Talk of the Town Cafe II

I walked in the door at 9 am on a Sunday morning. The first thing I noticed were some folks playing a dice game of sorts at the counter. That was interesting. I never did find out the rules or the prizes. Maybe it was Yahtzee for bagels. We walked past that oddity to the back. We were sent back to the front by the gentleman who I am guessing owns the place. Not exactly in a welcoming way, but between the bagel making, coffee brewing, and gambling operations, he was, in all fairness, pretty busy. We discovered their credit card machine was down, so we couldn’t order too much. Three bagels and three coffees it was. When we went to get the coffee, all the pots were empty. So far, not so good. Can’t order a full breakfast because we would have had to do dishes, coffee was empty. A nice customer pointed out to us that we could swap out a full one that was behind the empty one. Or someone who works here, whose job it presumably is to keep on top of this, could do it. Since there was just a busy counter girl and the proprietor, we did it ourselves. The coffee was delicious and the bagels, even though they came out of a bag with ‘Thomas’ on it, were actually quite nice as well. The bottom line for me is that while there were some issues, including a ridiculous layout that creates a complete traffic jam of patrons trying to pay, order, get coffee, enter, or leave in a very narrow hallway, there was something magical about this place. Yes, magical. Halfway through our bagel noshing, a herd of the most adorable toddlers came charging in to see their daddy. A raucous crew, but the other patrons seemed quite happy to have them in their midst. I realized that this is really a family coffee shop. The patrons seemed to be more than willing to accommodate whatever needs weren’t being immediately met. The atmosphere was very warm and congenial. This is one of those rare places where the patrons and the proprietor have a communal synergy which imbues the establishment with a warm life of its own. In this context, minor quibbles are irrelevant. Come enjoy coffee, bagels, and a slice of small town life you’ll never experience at Denny’s.

Coffee in the morning is great. They serve a variety of Finger Lakes Roasters blends.
I have tried several of the lunch wraps, and never been disappointed. The buffalo chicken quesadilla is always spot on!