Perfect simple breakfast cups and croissants aside, this place is what I envision every ideal coffee house to be:
-- notable local history/lore
-- open, rustic interior
-- bar facing the street for people-ogling
-- newspapers
-- an owner/barista who waives the full cost because this dumb cheap American with his powerful U.S. dollar didn't bring enough cash
-- who then refuses it when I bring the rest of the cash later
-- and who serenades his regular customers when they enter in in the morning, to everyone's amusement
While I would have lost it for the option of having a regular cup of coffee, just everything about this visit was perfect. All I ask for in life is to start my day with a coffee and croissant in a place where people are happy or getting happier, and where everything feels real, authentic.
Olimpico delivers.