| Author | Message | ||
     J-9 Citizen Username: Newtotown Post Number: 51 Registered: 8-2004 |
Just stopped in to Cafe Meow and enjoyed a nice cup of the Witch's Brew. Very rich (strong!) and flavorful...and organic. I promise -- I don't work there!  | ||
| george H Citizen Username: Georgieboy Post Number: 312 Registered: 8-2005 |
I didn't realize that the Cafe had opened. Did you get a chance to look over the menu? I'm looking for a casual place for a Saturday lunch with a 13 month old in tow. John or Christine, if you're reading this thread, do you have high chairs & also, something on the menu that a one year might be able to eat? | ||
| mwoodwalk Citizen Username: Mwoodwalk Post Number: 577 Registered: 9-2001 |
Where is this new destination? | ||
| J-9 Citizen Username: Newtotown Post Number: 53 Registered: 8-2004 |
It's on Springfield Ave., near Prospect. Close to Stories in Motion and Bank of America. | ||
| Alleygater Citizen Username: Alleygater  Post Number: 2525 Registered: 10-2004 |
I would seriously recommend that you watch out when you go there, I heard Springfield Avenue is very dangerous due to it's close proximity to Irvington and the hyperviolent section of Union called Vauxhall. | ||
| greenetree Supporter Username: Greenetree Post Number: 9096 Registered: 5-2001  |
I stopped and got an iced latte on my way to work this morning. Very convenient and friendly. And good. Alley may have a point, tho. There was a very short person behind the counter, supposedly "helping her mother". I think that it was really a midget gangster, waiting to scope out how much money I had in my wallet. In fact, they appear to cater to midget gangsters; there are even child-sized tables and chairs. But I know what they are really for.... | ||
| Alleygater Citizen Username: Alleygater Post Number: 2528 Registered: 10-2004 |
Ahem...I believe they prefer to be called Little People. | ||
| John Citizen Username: Jdm Post Number: 120 Registered: 3-2006 |
Who knew we were serving all these MOLers?  George, we've got high chairs and small chairs too, for the not so infantile. We're building up the food menu, but there are already lots of snack foods for little ones, also fresh fruit, fruit cups, Stonyfield Farms organic yogurt cups and squeezes, grilled cheese, PB&J pocket sandwiches (starting Thursday). For the larger palate, we've got panini, cold wild-rice salad and a few other things. We're ramping up the food choices slowly as we get the bar working well, so look for more in the coming weeks. Greenetree is right. I swear I've got less money in my pocket after every encounter with that short person. Rumor has it that she just celebrated a birthday though, so maybe she'll become less expensive as she ages. (Older visitors may enjoy the free WiFi too. The other "little person" in the shop has given it high praise. No delay for his on-line Flash games, I guess.) | ||
| doulamomma Citizen Username: Doulamomma Post Number: 1750 Registered: 3-2002 |
Can't wait to check out the new spot! | ||
| greenetree Supporter Username: Greenetree Post Number: 9114 Registered: 5-2001 |
Rumor has it that she just celebrated a birthday though, so maybe she'll become less expensive as she ages.  And the owner has a great sense of humor, too! Poor John. As an only daughter, perhaps I should put you in touch with my father and he can break it to you gently..... Love your place, tho. | ||
| mwsilva Citizen Username: Mwsilva Post Number: 516 Registered: 5-2002 |
A sneak open. That was clever. When will you have a real open, full hours and a full menu? The place looks great and the coffee and sandwich were awsome! You folks did a lot in that old hole. Why are the walls to the potty so thick? | ||
| ajc Citizen Username: Ajc Post Number: 5438 Registered: 9-2001  |
I also stopped in and ordered a sandwich and a drink this afternoon. Everything was very good and I'll be back again soon. I believe NetNomads and Cafe Meow will both do well. Having cafe's on both sides of the intersection will give cause for more people to stop, shop, and grab a quick drink, snack, or sandwich. What with all the additional new development in this area, I'm looking forward to seeing many new businesses that may be willing to make an investment in this part of town. The place is very cute and friendly. I wish them all the best of luck in their new business venture... | ||
| John Citizen Username: Jdm Post Number: 121 Registered: 3-2006 |
Why are the walls to the potty so thick? Chris is from MN and insists on having a tornado shelter wherever she works. | ||
| John Citizen Username: Jdm Post Number: 122 Registered: 3-2006 |
