal.com]

it has a mezzanine level? completely awesome. i feel like that would help the hot chocolate disappointment.

...not to understate the importance of hot chocolate. because that would be bad. ; )

[anait.livejournal.com]

It looks like a comfortable place to read and relax. :)

I was reading about hot chocolate today on a site called 'The Joy of Baking,' that has historical information on baked goods and actual, helpful tips on how to make things turn out properly. Advanced tips on how much to mix doughs, and in what order and at what temperature the ingredients should be mixed, and how they can be best baked. I read recipies and learned things!

Anyway, this site had a hot chocolate recipie that was all, 'Hot Cocoa, pshaw! That cocoa stuff is for fakes! Hot Chocolate is made with real chocolate and milk. Period! Drink of Kings and Queens!"
The picture was pretty persuasive too.

I generally prefer coffee and tea to hot chocolate, but there are two things that make me think I should reconsider: one is this recipie, and the other is Ellen Kushner's book 'Swordspoint,' where the characters (the rich ones, at least) go around having hot chocolate prepared exactly like this for breakfast every day.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

Empires have fallen because they underestimated the unimportance of hot chocolate.

...Well, maybe not. But I did read a story about a bishop (or maybe just a priest) in the Mexican state of Chiapas who wouldn't let the ladies of his district drink hot chocolate during church.

They ended up chasing him out of the district.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

All coffee houses ought to have mezzanines. It's just so awesome & facilitates people-watching for all those budding writers who hang out in cafes.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

The Joy of Baking! Is my favorite site ever! I got my pecan bar recipe there, and my lemon bar recipe, and my pecan shortbread recipe...

It's a pretty fantastic site. While I have not tried their hot chocolate I'm sure it's the Best Hot Chocolate Ever and would probably result in imminent bankruptcy because I would spend so much money on chocolate for it.

I have not read Swordspoint, but I keep hearing about. Perhaps the universe is trying to tell me something now.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

It is. :) And I think cafes have a super secret source of peculiar yet fantastic light fixtures.

[anait.livejournal.com]

The Joy of Baking! A great site! I want to try the pumpkin cheesecake and the biscuit recipies.

'Swordspoint' is... basically fanfic. The point of the story is to get two pretty, broken boys together, against the odds of their own stubborness and dysfunction and the obstacles the outside world throws at them. Kind of the very best kind of fanfic, with wonderful worldbuilding, good characters, lots of politics and intrigue flying around, and beautiful, lovely prose. I enjoyed it. Take from that what you want.

I actually think that Ellen Kusher has better books. 'The Privilege of the Sword' starts out slow and isn't perfect, but actually has some wonderful things to say about feminism in fantasy; sort of the grown-up answer to the problems with the Tamora Pierce school of feminism. It's set in the 'Swordspoint' world, a sequel of sorts. And her book 'Thomas the Rhymer' is pretty much wonderful in every way. I have nothing but good things to say about it.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

How can I possibly say no to a book that's basically really awesome fanfic? Especially if it has a sequel that's even more awesome?

[anait.livejournal.com]

You'll have to read some of her books then, and let me know what you think. I'm curious.

A lot of critics and other SF/F authors loved 'Swordspoint.' I liked it, but felt a little empty when I finished, like for all the buildup, there should have been more to the story that what it turned out to be. I would re-read 'The Privilege of the Sword' and 'Thomas the Rhymer' again, and get as much or more out of second reading I think, because there was a lot to sink into, but I don't think I'd re-read 'Swordspoint' for anything except maybe the lovely prose.

I know everyone reads for different things, so I wonder what you will make of her books. For the record, the middle book of the series between 'Swordspoint' and 'The Privilege of the Sword' is called 'The Fall of Kings.' I thought it read like bad fanfic, even though it got similar (good) reviews as 'Swordspoint.' I hit a point halfway through when I couldn't get through it, and just read the last couple of pages.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

I'll post about it once I read it. It will be a while; some silly person has checked it out of the library, and I'm going to Russian language boot camp in a week so won't have much time to read there.