More Local Businesses I Love
Posting from: Tucson, AZ
Listening to: still nothing
6th Street Cafe
Not too long ago I read in the Javalina's newsletter that they were cutting back their Sunday hours. This may change in the not-too-distant future, but it got my attention. It seems to me that this may be one of the early signs that a coffee joint is going under (although there are other signs that Javalina's is really thriving, so I'm not saying that's necessarily what's happening here). I realized that I needed to cultivate a back-up coffee place. Not too long after that, I was fortunate enough to see a tiny sandwich board sign on the sidewalk on Campbell just south of 6th St. Well smack my ass and call me Sally! There's a new coffee place in that swanky Sam Hughes Place on the southeast corner of Campbell and 6th St.
Oh, but it's not just a coffee place... They have FROZEN CUSTARD! (I think I saw a sign in their store claiming to be the first frozen custard vendor in Arizona, but a few weeks ago I discovered that was not the case. You can also get frozen custard at Papa Mac's in a small town northeast of Tucson called Thatcher.) Anyway, I have heard tales from my favorite sister of the wonders of frozen custard, but I've yet to bring myself to try it. I fear that I will love it and develop a very nasty habit. And that would be very easy given that they have coffee and custard blended drinks. One day I will crack, but for now I stick to coffee drinks without custard and the occasional pastry (which they get from another local business called The French Loaf.)
I've had one of their coffees. I don't recall which one, but it was very good. I think all their coffee is that annoying fair trade schtick, but it's hard to blame them for getting on the bandwagon if that's what sells. They don't roast their own, but it is roasted locally so it was very fresh. Almost as good as what I roast at home.
But then I moved on to the caramel macchiato because I really do love extras in my coffee drinks. The caramel was good, but the foam didn't do it for me. I just ended up with a huge cup that was half empty because of all the foam. So then I switched to a cafe latte with caramel. That has been my drink all winter long and I love it! Yesterday barrista-boy asked if I would like it iced and with chocolate also, so I gave that a go.
Like every coffee place I've been to in Tucson except Javalina's, 6th Street Cafe suffers from the stirred-not-shaken phenomenon. When you make a coffee drink and then just drop some ice in the top and stir it a little bit, you don't get an iced coffee drink. You get a drink which is warm at the bottom, lukewarm in the middle, and cold but watery at the top. The best way I've had an iced coffee drink made is to mix up the hot coffee portion with the syrup so it dissolves well, dump in the ice and shake it all up in something like a cocktail shaker to cool it down, and then add the milk product. Since this place seems very tuned into customer service, I'm going to send them a little note explaining how to fix this little issue and see what happens.
In addition to the coffee and custard, they also have a few other beverages and a rather yummy selection of pastries including fancy cookies, cheesecake, eclairs, lemon tarts, berry tarts, chocolate mousse tarts, and napoleons. I have to believe that they are losing money on most of these items. I've seen the exact same things go for a buck or so more at Wild Oats. The most ridiculously priced is the napoleon- it is way to big for one person to eat in one sitting and I think it was only 3 or 4 dollars. I told the barrista that they needed to cut it in half and sell each piece for the price they were selling the one big pastry for. I'm not sure, but I think they took my advice. I saw what I think was a smaller napoleon on a plate in the pastry case for the same price and one side was kind of smushed like it had been cut.
In addition to the above, this place has XM Radio, free wireless internet, lots of electrical outlets, outdoor seating on a patio near a big fountain, and The Wall. They don't seem to have anything about The Wall up on their website, but the deal is that you take a piece of paper from one of their notepads, write whatever you want on it, and then clip it up on The Wall. It's pretty cool to browse everything from notes to the staff, Bible quotes (and my occasional responses to them), personal notes to other patrons, poems, drawings, quotes, and all sorts of other stuff. I don't know the algorithm for rotating them, but everything seems to disappear eventually and new stuff crops up regularly.