Actually it's not just the walls, it's the floor and ceiling too; hence the ramp. You can also see the rebar in the walls of the doorway. Our working assumption is that it was a bank vault. I do think it will make a good shelter, should we need it, but, more practically, it gave us enough room to put in both a baby-changing station and a toddler seat. The latter was a new one on me, but my wife insists that our son was forever trying to open the door on her when she was out with him in public restrooms. With one of these she could have strapped him in. (I should also mention that I was very fortunate in having nothing to do with the work involved in cutting the various openings in the 20"-thick walls...though I do have pictures.) | ||
| juju's petals Citizen Username: Jujus_petals Post Number: 321 Registered: 5-2003  |
John, What are your Saturday and Sunday AM hours? How early are you open? I've made plans to "walk to get the buns" weekend mornings just like in Hoboken. | ||
| BGS Supporter Username: Bgs Post Number: 1264 Registered: 10-2003 |
...and John--- your significant other has mentioned knitting and caffee klatching in the fall I am hoping...keep us posted! Best wishes!! BGS | ||
| Georgie Citizen Username: Georgie Post Number: 128 Registered: 8-2004 |
This place is *just* what I was looking for. What a great vibe you get when you walk in! Not only was the coffee outstanding but the owners were soooo nice and accomodating to my very active and demanding toddler. They also have a table with crayons and coloring books which kept my daughter occupied while I sipped my coffee. The food was excellent and I can't wait for the expanded menu. I wish the owners the best! | ||
| John Citizen Username: Jdm Post Number: 123 Registered: 3-2006 |
juju, We're starting out opening at 9 and 10, respectively. If the early risers make enough noise, we could be persuaded to start earlier. Goodness knows we're up before then. (And what's this "walking to get the buns"? Is that related to food or glutei? ;-) BGS, Chris is indeed an avid knitter (and accomplished, if I may be permitted a little spousal bragging ), so I'm sure she'll have something going soon. She misses her old knitting group from Ann Arbor. Drop her a line about it. | ||
| mimi Citizen Username: Mimi Post Number: 293 Registered: 2-2005 |
john, what are your hours during the week? i'll can't wait to drop by tomorrow. m | ||
| Mtam Citizen Username: Mtam Post Number: 142 Registered: 11-2005 |
Can't wait to check it out! My stop in after yoga, too. I agree that creating a set of businesses in that area that encourage hanging out, eating and shopping, is a real plus. | ||
| growler Citizen Username: Growler Post Number: 1006 Registered: 11-2001  |
John - So, you are going to be open on Sunday's? | ||
| kellybean Citizen Username: Kellybean Post Number: 66 Registered: 2-2003 |
I was there this morning and it was great! The owners are very, very nice and the coffee was excellent. I love the look and feel of the place and the sign too. Good Luck!!! | ||
| mrs_mooch Citizen Username: Mrs_mooch Post Number: 33 Registered: 9-2005 |
Hey, MOL'ers! Thanks so much for the positive feedback! It's been one crazy ride this week and we really appreciate everyone's business. It's been really fun meeting you all and I want you to know that we'd like to hear constructive negative criticism too (only PL us on those please  ) ! It just makes us better in the long run and that is our ultimate goal!! A couple of you have asked about hours, so here we go: This week (and possibly next) we are doing reduced hours. After that the hours will be very Gumby (flexible, that is) until we figure out what works best for everybody. We'll be hiring soon so we won't have to work 16 hour days (like we are right now), but what we think for September is this; Tuesday and Wednesday, 6:30 am - 6:00 pm. Thursday, Friday, 6:30 am - 9:00 pm. Saturday, 9:00 - 9:00 pm, Sunday, 10 am - 3 pm, and Monday closed (hey, come on, everybody needs a day off  !). We plan though to have fun stuff on weekends and when that happens we will stay open later to accommodate. Also, people seem to REALLY LIKE LUNCH! So we are ramping up the food as fast as we can in between John getting ready to teach THREE courses this fall at Drew (YIKES), spaying mom cats, fostering kittens and raising the two little people you might have seen running the cash register the last two days! (I have to stop here and give a big shout out to Chrystel, a fellow MOL'er! She volunteered to take over fostering the two kittens I had and ended up ADOPTING THEM BOTH! Thank you, thank you! It's so rewarding to have someone local adopt the kittens so you