That Quaint Neighborhood Café…
…Where It Is Only about Enjoying the Simple Pleasures Of Life
The place is perfectly lit, not entirely dull but not too bright either. A rich aroma permeates through the air, and remains suspended throughout the evening. The elaborate furniture and upholstery is old-fashioned, and rustic.
A lavish selection of photographs, quite a few of them worthy of being given vintage status, adorn its many walls. If the intention is to narrate a story of evolution through pictures, suffice to say the management has done a damn good job.
The wooden floor, and the adjacent staircase — leading to the first floor — both produce a creaking sound when someone walks on them. Then there is an old machine on display in the corner. Most importantly, any such place seldom disappoints as regards the quality of products (and services) on offer.
The inference is to the café in the neighborhood that one tends to frequent. Confused? Well…let’s attempt an elaborate explanation.
It is not about the international coffee franchises that one comes across in almost every city, rather every major locality.
It is also not about those fairly nascent coffee chains that in their bid to attain global presence lose out on their local essence.
It is definitely not about those many outlets that sell flavored coffee and market it as something unique, even if in most cases the customer is merely being used as guinea pig for an experiment that is seemingly doomed from the very outset.
Finally, it is not about those places with fancy menu cards, whose purpose is to sell other items in the pretext of serving coffee. The bean drink, as such, is a side dish here, an afterthought so to speak.
Instead, we are talking about that quaint neighborhood café. The traditional coffee shop that we frequent, at times in the morning to begin our day on a good note, but mostly in the evenings not to discuss business proposals but to have casual conversations with friends and relatives.
Such coffee shops usually have their own roasters, make their own coffee and serve their customers in the simplest yet best possible manner. It is those places where the baristas don’t go about their jobs in a mechanical manner but at times also display their human side, like having a quick conversation with the customers.
There is no urgency in such friendly neighborhood cafes. These are places where one goes to just enjoy the coffee and have a good time, leaving all the worries behind. No frills and fancies, just the aroma of the beans and a bean drink on the table.
It is about those options that we conveniently forget the moment we come across a branded alternative. In fact for someone used to having their coffee at a global chain such a place is an utter disappointment, a place in need of an immediate renovation. But for those who believe in enjoying life in its purest form, minus the modern trappings, such places have the best ambience.
The quaint neighborhood café is not about the fuss. It is about soaking in the tradition. It is about being content with the basic. It is about enjoying the simple pleasures of life. It is about going back to an old-fashioned setting, and being proud of it. It is about doing little or nothing and being content with it, something in sharp contrast to the many run of the mill coffee shops where customers are perennially busy with their computers.
While travelling, both the official and personal/touristy kinds, any individual is made to understand one thing, that such a café can be found anywhere provided one is on the look out for it. If this effort is accompanied by an earnest desire then the search will end on a satisfactory note.
The quaint neighborhood café doesn’t necessarily have to be in the immediate surroundings. It can be near the hotel that one is staying while on frequent business trips. It is quite possible that one may come across such establishments while making another of those many attempts to satisfy that insatiable wander lust.
It need not be exactly the place that one frequents but is actually one that stays in the subconscious for a substantially longer period, even if when it has been visited only once, maybe twice. In almost every sense it is a café that leaves a lasting impact.
It is this recollection, that urge to go back again to have a good time, sans the paraphernalia that makes the quaint neighborhood café both an unforgettable experience as also an inherent part of one’s existence.
