Nobly Drinking Tea OR Sippin' The Noble Coffee

Indie Indy Coffee Shops Series #4

I've been saving this place for awhile, but the time has come to share its awesomeness.

Why now? Because some time in the next week or so I will finish the rough draft of my first novel. The draft's going to end up just north of 100,000 words, and well over 30,000 of those were written here. Possibly even more.

Where is this magnificent writing place?

Noble Coffee & Tea Company, Noblesville, IN

They hung an actual coffee pot out front
so people who haven't had their morning coffee don't have to read.

Those of you following the blog may remember Noblesville from their town square around Christmas time. If you don't then please proceed to Education Room B.

The shoppe actually has two entrances, one on the square and one around the corner on the next street, right next to a cupcake store. (And yes, they are totally cool with you buying cupcakes then bringing them in to enjoy with coffee. It's a VERY good idea.)

We shall call them the Cupcake Entrance and the Square Entrance.

The Cupcake Entrance drops you right in front of the counter.

Also in front of the Wall of Coffee.

Noble Coffee roasts their own coffee, so as you peruse the Wall of Coffee look for their own various roasts. They also have flavored blends with neat names like Jamaican Me Crazy and Highlander Grog. (Both very good, by the way.)

As a brief side note, we sent a couple pounds of these to my aunt for Christmas. My understanding is she jealously guards them from any visitors to keep for herself. You've been warned.

Just off the side of the Cupcake Entrance is a room that reminds you why the "Tea" part of the company name is there.

We would also like to remind you that tea can be fancy,
as shown by our fancy Tea Cabinet.

Oh, and there's a third reminder of why we should all cherish either our pre-ground coffee or our automatic coffee grinder:

In the 1800s, forgetting to grind the beans meant
you weren't getting coffee until dinner

But say you didn't come in the Cupcake Entrance. Say you wandered around Noblesville Square and thought you'd come in for a bit of coffee and perhaps a bite to eat.

You'd find one of my favorite writin' rooms.

Quite large, and while traffic comes and goes we've always found a table.

Because of the Cupcake Entrance, this large room is removed from the people popping in for a quick to-go coffee. Those people all use the Cupcake Entrance in an attempt to go the shortest distance between them and coffee. (I don't blame them for this.)

Which means this room is largely just for people chillin'.

And those aren't paintings between the wood panels. They're murals.

Murals of totally different styles...

...But somehow they work together. Don't ask me why.

Actually that square table there is my favorite table, and where I've done most of my writing at this shoppe. I've spent a great deal of time planning my next writing move while staring at that baker riding a bike while drinking wine or the early 20th Century Frenchmen slurping espresso.

Back to my point, though, that chillin' style is the real reason I love this place. There's a comfortable, easy atmosphere here. So comfortable that I've seen at least 8 blind dates meet here for the first time. Even though the conversation was awkward, the atmosphere was cool. And that takes some doing.

In case you're worried about getting coffee from the large room of the Square Entrance, all you have to do is head through the archway to the Temple of Caffeine.

You can also use the Temple of Restroom.

Thanks for the vibe, Noble Coffee House. I'm sure I'll see you soon while editing.

How to Make Chocolate Without Oompah-Loompahs OR That's Some Good Candy...

There is something incredibly wonderful about well-made candy. After all, if we really just wanted the sweet taste and energy we could eat spoonfuls of sugar. In the end it'd be much cheaper and have the additional bonus of helping the medicine go down.

Well-made candy is an art. Not just because of the carefully crafted flavor artistry in the initial recipe, but also in the production of the candy. After all, everyone wants another piece of candy, so just making one incredible truffle isn't enough. Pans of these need to be made, and every one has to have that texture and taste combination of the original.

Enough talking. Let's get to the Good's stuff.

HAH! I'm so clever...

The name Good's isn't just a boastful title. It's one of those kismet circumstances where the owners of this small candy shop are actually named Good. In fact, the Good family has been making good candy since the 1940s, and with a few obvious exceptions most of the confections and candy are made in-house.

It's a Good house.
(Okay, I'll try to limit the puns...)

So let's take a look inside! Those of you in the audience who are faint of tastebud may want to turn away, for you will probably be craving candy by the end of this post.

First stop: Pictures of chocolate.

Taking a picture of a chocolate camera with a camera.
Artsy, or just weird?

Their chocolate just by itself is incredible, so they made it into a hundred awesome shapes for almost any occasion.

I didn't count, so maybe "a hundred" is a hyperbole...
...but not by much.

Say, for example, your team won the local basketball tournament. Or say the only trophy you got is the "Thanks for trying!" trophy. (This is more likely if I was allowed on your team.) I'd feel a lot more triumphant/mollified if this was the trophy.

