Brauhaus Kaffee

All photos by smalltowngirl

I love this coffee shop. 

Still new (open for less than a month, I believe), Brauhaus Kaffee is the newest addition to quaint, downtown Farmington's collection of stores and restaurants. 

The owners, who are residents of Fredericktown, Missouri, have spent the last two years renovating the space.

I'm not sure how old downtown's buildings are, but my guess is that they're from the early 1900s. The sidewalk outside is red brick, and two tables with two chairs each, sit just outside the cafe's front doors. 

The cafe's two floor-to-ceiling picture windows let sunshine stream in, and offer a view of the side of the court house, around which downtown Farmington was built.

Gleaming, subtly distressed hardwood floors are offset by black granite-topped tables and contemporary black leather sofa and armchairs. 

Prints of German artwork hang on the red, exposed brick, and a piano sits in the back. 

Beside the piano sits an empty guitar stand - empty because someone in the cafe has inevitably picked up the instrument to pluck out acoustic melodies each time I've been in the cafe.

I like to think that by way of my Sunday afternoon latte ritual, I'm helping keep Pat, the owner's spirits high. Today we chatted about their scones being hand made from scratch each morning, and about the anticipation over the arrival of their new stove, which will accomodate homeades soups in addition to their already homemade baked goods.

Today, craving something sweet, I ordered a mocha. The taste was just as great as the presentation:

The clientelle is as diverse as one could hope for in a community as relatively homogeneous as Farmington, Missouri is. 

Today, for instance, there were three q-tips (white haired folks), a woman who looked to be my age with a mod, black haircut and a large tatoo on her foot, and another late-20s/early-30s writer-type with a laptop. I couldn't help the excitement, overhearing him voice his enthusiasm about a local, independent magazine.

I hope that Brauhaus Kaffee surives. I take that back, I hope that it thrives, and I have faith that it will. Warm fuzzies will take over my belly when downtowns come fully to life again, and I think Farmington's well on it's way, thanks to places like this one.

Cupcakes (a.k.a. Bet You Wish You Were at My House)

Photos and Cupcakes by Smalltowngirl

Happy Thursday night!

I'll bet you wish you were at my house right about now...

These cupcakes are chocolate and peanut butter with homemade milk chocolate icing, topped with Reese's Peanut Butter Chips.

(They're really as good as they look.)

***

I spent my morning in downtown Farmington, Missouri. What a delight to walk down brick sidewalks from a music store to a restaurant; an overflowing florist's store to a warm and cozy bookstore. 

The Downtown Farmington Parntership/Alliance (I forget it's formal name) has done a really nice job bringing life back to downtown.

Much to my excitement, Farmington has a new and quite legitimate cafe! Brauhaus, our new coffee shop and lunch spot, has a story to tell, and I hope to tell it soon. 

The owner enthusiastically told me today about its name, the photos on the wall, and the two years she and her family spent renovating the historic building the cafe calls home. I'm planning to visit her again soon, this time with notebook and camera in tow so that I can blog about it.

Until then, where quaint downtowns and kitchens big enough to prepare 3 dozen cupcakes are concerned, MO = 1; NY = 0

दिस्कोवेरिएस!

I'm not sure why my Title is showing up in a foreign language. (Hindi, apparently.)

The funky title can't rain on my parade though. I just had an exciting hour-and-a-half phone meeting with our web designer, who is bright and knowledgeable, and living in the St. Louis neighborhood I didn't know existed (but that I'm head-over-heels in love with).

There is a bit of Brooklyn in St. Louis. Check it out:
Old North St. Louis

This neighborhood is essentially a renovation district, and while it's still in its building phase, I can't express to you how excited I am to see a real community in St. Louis proper.

From what our web designer told me, most of the buildings here had become very, very run down. The homeowners' restorations are labors of love. Check out this blog about the restoration of a home that was missing an entire wall.

Another website, seemingly dedicated to property sales in the area, has some great photos of the commercial district (under renovation) in the neighborhood.

And on my "Must-See, Must-Eat, STL" list? Crown Candy Kitchen, an ice cream shop and restaurant founded in St. Louis in 1913.

My car accident brought on a lot of "I miss New York" sentiments for me, and honestly, I spent my weekend pretty down in the dumps. Having my eyes opened to this St. Louis neighborhood has, thankfully, lifted my spirits.

Yay, St. Louis!

MO and NY = TIED.

Exes, cows, and Almondine

Almondine

DUMBO, Brooklyn
Photo by smalltowngirl

Among Brooklyn's most well-known eateries is Almondine, a patisserie in DUMBO known for it's baguettes and pastries.

When the ex-boy called to see if I wanted to get together one last time before my move, it seemed like a good opportunity to check out Almondine.

(@andrearosen gets a mini-credit for unintentionally inspiring this trip with a tweet this morning about Almondine's stuffed pretzels.)

The food was tasty. I had tomato and spinach soup, a grilled vegetable sandwich, and some sort of blue cheese that tasted great broken up into my mixed greens salad.

For desert, Jeff and I split a coffee and a fruit eclair that vaguely resembled a footlong sub, only in miniature and with fruit, not deli meat. As good as the real food was, the eclair kind of made me wish we'd just skipped lunch and gone straight for sharing deserts.

I can now cross Almondine off my NYC to-do, to-see, to-eat list. While I don't think that St. Louis is without good bakeries, I would guess that this one is a notch above, so the final score on Almondine:

NY = 1; MO = 0.

Empty coffee cups at Almondine
Photo by smalltowngirl

***

On the bright side, my ex doesn't live in Missouri, so I won't have to make decisions about whether to see him once I'm gone. Every time I see him it gets a little easier, but it's still awfully hard. On the ex-boy front, the score is:

NY = 0; MO = 1

***

As an addendum to the "I like your boots" story, I owe MO an apology for under-estimating its supply of cobblers.

My mother kindly informed me that my hometown has a large shoe repair and boot shop now. I no longer feel pressured to have my boots fixed before I leave town.

Thanks, Mom!
NY = 1; MO = 1

***

And, finally, I've been assuming that MO would get the cow credit over NYC. How wrong I was.

This photo, taken on our walk back from DUMBO today, is evidence that this midwest ain't the only cow country 'round these parts. Where cows, go, I'm sure rural MO will have more real ones, but I have to give NYC a point for trying...

NY = 1; MO = 1smalltowngirl with cow
Brooklyn, NY
Photo by the ex-boy