Time for other coffee houses to start catching up!

There was a time I was fairly satisfied with many coffee houses and their espresso, but that time is long gone. It was all brought home yesterday when I stopped into one of my regular espressos stops and said "no way!" The problem (or problems) is that though they have the best of intentions they're still dreadfully behind the espresso times. The Cimbali machine? The Elektra? Equipment is old or out of date. And longo shots? Make it ristretto unless I ask for a longo. These espressos are too watery, with not enough oils, viscosity or flavor. I keep likening it to Turkish coffee (which can be good, don't get me wrong). But if I want Turkish coffee I'll order it. Also, stop buying the run of the mill Alakef espresso or the B and W Del Sol crap. It's so ordinary. Yes, it's fair trade and organic and whatever. I could go on, but I already feel harsh (like most of the espresso I get in these houses). We have excellent places like Bull Run, Kopplin's, Angry Catfish and the newly opened Quixotic making the rest of these places look out of date. I appreciate the fact coffee has come a long way in the Twin Cities, but when places like Kopplin's and the like are raising the bar so high eventually you can't go back to ordinary, antiquated equipment, beans and skills. It's time for the other coffee houses to catch up...

Anodyne and 2 Turkish coffee espressos... hmmm, what to do? Well, enjoy the rest of the place. The ambiance, the food are fantastic!