can keep track of them!) The menu will be very fluid for now, unfortunately I'm the kind of cook that has to be in the mood to cook something! We'll have Whole-Wheat Chocolate Zucchini Cake tomorrow for a little breakfast snackie (don't tell the kiddies it has zucchini or whole wheat in it, they'll never know!!) and we'll just have to see what other goodies the morning will bring. For lunch we added a roasted vege panino (with roasted garlic) to the others and PBJ pocket sandwiches on 10 grain bread (fresh ground peanut butter and jam made with sugar, not corn syrup) and a grilled cheese sandwich that we are pressing on the panino grill. Come see us soon! Thank you, thank you all again! We are having a blast. Christine aka: Mrs Mooch | ||
| John Citizen Username: Jdm Post Number: 124 Registered: 3-2006 |
Kellybean, Thanks for the complimentary post. (And I should add that kelly was the first to enjoy the tell-your-unobvious-MOL-username discount. Others may apply. ) Growler, A number of other SA businesses are open on Sundays, including Wooden-You-Know, the Beaded Path, Shakti, NetNomads, the 99-cent Store, Topf's, numerous hair and nail salons and other food establishments. Our wireless router gets no day of rest either! Mtam, We're psyched that Shakti is coming back to the Avenue after the fire. It's great to have them just two doors down from us, even if just for some months. As many of you know, Chris and I are also Hilton residents and we couldn't be happier to be part of the revitalization of the Avenue. With new businesses moving in and established businesses like NetNomads already moved here, things are really looking good. So, Village fans, come on down and see what you're missing! Do some shopping, grab lunch, hang out, and enjoy! Or bring the laptop and get some work down. (Oh, and Chris appears to have finished her post before me - darn that dying laptop battery - so excuse the spousal double-post.) | ||
| greenetree Supporter Username: Greenetree Post Number: 9148 Registered: 5-2001 |
There's a discount for outing yourself? Do tell..... | ||
| juju's petals Citizen Username: Jujus_petals Post Number: 324 Registered: 5-2003 |
John, Buns = pastries. Not bottoms. A word adopted from my NJ-Italian inlaws. As in "See you, I'm off to get the buns." Whaddayagot? | ||
| Scully Citizen Username: Scully Post Number: 985 Registered: 8-2005 |
Stopped by there earlier today for a coffee and nosh. Loved it! Sat on the couch by the 'fire' reading and sipping. | ||
| Psychomom Citizen Username: Psychomom Post Number: 634 Registered: 5-2005  |
I can't wait to try it out...may I suggest you consider earlier hours on Sunday...I go to St. Joseph's church and many of us hit the Parkwood for coffee after Mass...I would totally vote for going to your place if open. Also, you should advertise on the church bulletin...get's a lot of people to look at it. Just call the rectory for info. As far as knitting is concerned, there is a group that meets infrequently at St. Joe's to make prayer shawls for the people confined to nursing homes etc. Maybe you could make a connection there too. Anyway, good luck on your new venture and I look forward to seeing it soon. | ||
| mimi Citizen Username: Mimi Post Number: 294 Registered: 2-2005 |
great coffee (and they offer soy!). great panini. great vibe. i'll be back again tomorrow. no more starbucks for me. i can't tell you how excited i am. | ||
| John Citizen Username: Jdm Post Number: 125 Registered: 3-2006 |
Psychomom, Isn't the early mass at St. Joe's 9 a.m.? We figured 10 would be good for that crowd. (I've never experienced a pre-10 "Go in peace" myself. ;-) We're getting going on the advertising in general and suspect Fr. Michael might point out our absence from the back page of the bulletin. :-) mimi, Thanks. Glad to have you back today. The panini are really good (if I may be permitted to say so). The only problem from my perspective is that they're so popular that I can't count on any being left at the end of the day, so I try to refrain from making one my lunch. Perhaps some people can be distracted by Chris' wild-rice salad on Sunday. | ||
| Psychomom Citizen Username: Psychomom Post Number: 643 Registered: 5-2005 |
John, After I posted I realized that your hours are probably fine...although there is also a 7:30 am mass but mostly older people attend that one and I don't know if they are the going out to brunch crowd. I can't wait to try it out with Mr. Psychomom.... You sound like a St. Joe's parishioner...are you?? | ||
| BGS Supporter Username: Bgs Post Number: 1274 Registered: 10-2003 |
