Snakes and Lattes

Nestled in Mirvishville, in the trendy Bloor West corridor, lies what can only be described as the single most unique 'place of hospitality' in Toronto. Snakes and Lattes is not a coffee shop, it is not a bar, it is not a restaurant. It is, however, where nerds meet hipsters, where coffees meet beers, and where the most amazing social experiment reveals itself on a daily basis. Not since Twins (Arnold and Danny Devito) have opposites come together with such magical results. However, unlike the plausible notion of two men coming together under the guise of male pregnancy, the common denominator at Snakes and Lattes is the seemingly unfathomable: Board Games!?!

As you enter the dingy Bloor West location you walk into what seems like a standard coffee shop. There's a chalkboard menu, a panini press, and a couple standard issue barristas. However, the more of the surroundings you take in, the more intricacies you notice, the most obvious being the striking number of board games. In fact,  the Western Wall has some 1500 board games presented to the viewer in an informal yet, as I would soon find out, very well organized fashion.  As you do in a 'coffee shop' I ordered a coffee, and then transitioned into the seating area. I had taken about four steps of the seven step walk when my nose started to violently twitch, and may eyes began to flutter.



Snakes and Lattes Girl



Snakes and Lattes Guy















The smell of body odour in Snakes and Lattes is truly remarkable, however as you turn your head in an attempt to avoid the singeing of your nasal cavity your eyes more than likely will stumble upon a small collection of gorgeous girls and hipsterish guys. Amongst middle aged men wearing capes and thick rimmed glasses that are necessary for them to see, are stunning girls with skinny jeans and thick rimmed glasses that are necessary for their outfits. It's truly a hilarious assembly of human beings, and one of my favourite aspects of the location.

As I sat down an employee came over and asked,was I familiar with the concept? Of course I wasn't. She asked what kind of board games I had played, and what I wanted to get into. I explained I had played Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit, Scrabble and a couple others. She passed no judgment at my relative inexperience and said of course they had all those games in their 'classic games section' and asked if I was interested in other 'strategy games', 'fantasy games' or 'dating games' to name only a few of their many categories. Her job is actually as a board game expert. She knows something about all 1500 odd games.

Out of curiosity, and cognizant of the fact that I'm a habitual line crosser, I asked what time they closed.
"We stop serving beers at 2 a.m."
 Ha, I was taken aback. "You mean to tell me you're open past 2 a.m. sometimes?"
 "Of course, some of these guys get going on real sessions and stay up for days."

.......... I imagine it's not the hipsters or hotties closing it down.

In sum, you need to go, no matter if it's on a date, with your buddies, or with your parents. No judgment seems to be the name of the game.  However, book ahead as it's packed and they work largely off reservations. The coffee was good, but also order the candy by the bowl which is a neat option.

I give it 9/10.



Starbucks- Yonge & King

I, like many, have heard grumblings that Starbucks, the worlds most popular coffee house, changed their logo. At first blush I found this suprising, shocking even. Isn't rebranding the tool of lackluster businesses looking for a sheen (winning?), or disgraced corporate entities looking to shed their proverbial trenchcoat and black boots? Conventional wisdom might suggest that you don't re-tool a company that has grown from one location to over seventeen thousand  in less than forty years. Just ask Steve Wynn what happens when you try to finger paint over a Picasso. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/oct/19/arts.artsnews True Story!

So, as if searching for weapons of mass destruction, I attempted to boldly affirm these capricious third hand grumblings of logo change. In doing so, I went to what can only be seen as Toronto's flagship Starbucks location, Yonge/King.



As I work at Yonge/Wellington, and thus pass by the Yonge/King location daily,  I am quite familiar with the large crowds the location attracts. I'm willing to argue, and of course unwilling to research, that it is the single busiest Monday-Friday location in Canada. As I entered it was certainly busy, but with a crowd that left something to be desired. The patrons seemed a little too self assured, everyone was giving everyone else the 'once over', and people were engaged in boisterous faux business conversations. To be truthful I actually get great joy out of all those things. However, unlike with owners of Labradoodles or Mini Coopers, there is no comraderie amongst those with unfounded arrogance.

Upon reaching the cash I ordered a grande bold in a venti cup. The attendant was friendly, the drink was consistent with the other thousand grande bold's in a venti cup that I've odered in my lifetime, and they had four stations where I could put milk or sugar into my coffee. That's the thing about Starbucks, it consistently delivers good service, an above average product, and usually (although not at Yonge/King) a pleasant atmosphere. I did notice they had mugs with the new logo at the cash (and suddenly remembered why I came), and they looked sharp. The machine they poured my coffee from actually had the original Starbucks logo (circa 1975 or so) which was cool, and the sign on the outside had the classic green Starbucks Coffee logo we're all accustomed to. I enjoyed the three generations of logo's, it reminded me of that door/wall you had when you were a kid that traced your growth in small increments. Good memories.

In sum, Starbucks does have a new logo, but it wasn't readily apparent at the Yonge/King location.

Despite the lackluster crowd I would go back, but my reasoning would be convenience and my coffee would be to go.

I give it 6.5/10.