| rev:text
| - It's nice having a coffee shop within walking distance from my home! As the only coffee shop along Ellsworth Avenue in the heart of Shadyside, the types of clientele can vary considerably. There can be white-collar workers, blue-collar workers, college students, and teenagers all in the same place. Talk about diversity!
Anyway, the coffee shop has large windows that face the street and a parking lot, providing ample natural light into the space. The interior is fairly spacious, clean, and colorful. There is outdoor seating on nice days. Parking can be a bit of a problem because Ellsworth Avenue tends to get busy or, like now, has construction work going on.
At the coffee bar/cashier, you will see assorted baked goods, sandwiches and paninis, and energy bars. They even have gigantic cookies almost the size of my face! I would so get those, but then I'd end up gobbling it down in one sitting and exceeding my calorie needs for the day (curse my sweet tooth...and while I'm ranting, curse calories!) Their coffee menu is typical--brewed coffee, cafe au lait, "shot in the dark" (shot of espresso in coffee), espresso drinks--but they also have Crazy Mocha trademarked drinks. I can't remember the names, but they sounded delicious (think along the lines of Starbucks frappucino). As someone who drinks PLENTY of coffee, I know a good coffee when I have one. Now, I'm definitely not the guy who goes on a soliloquy about the underlying aromas and flavors in the coffee and can tell you the type of bean used and its origin. But, I can tell if the coffee has a full flavor or not. Unfortunately, I haven't had that full-flavored brewed coffee at Crazy Mocha. It is a decent cup of coffee absolutely, just not that A-grade coffee that I've had at other coffee shops.
One other minor warning: there is usually one person working. That means it can take a while before you get your espresso drink, fancy schmancy or not. So I would advise against coming here if you're short on time or there is a massively long line.
I haven't had their baked goods or sandwiches yet, but from what I've heard, I will definitely try their Red Velvet biscotti and sandwiches sometime soon!
|