Morning Coffee with(out) a Smile

Anybody that knows us will confirm that Joseph and I are extremely gregarious. We also love strong coffee in the morning. Naturally, we like to know the names of our baristi and to make daily smalltalk with them; "hey Joe, how are you today? do you know what we did last night?"

When we lived on the Upper West Side, we would go to The Sensuous Bean every morning for amazing coffee and engaging conversation. So many interesting personalities work at and run The Sensuous Bean. Over 2 years on the UWS, we spent more time than we'd like to admit just chatting in that coffee shop.

Sigh... how we miss The Sensuous Bean!

Living in Montreal's Mile End, we're a stone's throw from St. Viateur, which has the best cafes in the city. Cafe Social and Olympico are old-skool Italian cafes... lots of worn-looking middle-aged men hang out there all day, watching soccer (sorry, football) and playing cards. Their espresso is lemony, zesty, delicious, and will have a 2mm layer of froth on top. Don't bother asking for soy milk, because they will laugh at you and curtly tell you to go to Starbucks. I asked to be lactose-intolerant?

Most days I want a latte, so I go to Le Cagibi, a quaint vegetarian restaurant/cafe. Cagibi is unique. The decor is pure kitsch--1950's dinette sets, vinyl records, indie zines, and your grandma's bric-a-brac--mini bowling pins, pictures of cats and dogs, porcelain statues... you get the idea. The music consists of oldies, indie rock, and Jay-Z thrown in there for diversity and even more kitsch. Local hipsters fill the vinyl-upholstered seats; girls in striped shirts and low-hanging jeans, retro frocks and rectangular black-rimmed glasses, studying and chatting away on their ibooks, sipping their lattes. Cagibi doesn't just have soy - they embrace the soy lifestyle!

The problem with Le Cagibi is their staff. Yes, the staff is capable, courteous, cute in a hipster/indie/ sexual- orientation- ambigious sort of way, and they make a mean latte too... they were even shouted out in Montreal Mirror's Rant Line "I love all the BOYS at the Cagibi. That’s the hottest sack of dirtbags I’ve ever seen." But the problem is: I don't know any of their names.

Joseph and I have tried to learn their names, but our friendliness simply is not reciprocated. Clearly, it's not the language barrier; their English is perfect so they wouldn't speak French to us in the first place.

Joseph postulates: they think they're so cool that EVERYONE wants to be their friend, so they are friendly to NOBODY. This prevents them from having to learn ANYBODY'S name in the first place.

Too bad, WASHes of Cagibi... it is YOU who are really missing out.