Two reviews in one...

One from small city Illinois. The other from Cincinnati, OH!

Spring. Warm weather. This requires frozen drinky drinks.

Review #1: Back in Freeport, Illinois, Cafe Mondo gets the downtown crowd. I need to go back and try their regular coffee, but on this gorgeous spring day it's all about the chilled, icy drinks. I get to the door and by the sign I see that they have just closed although there is someone sitting at a table. I go in anyway and ask if I can get a drink to go. They gladly oblige me. I almost ordered a caramel, but the barista told me they also had Java Mint. Well, why isn't that on the chalkboard menu? Put it up there! Mint! Chocolate! Good! After plopping down $3 and some change for a large, I get my sweet, coffee goodness with whipped cream on top. The only problem is that there's too much sweet. Not enough coffee. The syrup should not mask the flavor of coffee in a coffee drink. It's still tasty, but if I wanted a shake, I would have gotten that. This is coffee! Their Java Mint gets 3 stars for lack of coffee flavor.

The shop itself has a nice urban feel with picture windows looking into the "city". Plenty of tables and artwork. It has what Higher Grounds lacks as far as atmosphere. I could easily see myself bringing a laptop and working here if only they stayed open later. They close at 3pm. I wonder why they don't stay open and go after the movie-goers that will be down the street that evening? I wonder if it would be worth it to them? It would be worth it to me!

Review #2: Another warm day with a taste for frozen coffee. I know of a coffee shop that I haven't frequented yet that's on my way home. I stop at Coffee Emporium in East Hyde Park, Cincy, OH. They have nice outdoor seating which I shall utilize someday. I don't know why, but I don't take a peek upstairs to see what the indoor seating is like. That's a mission for another visit on another day.

After perusing their menu (they also have scrummy looking cookies and waffles! Waffles! I'm totally coming back to check their Sunday waffle dealio!), I order a Glacial Mudslide with whip which costs $3.75 for a 12 oz. It is a chocolate/caramel blend. It's very rich. Very flavorful. And the coffee taste shines through. Mmm, Mmm good! A chocolate ring around the sides of the cup makes it look pretty. This is heavenly and what a frozen coffee drink should be. Again, I need to come back and try the regular coffee to see if it compares to Lookout Joe. They also sell tasty chocolates such as Ritter Sport with Cornflakes. That candy bar is the bomb dot com. The Glacial Mudslide gets the magical 5 cup rating.

So many choices, so little time

Lookout Joe in Mt. Lookout has a wonderful coffee bar of sorts. Each day, they have about 6 different coffees, some decaf, to choose from. And the choices vary from day to day. Today, I was torn between the Sumatran Fair Trade Italian Roast and the Tiramisu. The need for a major caffiene boost won me over. I went with the Sumatran. Rich. Bold. I probably would have needed an additional packet of Splenda if I had been drinking it with nothing else to consume, but the chocolate croissant I ordered for breakfast helped sweeten it up. Perfectly.

The nice think about Lookout Joe is that when you order a plain coffee, the first refill is free and then a dollar after that. So, I tried about a half cup of the Tiramisu. Mild. Light. Good drinking coffee when you don't need to be over caffieneated. I also loooove their Highland Grog for this very reason. I could drink cups of it and be happy.

The Sumatran, 3.5 cups. The Tiramisu and their Highland Grog, 4 cups.

No Coffee Toffee?

I'm back. My computer died, and as I was job hunting/editing novels, this took a backseat to all of the things that NEEDED to be done. I have so much coffee to revisit and write up, but it will come in time.

Joseph Beth's is an excellent local bookseller with locations in both Cincinnati, OH and Lexington, KY. They also have Bronte Bistro where you can get coffee drinks (or lunch if you so desire). As it was one of the last 80 degree days of the year, I wanted something cold. The barista recommended a blended coffee. I asked about flavorings and she said it had a hint of a chocolate taste to it, otherwise no flavors. So, no Java Julep type stuff here? I'm sure they'd give it to me if I asked for it, but you can't just order something called a Raspberry Grasshopper. You have to order a blended coffee with a shot of raspberry syrup and a shot of mint? Or whatever's in those things.

The blended coffee... Smooth, good, and made my grocery shopping trip much more enjoyable. It doesn't really need extra flavoring. The hint of chocolate was just fine. A medium costs $3.99. 4 out of 5 cups.