Guatemalan Coffee Picker Happy If Single Person Starts Day Alert

Yesterday afternoon friend BH and I went searching for a place to have coffee and get some work done. Driving down Huron and then Washtenaw, we passed the usual suspects: Espresso Royale, Starbucks, and Beaner's. Crowded, crowded, and more crowded.

Coffeehouses closer to the center of town were packed with undergrads. I get enough of the North Face-and-Uggs crowd during the week, thanks. We drove on.

One radius out, the coffeehouses were still packed, this time with townies. You could actually see people holding up The New York Times to the window of Starbucks. We drove on.

Finally we got to Ypsilanti.

Crossing under the I-23 overpass into Ypsi, you're tempted to think everything you've heard about the neglected stepchild of Washtenaw County is true. It's pretty shoddy, has a lot of boarded-up businesses, and frankly isn't easy on the eyes.

But Ypsi's also got a feel that's ten times as real as Ann Arbor's. In Ann Arbor you never know what's fab and what's pre-fab. You walk into Starbucks and you know every light fixture, every sound from the espresso machine, every seat -- in fact, everything down to the fake fireplace -- has been planned with laser-guided focus to get you to do one thing: spend money. You like the place, and the marketers and researchers wouldn't have it any other way.

Now, you come to Ypsi and you take your chances. Some things you might like, some things you might hate. But that's probably the way you felt about your house while growing up. And the comparison is apt: Ypsi is comfortable, real, with idiosyncracies laid out in plan view.

After a few minutes, BH and I arrived at the Ypsi coffeehouse known as The Ugly Mug (317 W. Cross St., 734-484-4684). Dear reader, you should definitely go here.

Why?

(1) It's local. Locally baked goods (spinach pies and muffins) adorn the counter top. Locally made art adorns the walls.

(2) It's independent. The only things with corporate logos on them are the sugar packets.

(3) It's quality. Without exception, every espresso-based drink with milk that I've gotten here has looked and tasted beautiful. To wit, the leaf pattern on the foam of my latte:


In the lower-right corner you can also make out the little demitasse spoon Ugly Mug gives you with your for-here coffee. (Unfortunately you can make out the right edge of my laptop keyboard which, yes, is missing the down arrow key.)

In fairness Ann Arbor has its own share of local, independent coffeehouses. Portofino (2250 W. Stadium Blvd., 734-222-6066) on the West Side comes to mind. Unfortunately, Portofino keeps early hours. The Ugly Mug does not, and in that way it's more my style.

Anyway, The Ugly Mug and Portofino, two places to keep in mind if you ever get tired of ordering coffee in pseudo-Italian from those baristas in green aprons. And, by the way, the title of the post comes from an Onion article you can find here.