My Obsession has a New Name

My latest post comes to you as I sit in my new favorite coffee shop/restaurant/lounging place, Busboys and Poets, here in the District. It’s located at 14th and V St (if I have to actually say “NW”, you won’t really care about this whole post anyway). It’s well known that I’m a HUGE fan of sitting around at coffee shops and soaking in the atmosphere, as well as a latte or two when I fall off the wagon. So when I first caught a glimpse of this place last week, I was ecstatic. My old standards, namely Tryst and Caribou, while consistent in their menus and service, have started to loose favor in my eyes because the growing popularity of the neighborhoods in this area has caused the available space in these venues to shrink like a pair of jeans that fit perfectly in the fitting room yet lose volume with every washing.



Sure I was happy to see this new place, but I had to restrain myself before I dove headfirst into customer loyalty. My heart has been crushed in the past by shops that look fun and cute, but really their food/coffee sucks, their clientele is obnoxious, or they end up going out of business before they get a loyal customer base. I’ve started to really crave quality and reliability in every aspect of my life – so much so that I now require all new friends to sign a three-year continued service agreement. So, if a new coffee shop feels like it’s going to be gone in a month, I have no interest in wasting my ever-so-valuable Saturday mornings there.

Right away, I knew that Busboys and Poets would be amongst my favorite lounging places. First, it’s spacious with great furniture. Maybe this will change with time, but I can actually move around this place with ease, and I don’t have to fight a woman with a stroller and an angry college student for a place to sit. Second, the WiFi here is free and consistent (take that, Tryst). Third, its part of a neighborhood that is plunging full force into gentrification, whether or not the local residents like it. Fourth, they have a cute little theater area for poetry readings and small concerts. And last…it has a sense of permanency. I can’t really describe it, but it just feels like this place is going to be here a while. It’s an intangible quality that I have yet to measure, and likely I’m just buying into the few antique pieces of furniture that sit among the modern expensive chairs and tables. Yet, I’m comfortable here.

My only concern is that I’ll spend too much time here, and burn out on it too quickly. I’m planning on coming back tomorrow night for their first official poetry reading, which is not something I’ve really experienced before, but it sounds like a nice way to spend a Sunday night. God, my obsession has started already!