Contrary to what my kids think, I’m not silly.
They thought I was – and their dad, too - when they heard about us schlepping around for weeks, visiting 200 cafes during Sydney’s hottest summer in, ooh, about a century!
That part wasn’t fun, but it was all in a good cause. We were looking for great cafes in a city that is becoming well-known for its great cafes, creating our new iPhone and iPad app, Sydney Café Culture.
It wasn’t easy, deciding which to include.
We settled for a wide range that would suit everyone from surfers wrapped in towels and in need of a caffeine jolt, to weekend breakfasters or mums with prams and littlies in tow.
Tough job, but we chose to do it. And now the inevitable question keeps coming from people I meet: which is your favourite café?
That’s a loaded query, and one I am not silly enough to answer here. Mainly because there is no single adequate answer, except for ‘it depends’.
What works for me depends on my mood: whether I am craving coffee or the food that goes with it; whether I want books, art, shopping as a side serve; whether I need a cheery crowd to keep me company, or an endless sea view.
It might depend, too, on who I am with: a young family, an older friend – or my dog!
However…………after all those cafes, all those coffees and notes and pictures and discussions with baristas (and yes, I know , if you speak Italian, it should be bariste) I do know what I like in my favourite café.
I like (in no particular order):
- a genuine and relaxed welcome
- a comfortable place to sit and just be
- newspapers and recent magazines to browse
- a bowl of water outside for my dog
- the best coffee the café owner can buy, made by a skilled and careful barista
- cleanliness
- fresh water in a bottle or on tap nearby so I can pour my own
- something extra – tiny biscotti or even a chocolate freckle to accompany my coffee
- The good aromas of lunch cooking or muffins fresh from the oven
So that’s my list. What’s on yours?