Also I would never pass the ball. Ever.

And these go on:

For the record, you gave me chocolate AND a pun!
Awesome.

My favorite themed set: The police one with handcuffs and a badge.
It's the perfect way to say, "Sorry for speeding!"

But say your tastes range beyond mere chocolate. Aside from the fact that chocolate should never really be described as "mere," they still have you covered.

Google has Google+. Good's has Chocolate+.
...I would much rather go to a Chocolate+  hangout.

Squadrons of truffles in formation.
(Side note: "Truffle" is a fun word.")

That one in the center has chocolate, toffee, and coffee flavor.
You heard me.

Yes that does say "Chocolate Covered Oreos."
Pro tip: Drool isn't good for your keyboard.

Literally yards of chocolate.
And yes, that is a correct use of "literally."

But let's take a step back from the chocolate and take a step towards cynicism. How do we know the chocolate is made right on the premise?

Short answer: Because they show you.

And it smells AMAZING.

Seriously, off to one side is a lovely little walkway where you can go back and watch them make things from behind sanitary plexiglass.

Because if there wasn't plexiglass I might just grab me a handful of vanilla creme...
...I mean, come on, it's right there! Taunting me!

And this isn't some show to make them look good. This is their actual production floor, which means sometimes they're making things, sometimes they're not...

The packaging and decoration line just waiting for tastiness.

Sadly, there are no oompah-loompahs, but there's also no man behind the curtain here. What you see is what you get.

There is, however, a large chocolate bunny behind a curtain.
Oh, and that spinny thing? That's where they cut the caramels in the box next to it.

But what if you don't like chocolate at all? What if you're in the mood for gummies, jelly beans, ice cream, coffee, or even honey?

They got your back, yo.

Just step this way past the Good's gummy candy...

Past the local honey...

Stop for a second at the Jelly Belly jellybeans and coffee...
(Because they're Jelly Belly and coffee. Duh.)

To arrive at the handmade ice cream counter.
(The ice cream is handmade. The counter was probably prefabricated.)

There's a level of impressive thoroughness to the whole shop.

Right down to the ice cream cakes, take home quarts, and SPRINKLES.
Sprinkles are important, people.

Though Good's is in the same town as me, it actually took me several months of driving by before I went in. It's kind of removed from the beaten path of the city, and not in a particularly walking friendly area.

But eventually I did go in, and I'm glad I did. Now I use their chocolates to celebrate a variety of situations, often to the point of stretching the normal definition of celebratory reasons. ("Because it's Tuesday" is a reason to celebrate, right?)

I end this post with a full disclosure:

Upon asking for permission to take pictures of their store, they presented me with some of the clearance Easter candy (the date being shortly after Easter.) This candy was fudge in the shape of a bunny, and may have skewed my impartiality in this post...

I regret nothing.

...OR it may have just showed that in addition to being Good candymakers, they are also Good people.

I'm gonna throw my vote with the second option.

Gathering for Caffeine OR Musical Coffee Style

Indie Indy Coffee Shops Series #3

I'm gonna start off with a disclaimer:

Some coffeeshops aren't technically in Indianapolis. They are, in fact, in suburbs or small towns just outside of Indy, depending on which label you prefer.

For those longtime readers of the blog: 1) You're awesome and possess incredibly good taste. 2) You may remember a separate post about Pendleton.

We revisit that town, this time concentrating on the caffeine.

Gathering Grounds, Pendleton, IN

Kudos for the alliterative pun!

The title Gathering Grounds brings forth images of a group of friendly, welcoming people coming together to chat, laugh, and drink tasty coffee. It's the kind of sentimental idea that can work really well for marketing but in execution can be far more disillusioning.

Gathering Grounds laughs in the face of such cynicism.

And then invites you to come sing Simon & Garfunkel.

The place is pretty small, but doesn't feel cramped at all. There's a good amount of seating, and even on a crowded, busy Saturday morning one can find seats.

And a rather large variety of seats, at that.

That man with the guitar is, in fact, the owner. When there's a lull in coffee-making he'll grab his six-string and plays a few tunes, sometimes taking requests.

While I can't adequately record the audio component of the experience on this blog, I can say this: The man knows how to play in coffee shops. His volume, style, and tone fits perfectly, even when doing more frenetic songs. To illustrate: I can, in fact, continue to work on my book while he plays only ten feet from me.

It's pretty impressive, actually.

The general decor follows the same Thrown Together Yet Put Together look:

The coffee bar.
It's hard to see, but the cooler in the back holds some awesome quiche.

