Unique among the already eclectic shops and eateries downtown is Old City Java, 109 S. Central St., across from Hannah’s and the Red Iguana.
“We’re the only venue in town that does only all-ages shows,” owner Renee Sanabria said. They have live music on Fridays and Saturdays, and you can listen to hip hop and soul on Thursday nights. You can also buy CDs of recent performers there for reasonable prices. But it’s not just the nightlife that makes Old City Java different.
Let’s start with the food and then go for the drinks. For breakfast, I found the bacon, egg and cheese sandwich to be great for egg lovers. The bread is soft and warm but deliciously flaky on the outside, as if it is slightly toasted. This plus a cluster of about 10 grapes and four big slices of orange costs only $4.95.
The homemade bagels are big sellers, Sanabria said. I can see why. They are soft, flavorful and sustaining. Not your average grocery-store bagels, which are usually hard as rocks and about as tasty. A homemade bagel on the side is $1.95. I got mine with gobs of warm peanut butter on it, which is very filling. You can also pick cream cheese, jam or honey.
Other options include a veggie omelet and meat omelet. Both sell for $5.95. Fruit bowls with grapes and oranges are $2.50.
Tried and true bacon and eggs (two eggs cooked to order plus toast and fruit) is only $4.75.
When it comes to lunch options, the Really Freakin Good Panini is hard to beat. For $6.25 you get this toasted treat with turkey, tomato, cheese and ranch dip, plus the fruit and chips of choice. They have potato, BBQ and tortilla chips. The panini is a good portion for lunch, neither too heavy nor too light if you eat the extras.
You can also get a BLT on wheat for $4.95, grilled cheese on wheat for $4.95 or a Vegetarian (grilled onions, green peppers, mushrooms, melted Swiss or cheddar on homemade bagel with lettuce, tomato and cucumbers) for $5.95.
You can get a hummus sandwich with cucumbers, tomato and lettuce on a bagel for $5.95 or hummus and chips for $2.75.
As the weather turns cold, it is an even better time to try Java’s vegan chili.
“Wonderful … best vegan chili ever. You can’t tell that it doesn’t have meat in it,” Jim Pryor, a frequent customer, said.
“The vegan chili is massively popular,” Sanabria said.
Now to the drinks. I asked the owner about the popular ones.
“Right now it’s our … pumpkin spice latte, definitely,” Sanabria said. The pumpkin spice white mocha is made with white chocolate sauce, espresso and steamed milk. A 12 oz. is only $3.50.
Old City Java has fruit smoothies in flavors like mango, strawberry, banana and pina colada, and an assortment of teas. They stock Numi teas which are organic and fair trade certified, something that the owner considered when choosing them.
“I believe strongly in it,” Sanabria said of the fair trade teas. There are 10 or so different flavors of tea including berry black, jasmine green tea and Chinese breakfast tea (I highly recommend it for black tea lovers). Unlike Starbucks, the tea at Old City Java is served with water at just the right temperature for drinking. It won’t scald you and is more in keeping with tea serving standards in other countries.
You can’t have coffee or teas without sweets available, and Java doesn’t disappoint. Politically incorrect french brownies, biscotti, a host of muffins and other pastries tempt customers at the counter.
“[Our] vegan carrot cake bars fly out the door too,” Sanabria said.
Java is a great place to relax in a unique bistro-type environment and with so many choices, you won’t get tired of going there quickly. The starry-night style painted ceiling, rough wooden floors and furniture contribute to a quaint atmosphere you won’t get from pre-fab restaurants.
Old City Java is open Monday through Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., Thursday through Friday from 8 a.m. to midnight and Saturday from 9 a.m. to midnight. Sunday it opens from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. You can get breakfast and lunch anytime.
Fans of Java have something else to look forward to as well: the opening of World City Java, which will be upstairs in the World Grotto. It is set to open January 2007.
“We’re going to be doing just wild, international drinks,” Sanabria said. She mentioned Turkish coffee, Hungarian egg coffee and Mayan hot chocolate, made with cayenne pepper. Sanabria also mentioned the possibility of a Greek frap, which has been the most popular drink in Greece for 30 years, she said.
“We very well might do white coffee …” she said. White coffee is unroasted and very high in caffeine, as Sanabria said that the longer coffee is roasted, the less caffeine it has. And international drinks aren’t the only thing coming to downtown that’s new.
“We’re (also) going to have a full ice cream bar,” Sanabria said.
Though Java is growing, it won’t lose its local roots.
“All our coffees are going to still be local,” Sanabria said. Local campus spot The Golden Roast does all the roasting for Old City Java.