The biggest problem with this place is the parking situation during peak hours of another business in Sam Hughes place that caters to sports fans. If you go during a televised sports event or on Friday or Saturday evening, you may have serious trouble trying to park. There are a few spots reserved for the 6th Street Cafe, but the last time I was there I heard one lady (possibly the owner) calling the valet company that does parking for the other business to tell them to stop parking cars for the other business in her spaces.
However, that has not been a problem on Tuesday evenings when I swing by there to get coffee before I have my drum lesson at:
Tucson Drum Studio
The best teacher I ever had was Dr. Wayne Raskind. During the brief time he was at The University of Arizona, I took three math courses from him and was just blown away. He was a supersmart guy but- even better- he was an excellent teacher. He had a habit of showing the same problem three different ways- graphically, algebraically, and numerically. That way if you didn't understand it one way, you got to see it another way which in turn would help you figure out the way you didn't understand. It was also very useful because you sort of got into a mode of problem solving by thinking rather than just doing problems by copying and regurgitating what you learned.
I've had very few other teachers like that, but Erik Truelove (yes, that is his real last name), owner of Tucson Drum Studio, is one of them. So far as I can tell, there isn't just one way of doing anything in drumming. If one way isn't working for you, Erik can usually give you one or two alternative ways of doing it, and he encourages you to play around to find a way that works for you. I really think that's one of the marks of a good teacher. You may think you got lucky because you found someone who thinks the same way as you, but maybe in reality that teacher has just learned to look at things in many different ways so a lot of people with totally different learning styles have that same I-got-lucky experience.
I have had many good things to say about Erik and I suspect I'll have more, so I won't repeat them all here. Just looking for any Tuesday (or occasionally Wednesday) blog entries labeled Whacking Day.
Southern Arizona Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center
This is where I will forevermore (at least as long as I live in Tucson) take Pepper for emergency care. Everyone I've met there has been very kind and caring and understanding about pet owners falling apart when their animals are in distress from the adminstrative staff to the technical staff.
The last time we were there, I think we dealt with about three different doctors, and they worked very well as a team. Instead of leaving me to wonder what the hell was going on as we bounced from doctor to doctor (which is my typical experience in the human healthcare system), each doctor informed me of who the next doctor was that would be taking care of Pepper whether due to a shift change or because she was being transferred to a new department, let me know when he or she would be in, and made sure I knew who to contact (and was welcome to do so!) if I had questions at any time of the day or night.
At every step of her treatment, the doctor explained to me item by item what he or she recommended for treatment and took care to explain what was most necessary vs. what was recommended but not critical. Each time more treatment was advised, a written estimate (or verbal if by phone) was prepared, discussed with me, and did not proceed without my approval. They were very agreeable to performing treatment one step at a time rather than giving me all-or-nothing options (which I've heard another emergency clinic in town has a reputation for doing), and I never felt pressured or guilted into changing my mind when I declined a treatment recommendation. After Pepper was discharged and her care was concluded, I even got a call a few days later from one of the doctors following up with me on how she was doing.
The administrative staff were all very professional. When I called to speak with a doctor, I was either put through right away or (during rounds) was given accurate information as to when my call would be returned. It took me just a few minutes to settle up my bill with them because they had an accurate itemized list of everything that was done prepared for me when I came to pick Pepper up, and the total cost was right in line with the estimate with no surprises.
I only wish my own healthcare experiences went so smoothly.
Listening to: still nothing
6th Street Cafe
Not too long ago I read in the Javalina's newsletter that they were cutting back their Sunday hours. This may change in the not-too-distant future, but it got my attention. It seems to me that this may be one of the early signs that a coffee joint is going under (although there are other signs that Javalina's is really thriving, so I'm not saying that's necessarily what's happening here). I realized that I needed to cultivate a back-up coffee place. Not too long after that, I was fortunate enough to see a tiny sandwich board sign on the sidewalk on Campbell just south of 6th St. Well smack my ass and call me Sally! There's a new coffee place in that swanky Sam Hughes Place on the southeast corner of Campbell and 6th St.
