Coffee-Colored Memories

I don't like ordinary hot coffee, not like Moey and H. and my mother, who always start/started their day with it. But I do like it if it's cloaked with thick foam or mixed with milk in a latte. Or made into a mocha, of course.

Today I yearned to stop at Café Angelique, this really cute place in a converted train station in Tenafly, near my Dad. But I didn't have enough time before or after, so I skipped it. [I ate dinner with my Dad and we had a nice long visit, including fresh air, then I hurried back to catch a movie with H., Figgy and L.] I know I'll be back there Wednesday, so can grab some iced Joe then.

Coffee Places That Define Me
1. Café Angelique, not just because I love the iced coffee to go--it's so rich and deep, just delicious, and I like the motif on the cup--but also because I have been there with Dad, Figgy and H., and even Moey when she met me once to visit Dad. Having this near Dad softens the blow of going to visit sometimes. I like getting it on the way home. I once went for lunch there with Dad after one of his doctor appointments, and we both had these giant cups of cappuccino, the best I've ever had the privilege of spooning into.


2. La Colombe, in Philly. Funny, I've only been there once, on a Sunday afternoon this June, but it was to meet my cousin, Linda. And I can't explain how wonderful it was to just sit there and talk for hours with a good iced coffee. Linda and I were at the same family gatherings for years but she was Sis's peer, not mine. She was my older cousin who wore mod makeup, sewed her own dresses, worked at Gino's, was an artist, had a boyfriend, and got married--the first wedding reception I ever attended. We reconnected thanks to our blogs and to those iced coffees--our dads were brothers...it means so much to me.


3. Beans, on Church Street in Montclair. The little shops smells heavenly, thanks to all the coffee beans for sale. But the iced coffee is a special blend of mocha beans and another flavor--the owner told me, so I could buy the same mix and make it at home, which was good of her. Pricey--I think $3 each. But so, so good. I'm crestfallen when summer ends and they stop making it. 42 Church Street, Montclair, NJ 07042-2702 (973) 783-7175

4. The Hot Chocolate Sparrow, Orleans, Cape Cod. The Iced Mocha Sparrow with whip is my favorite. But the iced coffee is also very good.


5. Whole Foods in Paramus. Excellent iced mocha but maybe four bucks. I like it better than the one at the Whole Foods in West Orange. But these days, am trying to have less sugar, so have been sticking mostly to iced coffee.


Tomorrow I have a very busy day between life and work. Alice runs on iced coffee [usually decaf, with half and half and Splenda, maybe a shake of cinnamon too].

Photo by pyl213 at flickr.com.