Virgil's House
Good buddy and Saratoga native Bob had to show me his favorite new hangout after our assignment finished yesterday. Like a kid in a candystore, Bob darted across Lake Street straight into Virgil's Coffee House to showcase his find. "And they also have wine tastings, beer tastings and coffee tastings!" said an anxious adolescent.
It truly is beyond adorable, a throwback to Grandmas and super quiet for a reason. While the rest of the world is connected to the internet, this Luddite-inspired cafe boycotts high tech. So banish that Blackberry, lock your laptop and put away the PDA, this is a technology-free zone.
Creature comforts like vintage furniture, monopoly board games and silver, china and ceramic coffee mugs decorate the inside. Owner Jim Hahn says he's been collecting furniture, dishes, games, puzzles and all sorts of décor since he lived with his grandparents as a teenager.
It's like one big consignment shop; there's even a Victrola, a giant chess set and puzzle pieces waiting to be played. Friends helped Jim and his partner Kathleen Quartararo tailor the look and feel.
The mission is to benefit the community by buying local, brewing better and savoring silence. It's been open since 2007 and so far so good.
It's located across from the Parting Glass, next door to two semi-new but fabulous restaurants, TizNow (named for a race horse) and Scallions.
posted by Sonja Stark of PilotGirl™ @ 11:50 PM
1 Comments:
Oh, does that look nice!
How I'd love to have my coffee-away-from-home there tomorrow morning!
The coffee shops here are loud and filled with people punching away at keyboards and staring at computer screens, not talking with their neighbors (actively suspicious of them, in fact, since they might see something on those computer screens they'd rather not have seen), concentrating only on the wireless connection or how long their batteries will last, truly a world of fixated typing robots. Virgil's House sounds like a house I'd love to be in on a Sunday morning.
I never used to think about buying locally versus nonlocally but now see how critically important it is to always keep in mind, particularly as this economic crisis grows.
Its importance really struck home as I photographed at a local Saturday market.
I photographed my friend Melinda, a jeweler, selling a necklace to Rob, who works at the liquor store across the street. I had photographed her jewelry for submission for membership in a local crafts guild, i.e., her asking me to photograph her jewelry directly added to the money in my bank account. I spent at least some of that money on wine at the liquor store which employed Rob who then bought the necklace for his girlfriend from Melinda. It was a direct example of a closed exchange cycle which benefited all of us (and our local community).
I can see that Saratoga is one more 'must visit' destination when I'm up that way this summer (to add to the many others you've blogged about, Sony!)
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