Mid City Caffe: A First Look

This morning, the 14thandyous headed down the street to check out the neighborhood's latest venture, the Mid-City Caffe. The coffee shop's opening has been anticipated for a while now and, despite some setbacks, they were finally able to open their doors above Miss Pixie's to the public this morning.

The decor in the space is very much shabby-chic. They've kept the original flooring of the space, and built around it with warm colors that give the cafe a very relaxed feel. The view from the second story windows out onto 14th street is nice, and despite a relatively small space they've done a good job with the seating arrangements.

As far as the product goes, the latte that I had was prepared wonderfully--not acidic at all, but with a rich flavor nd jut the right amount of foam (in other words, not the dense, burnt-milk taste one frequently gets with Starbucks lattes). Mrs. 14thandyou enjoyed a cup of tea, and both of us also had a bagel with cream cheese.

As was expected, the service was a bit slow and haphazard, although things weren't that disjointed. There did seem to be some inventory issues (most of pastries appeared to be gone when we waltzed in around 11 AM), and we had to twice remind the kind people working behind the counter of our bagel orders.

The prices were a bit steep, although not outrageous: $3.75 for a latte, and an extra 95¢ for "extras" such as soy milk or vanilla shots. The bagels ran about $2 ea; cups of tea and French press coffee also came in around the $2. In other words, slightly hire than the prices at chain stores, but the quality of the drinks appears to be far better.

So, to others who have had a chance to stop in: what do you think? Our feelings are that, with a bit of time to iron out the kinks, Mid-City has the potential to be a great addition to the neighborhood.

Mid-City Caffe to Open This Saturday

This evening, we received word that the long-awaited Mid-City Caffe, located in a second floor space above Miss Pixies on 14th Street between Corcoran and R, will officially open for business this Saturday at 8:00 AM.

Mid-City is clearly attempting to put the focus on its product: the spot will serve only Counter Culture Coffee, using either a French press of pour-over brewing method. The cafe will also offer a selection of fresh pastries, cakes and breakfast items from local bakers.

There has also been a focus on the design of the space, which will also feature outdoor seating. According to the release, individuals visiting the cafe will encounter designer Mick Mier's "a cozy coffee house that draws upon art deco motifs and the vintage auto industry."

Mid-City Caffe will be open from 6a - 8p Monday-Friday, 8a - 8p on Saturday, and 8a - 7p on Sunday. More information can be found at their website, www.midcitycaffe.com.

A Week Later, a Look Back at Dog Days; Plus, Imminent Opening for the Mid-City Caffe

I had hoped to have a brief recap of last week's successful "Dog Days" event up sooner, but family obligations and the always-present "life" continued to get in the way.

Last week's Mid-City "Dog Days" celebration--the annual event showcasing artists, businesses and nonprofits located in the 14th and U street area--was a resounding success, featuring more participating businesses, and attendees, than ever before in the 10 year history of the event. Mr. and Mrs. 14thandyou spent a couple of hours wandering up and down 14th and U, doing some window browsing, enjoying some of the confections from local establishments (Cork's lemonade was a winner) and generally taking in the ambiance of the afternoon.

The attendance at this year's event was of particular importance for local retailers, many of whom could use the boost in sales for what has been, to date, a down year.

"There were more people in/through the store on Saturday of 2009's Dog Days Sale than on any single day of Millennium's 17 year history that we can remember," exclaimed a representative from Millenium Decorative Arts.

Scipio Garling of Big Monkey Comics noted that ""Everything put out -- and we put out a lot -- at the Sidewalk Sale sold. Every single thing. In one day!"


Area restaurants saw a significant uptick in business as well.

"We were so excited to see so many of our regulars out enjoying the day," said Cork's Khalid Pitts. "People even lined up to try Cork's lemonade."

Eric Nelson of ACKC noted that ice cream sales were certainly up at his chocolate shop. ""Dog Days was great for us at ACKC--particularly with sales of ice cream desserts. Given the heat that weekend, [it was] a huge hit."

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A small bit of news to pass along: those of you who participated in Dog Days might have noticed that the MidCity Caffe was up and running that day. Alas, it was but a soft pre-opening.

According to Caffe manager Judith Mandel, an opening for the much -anticipated second-floor purveyor of "fine coffee and pastries" is imminent. "At this time we don't have a firm date, but it is looking to be within [the next] week" she said.

As to the Dog Days experience, Mandel thought that it portends of good things to come for the Caffe. "The customers were so warm and receptive to our business and the weekend setup of Dog Days was a great medium for us to quietly host a pre-opening."

We'll be certain to alert our readers when Mid-City is officially up-and-running.

Two Logan Eateries Featured in Washington Post

In case you missed it, yesterday's Food section in the WaPo featured front page articles about two Logan businesses: recently opened Pitango Gelato, and the soon-to-open Mid City Cafe.

The Post took an up-close look at Pitango's gelato creations, detailing how founder Noah Wood goes about producing the frozen treat, which has won over people so quickly that, after only one taste, Posto owner Paolo Sacco decided to serve it in his 14th street Italian eatery. Offering 60 varieties (only 20 are available each day), Dan's gelato shop has proved quite popular since its opening last month. For those who have complained about the high prices (this blogger included), Dan points out that the higher prices are "what makes [the gelato] possible."

Immediately opposite the Pitango story was a piece on North Carolina-based Counter Culture Coffee, which will be served at the Mid-City Cafe, which will be opening soon in a second floor space above Miss Pixie's on 14th Street. Seems that Counter Culture Coffee has a number of fans around the DC area, and is currently being served at places such as Peregrine Espresso in Capitol Hill and the Big Bear Cafe in Bloomingdale.

Learning that Mid-City will be serving Counter Culture, and is actually taking the time to train their employees, gives me hope that they might actually make it in their space. Initially, I was concerned that a second-floor space would hurt their business...particularly if it is run in a similar fashion to other area independent shops.

Starbucks "Emergency"

FYI, if you happen to use Starbucks to survive the post-holiday weekend Mondays, you might be a little disappointed today. The person responsible for delivering baked goods, prepared food and milk quit before his shift last night leaving most of the DC stores unstocked. This is a good day to visit Teaism, Mocha Hut, Java House or any other local coffee shop, especially if you need a snack.
Unfortunately, I'm out in the West End with no fast options for caffeination nearby.

Cafe Collage Returning to T St. in April

Those of you who have been in the 14th St. neighborhood for a few years might recall a small coffee shop/cafe known as "Cafe Collage" that used to occupy a spot next door to Saint Ex on T St. The owners of the cafe, in addition to being longtime DC residents and coffee connoisseurs, were also dedicated art patrons, and the Cafe functioned as both a neighborhood coffee shop and an art gallery.

Several years back, the Cafe closed--and though their sign remained on the building's exterior, there have been no signs of life at the location. Until now, that is.

According to a source close to the owners, Cafe Collage is set to re-open within a couple of weeks. By the looks of the building and property, it appears as though they may be set to also have some type of outdoor patio seating--which would be fantastic. No word yet on what, specifically, will be offered in the way of drinks and food, but I can say that prior to its closing it was known as one of *the* places to go in DC to experience a true Ethiopian coffee ceremony; no doubt that practice will resume upon their reopening. It will also be interesting to see what artwork is displayed in the space when the cafe reopens in April.

Though we weren't around for Cafe Collage's first go-round, we're excited to see this small business return and can't wait to try what has been described to us by one of their former patrons as "the best coffee (they) have ever had in (their) life".