Cafe Bambino

Vic's new job means he gets the car. For a long time I was ruler of the automobile, mighty queen of the Mazda. I would pop here and there, exploring, running errands, carrying great loads of heavy fresca or bottled water at a time. Those days are gone.

I'm someone whose mind is easily jumbled and nothing clears it like a nice cup of coffee, sitting in the shop reading a chapter or so of a book or going over my to-do list. This is probably a hold over from my first days in NY when I hated my apartment so much that I became a reading machine hopping from one cafe to the next with something like my dogeared second hand Simone de Beauvoir biography. But now hopping out to a coffeeshop means a 20 minute walk downtown, and a 20 minute walk back. Add some reading and a cuppa and it's a two hour adventure instead of quick pick me up.

That is until I recently discovered Cafe Bambino on 65th. A mere six blocks away this tiny cafe is a godsend to poor carless me. Legend has it that they have been serving coffee there since 1927 (in Seattle years that is like 1681) and that it was opened by a circus family who would draw business by performing on the modest street corner. Not only do they have the best coffee in Seattle (voted #1 two years running - who knew?!) but maybe the most delicious anise biscotti that I have ever tasted. What's more, though the inside is cramped and tiny, a deck next door is a perfect place for sipping, with its arbor covered in burgeoning purplish vines and the Seattle weather pushing toward Spring.

And so even though the rest of Seattle seems to be giving me a look that says "Duh!" I've finally found the cafe they've known about for years, just blocks from my house. It's amazing what being forced to use these crazy feet will do, what you will find. But I still get the car on weekends. Fresca's heavy.