So, after church yesterday morning two friends and I stopped by for coffee and to check things out! What a great addition to the avenue. A very warm and cozy atmosphere even on a damp dreary day!!! Loved the fireplace in the back of the cafe...and will look forward to knitting there one of these evenings. Since Mr. BGS is not crazy about flavored coffee, I do not make it at home and was pleased to be able to have a cup of really good hazelnut at the cafe. It was also nice to be able to toast my own bagel and have it the color that I like! Very nice setup- spacious and bright. John and Chris have a winner here and I cannot wait for a menu to appear. Also loved the "outing myself" discount!!! :-) BGS | ||
| Amie Brockway-Metcalf Citizen Username: Amie Post Number: 569 Registered: 6-2004 |
My family enjoyed some great coffee and bagels (really good bagels, in fact) on Saturday. We'll be back! (and ask about the ceiling!) | ||
| John Citizen Username: Jdm Post Number: 128 Registered: 3-2006 |
Psychomom, Yes. We live down Franklin about a block and a half. (Not a huge fan of the architecture, but would can you do? ) | ||
| Dego Diva Citizen Username: Fmingione Post Number: 834 Registered: 12-2003 |
OK, let's talk about the important stuff... dessert! Whatcha got? Any chocolate layer cake? I'd love to come by after dinner some night for dessert and coffee. Looking forward to checking the place out. | ||
| John Citizen Username: Jdm Post Number: 130 Registered: 3-2006 |
Dego, Next week we start staying open past 3 pm. (We're closing early these first two weeks to get the final things done on the place and optimize the layout as we work with it.) Right now in front of me are chocolate cookies, Bea's bars, monkey bread, and frosted cinnamon rolls, all baked here in the kitchen. In back are some banana-nut muffins waiting to come out. And I heard some rumors about fudge, but those have yet to be confirmed. | ||
| growler Citizen Username: Growler Post Number: 1009 Registered: 11-2001 |
mmmmmmmm........fudge..... | ||
| mrs_mooch Citizen Username: Mrs_mooch Post Number: 36 Registered: 9-2005 |
Hey Dego Diva! I make an unbelievably good chocolate layer cake (if I do say so myself  ) that I will eventually get made!!! It's been so crazy this past week that I haven't been able to experiment with my new oven very much, but look for it in the very new future! Can't wait for you to come by and check out the place (and hopefully when you do, I'll have a nice slice of chocolatey goodness waiting just for you!) Christine aka: Mrs. Mooch | ||
| Dego Diva Citizen Username: Fmingione Post Number: 841 Registered: 12-2003 |
Yippee!! Looking forward to it!! | ||
| doulamomma Citizen Username: Doulamomma Post Number: 1794 Registered: 3-2002 |
Was in today with my friend and several kids...saw a few folks I know, had a lovely time & wonderful lunch & coffee - what a perfect vibe! yay! What was especially nice to see: they recycle & make it easy to do so. Such a simple step & yet so many places don't do it for whatever reason. nice touch! | ||
| BGS Supporter Username: Bgs Post Number: 1284 Registered: 10-2003 |
Amen to that recycling thing...I am just going to love going to this place...can't wait for it to be open later in the evening....I foresee lite supper with Mr. BGS here and big cup of joe and a homemade dessert1!! ...and I am thinking that the space available here is going to make for a very nice MOL F2F down the road!! | ||
| tabby Citizen Username: Tabby Post Number: 380 Registered: 8-2001 |
And speaking of F2F, I said in the beginning this would be a great place for all MOL feline fanciers to get together and meow, um I mean talk...... We can plan it for later in the fall to let CM get settled. Tabby | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 1145 Registered: 3-2006  |
I'm in, Tabby---it sounds purrfect! Calli | ||
| Scully Citizen Username: Scully Post Number: 1016 Registered: 8-2005 |
Count me in for a F2F there! | ||
| mrs_mooch Citizen Username: Mrs_mooch Post Number: 39 Registered: 9-2005 |
Tabby, As Calli said, it's a purr-fectly great idea!  Can't wait to meet you all! Christine aka: Mrs Mooch (owner, cafe meow) (wow, it feels good to say that!) | ||
| Amateur Night Citizen Username: Deborahg Post Number: 1972 Registered: 5-2001  |
Stopped in today with my daughter -- YOW I love that witch's brew coffee! We had a great time, loved the place! | ||
| Psychomom Citizen Username: Psychomom Post Number: 703 Registered: 5-2005 |
Mr. Psychomom and I stopped in on Saturday morning...the coffee was excellent and my cinnamon bun yummy...we will do it again for sure...I didn't know about the MOL discount though!!! Good luck looks like you've got a winner!!! |
