Archive for September, 2008

Bella Rose Coffee House

Saturday, September 27th, 2008

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        I love how many coffee shop’s are in my cozy town of Coeur d Alene. Whenever I go to other cities, I have a hard time finding a coffee shop besides Starbucks. I might just not know where they are, but in my town, there are coffee shops on the main drags. The other day I was in Spokane Valley going up and down Sprague Ave looking for a coffee shop to work in. Isnt it Sprague Ave the street that has more restaurants on it than any other street in the world?! And yet there is not a single Coffee Shop. I had to settle for starbucks.

Today I am at Bella Rose, one of the cutest little coffee shops in downtown CDA. They have really good drinks, panini sandwiches and baked goods. I just finished off one of their amazing panini sandwiches. The Turkey Pesto Panini to be exact. It was, as I said before, amazing. However, they really lacked on the chips. I needed just a few more chips. They only give you Tim’s Ultra Super Tiny bag of chips which comes with about 3 chips total. I think they could probably save money by buying the chips in a big bag from SafeWay, and then placing 3 of those chips on your plate.

Bella Rose is not really the best place for people like me, whose sole reason for buying their food is to syphon their internet. They have really good internet, but there are no outlets to plugin your laptop (or desktop if you actually pack your desktop around town). If you need to work on the fly, Bella Rose is the perfect spot. Fast Service and great atmosphere.

Bella Rose is located across the street from Tito Macoroni’s on Sherman Avenue.

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Hudsons Hamburgers

Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008

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Lately I have been having a hard time eating anything that is not grilled. Not sure what my problem is exactly. Maybe I have just spent too many years eating boring sandwiches with “lunch meat”. Or, maybe its because with my recent work schedule I have a hard time breaking for lunch before 2PM, which is obviously past lunch time, which is obviously past the time in which a normal person would eat “lunch meat”. Anyways, anymore when I’m downtown, and my tummy is a-grumblin’, I must have a Calypsos’ Iliad, or a Hudsons Hamburger. Hudsons Hamburgers is the Coeur d Alene Food place that we will be reviewing today.

Hudsons Hamburgers is more than just a Food Place, its more like an epic adventure. You never know when the line to get in Hudsons will be backed up to I-90, or when you will catch the perfect moment in which when you go, a seat is waiting for you. Today was one of the rare occasions in which the seat was waiting for me. It rained this last weekend, and I guess that scared all of the tourists home. It was just 5 days ago that I had to wait at least 30 minutes for a mouth watering Hudsons Hamburger. Ok, back to today. Actually, I need to say one more thing first. When I mentioned that I had to wait 30 minutes, I should have mentioned that it was an honor. Waiting 30 minutes for a Hudsons Hamburger is an honor, and a priviledge. I am honored to live  in the same town that grows the best Hamburgers in the world. Ones that are worth waiting any amount of time for.

Ok, back to where I was. I walked in today and immediately found a chair. I sat next to 2 very nice ladies that were there for the first time. One was from Spokane other was from…back east. They had both read about Hudsons for the first time the previous week and decided to check it out. They were both completely satisfied after splitting just one Cheeseburger which is never enough for me. Hudsons had met every expectation they had, so they went after a piece of Hudsons Pie.

I had a Double Cheeseburger, and a Single Cheeseburger with Ketchup, secret sauce, pickles and onions. Amazing. The burger must be made from really high quality meat, because it is unlike any other burger I have ever had. If I remember right, they dont freeze their meat. They just use it.

Hudsons does not offer fries. Sounds crazy since everyone offers fries with their burgers. But Hudsons does not need to. They do one thing, and one thing very well. They make good burgers. After having one of their burgers, you dont need fries.

After I leave Hudsons, I always feel really really good. Ready to take on the rest of the day and the tasks in front of me.

Go try them out. I guarantee that if you are not 100% more productive after having a Hudsons Hamburger, I will give you back all of the money we charged you to read this article.

A&W Root Beer in Hayden

Monday, September 1st, 2008

It was a hot summer day. I had been working hard outside and thought I deserved a burger and an A&W Root Beer float (BTW, A&W Root Beer is the only way you can have a Root Beer float). I went to the A&W, located in the Hayden Holiday Gas Station on Prairie Ave. As I walked up to the counter, I could see the lady running the place in the back of the room. She was standing on the grill, swatting at flies, meanwhile unloading years of dust and dead bugs all over the food counter and the grill.

I dont quite remember what happened after that. I dont remember if I left. I dont remember if I passed out and woke up the next day in my nice warm safe bed away from the bug swatting dust lady. I dont remember if I stayed, and foolishly just ate whatever was put in front of me. All I know is this… dont go to the A&W Root Beer in Hayden at the Holiday Gas Station. Dont do it for 2 reasons:

  1. Obviously their cleanliness standards are WAY behind.
  2. They are no longer open. So, they would not be there if you went anyways. I wonder why?

Calypsos Coffee House

Monday, September 1st, 2008

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Great service. Check. Great atmosphere. Check. Great Coffee. Check. Really really hot barista that is married to me. Check. Nice, clean bathrooms.Check.

Calypsos Coffee is located on 116 E. Lakeside Ave, across the street from the CDA press. It is, in my humble opinion, the best place to sit down, drink coffee and get work done. They frequently have live music, comfortable couches, tables and chairs, and a “smart room” for the serious laptop tottin’, officeless worker. The smart room can also be reserved for meetings and the whole coffee shop is setup with free wireless internet.

Enjoy singing, playing an instrument, reading poetry or being a comedian? Sign up for open mic night, held every Tuesday evening at 7PM. Near the college and need a place to study while drinking a warm cup of coffee? Calypsos is your place.

Calypsos has an extensive food and dessert menu, and their coffee is superb. As Michael from the tv show, The Office once said, “Chili’s is the new golf course. It’s where business happens. Small Businessman Magazine.” I say that in Coeur d Alene, Calypsos is where business happens. CdAFood.com.