Coffee next to syrup, next to toasting your own bread.

It's hard to see, but this map is covered with pins.
The owners have been all over, and returned to make this chill place.

To be honest, the whole place is an intriguing blend of laid-back, almost hippy sentiments, strengthened with enough good commercial sense to keep the place around.

Kind of like your favorite Indie band: Doing something different, but there's still a merch table.

Or merch wall, as it were.

All in all? It's a great place to spend a Saturday morning/afternoon.

Caffeine Thunder Stone OR This Cafe's Made in New York City!

Indie Indy Coffee Shops Series #2

Last weekend a friend of my wife's came into town. Her purpose? To visit both my wife and another friend who lives an hour or so away.

Rather than avoid the awkward situation of choosing one friend's familiar haunts over the other's, we all decided to meet halfway. In an area none of us knew well. Which is fair. After all, if we're all ignorant, that's still fair, right?

Well, I'm glad we did, because while looking for a place to gather and write, we found a wonderful gem, one which is a perfect companion to another coffee shop that's been waiting in the wings.

Because I've heard keeping your audience in suspense is a good thing, we'll save the gem for later.

Cornerstone Coffee House

Notice that "CoffeeHouse" is in much bigger words than "Cornerstone"
They clearly know their audience.

There is a full cafe and restaurant connected to this coffee shop. But being true connoisseurs of the bitter bean, we ignored such things like "food" and headed straight for the coffee.

Pictured: Coffee.
...and maybe other things, too.

The first thing I noticed about this place was... Okay, well, the coffee.

But the second thing I noticed was the diversification. The whole place looked prosperous, well-cared for, and nicely designed.

Which, due to pesky things like economic reality, takes money.

Let's face it: It's easy to run an independent coffee shop into the ground. It happens on a fairly regular basis. After all, usually the only products are low-margin things like coffee or muffins.

But Cornerstone countered (get it?) by putting in a bar. And a cafe. And still managing to create a comfy area to work and chill.

For working...

...For chilling.

I'll admit: At first the cafe-style decor worried me. People who run "restaurants-that-serve-coffee" can often get grumpy about people who buy hot bean water and sit for hours.

But not here. This is a true CoffeeHouse/Bar/Restaurant, and happily let us consume their tasty roasted cherry-pit tea for hours while writing a bit.

Which is why we took some home with us. Because it was tasty and they were awesome.

Also: How could we possibly resist that name?!?

SoHo Cafe

Now for the Mysterious Gem from my Mysterious Meeting with Mysterious Friends drinking Mysterious Beverages.

I refer to this wonderful establishment:

Far too cool for the strip mall it's in.
...Though the "Eat More Cake" shop next door is also cool.

After getting entirely misled by Yelp's address (Curse you, Technology!), we called them on our cell phones (Hooray for Technology!) and they very nicely gave us directions.

One is never sure what to expect when one enters an independent coffee shop, so you will of course understand the moment of pause when the entrance yielded this:

I almost wish they'd turn down the lights to
make it more creepy and atmospheric...
...almost.

But at the other end was a lovely little cafe area. There was a gelato bar, a neat coffee bar, a table, and a little lounge area in front of a fireplace.

How lovely!
Also: The Peanuts fan in me loved the "Psychiatric Help 5¢" sign.

It's hard to tell from this shot, but the menu items include Nutella Lattes. I don't think I need to say more.

One corner held a lovely amount of hip, neat merchandise, too!

Remember: Buying it from your Indie Coffee Shop makes it cooler!

But there were five of us, and not a lot of apparent seating. The menu looked tasty enough, so we figured we could sit outside (where there was plenty of seating). We could at least get lunch, but not hang out.

Then I noticed this:

Gallery, you say...?
Seating, you say...?

Which suddenly made me love this place. Allow me to demonstrate:

Why, there's PLENTY of room!

From BOTH angles! And a wall of art!

Art, crafts, and neat things lined the walls. The tables had plenty of space and there were plenty of them. It was very much like being in a hip, artsy New York shop!

With a couple key differences:

1)There was room for people.

2)The people who worked there were really, really nice.

Seriously. They kindly brought our food to our table instead of just calling it out at the counter. They chatted and joked with me, and when I came back the next day instantly recognized me.

Being a regular at many shops, I've often gotten that treatment, but not usually on the first day.

And you read that correctly: The next day. We thought about switching it up, but honestly we all liked the place so much that we gravitated there the next day almost without saying.

And to top all of it off, this coffee shop came with it's own informative plaque. And we know how much I love informative plaques...

Informative!

Oh, and their dried-backed-crushed-steeped seed drink?

Very tasty, indeed.