As you may or may not know, I love coffee shops. They are the neighborhood point of convergence for a certain type of person that I don't think I can describe, but I can tell you that I am certainly one of them. Coffee shops embody either leisure or work, but if it's work you must do there, then it's leisurely work, punctuated by sips of tea and long looks at the other patrons and out the window. When I was a senior in college, I walked to the Cafe Abir in the Western Addition neighborhood of San Francisco every day and wrote my senior thesis almost in its entirety at one of their corner wooden tables. (Out of curiosity by the way, I just re-read the first few paragraphs of that paper-- on Henry James-- and thoroughly embarrassed myself.)
In July, as Adam and I hauled our pets and possessions east of Portland, the land of great (if hip and expensive) coffee shops, I wondered somewhat frantically if there would be a decent spot for me to rest, caffeinate, and people-watch in Hood River. I jubilantly noticed a good-looking place just a couple blocks from our new house, but after a few visits met with extraordinarily high prices ($2.50 for a day-old muffin), the non-existence of iced tea (in July), and a spotty wireless internet connection, it was clear that my search had to continue.
Enter Dog River Coffee. Even the name is fantastic. Our first couple weeks in Hood River I had no job and our house had no internet, so Dog River quickly became an everyday destination. And the baristas quickly acknowledged it: "What, no beer today?" they'd ask, or "Iced-tea-no-lemon, right?" There were actually lots of locals here, too, unlike that other place. As they say, if you're looking for good Chinese food, go where Chinese people eat.
The prices are downright cheap: $1.40 for an iced tea, and I couldn't tell you on the coffee, but my friends and family don't seem to complain. Their food selection is ok: a few sweet breads like banana, zuchini, and chocolate-- enough to tide you over. Plus bagels, a muffin every now and then, and some homemade energy bar-looking thing. But they do have a local beer or two on tap, so should you find yourself still camping at your table around five o'clock, you can make the transition of beverages as easily as you please.
I thought I'd be contenting myself with maybe one good restaurant and one good coffee shop here in our Pop. 6,000 town, but it turns out, Hood Riverites like to eat and drink well. I am so pleased. And there will be more to come on the merchants of food and wine, I assure you.