Oh, but it's not just a coffee place... They have FROZEN CUSTARD! (I think I saw a sign in their store claiming to be the first frozen custard vendor in Arizona, but a few weeks ago I discovered that was not the case. You can also get frozen custard at Papa Mac's in a small town northeast of Tucson called Thatcher.) Anyway, I have heard tales from my favorite sister of the wonders of frozen custard, but I've yet to bring myself to try it. I fear that I will love it and develop a very nasty habit. And that would be very easy given that they have coffee and custard blended drinks. One day I will crack, but for now I stick to coffee drinks without custard and the occasional pastry (which they get from another local business called The French Loaf.)
I've had one of their coffees. I don't recall which one, but it was very good. I think all their coffee is that annoying fair trade schtick, but it's hard to blame them for getting on the bandwagon if that's what sells. They don't roast their own, but it is roasted locally so it was very fresh. Almost as good as what I roast at home.
But then I moved on to the caramel macchiato because I really do love extras in my coffee drinks. The caramel was good, but the foam didn't do it for me. I just ended up with a huge cup that was half empty because of all the foam. So then I switched to a cafe latte with caramel. That has been my drink all winter long and I love it! Yesterday barrista-boy asked if I would like it iced and with chocolate also, so I gave that a go.
Like every coffee place I've been to in Tucson except Javalina's, 6th Street Cafe suffers from the stirred-not-shaken phenomenon. When you make a coffee drink and then just drop some ice in the top and stir it a little bit, you don't get an iced coffee drink. You get a drink which is warm at the bottom, lukewarm in the middle, and cold but watery at the top. The best way I've had an iced coffee drink made is to mix up the hot coffee portion with the syrup so it dissolves well, dump in the ice and shake it all up in something like a cocktail shaker to cool it down, and then add the milk product. Since this place seems very tuned into customer service, I'm going to send them a little note explaining how to fix this little issue and see what happens.
In addition to the coffee and custard, they also have a few other beverages and a rather yummy selection of pastries including fancy cookies, cheesecake, eclairs, lemon tarts, berry tarts, chocolate mousse tarts, and napoleons. I have to believe that they are losing money on most of these items. I've seen the exact same things go for a buck or so more at Wild Oats. The most ridiculously priced is the napoleon- it is way to big for one person to eat in one sitting and I think it was only 3 or 4 dollars. I told the barrista that they needed to cut it in half and sell each piece for the price they were selling the one big pastry for. I'm not sure, but I think they took my advice. I saw what I think was a smaller napoleon on a plate in the pastry case for the same price and one side was kind of smushed like it had been cut.
In addition to the above, this place has XM Radio, free wireless internet, lots of electrical outlets, outdoor seating on a patio near a big fountain, and The Wall. They don't seem to have anything about The Wall up on their website, but the deal is that you take a piece of paper from one of their notepads, write whatever you want on it, and then clip it up on The Wall. It's pretty cool to browse everything from notes to the staff, Bible quotes (and my occasional responses to them), personal notes to other patrons, poems, drawings, quotes, and all sorts of other stuff. I don't know the algorithm for rotating them, but everything seems to disappear eventually and new stuff crops up regularly.
The biggest problem with this place is the parking situation during peak hours of another business in Sam Hughes place that caters to sports fans. If you go during a televised sports event or on Friday or Saturday evening, you may have serious trouble trying to park. There are a few spots reserved for the 6th Street Cafe, but the last time I was there I heard one lady (possibly the owner) calling the valet company that does parking for the other business to tell them to stop parking cars for the other business in her spaces.
However, that has not been a problem on Tuesday evenings when I swing by there to get coffee before I have my drum lesson at:
Tucson Drum Studio
The best teacher I ever had was Dr. Wayne Raskind. During the brief time he was at The University of Arizona, I took three math courses from him and was just blown away. He was a supersmart guy but- even better- he was an excellent teacher. He had a habit of showing the same problem three different ways- graphically, algebraically, and numerically. That way if you didn't understand it one way, you got to see it another way which in turn would help you figure out the way you didn't understand. It was also very useful because you sort of got into a mode of problem solving by thinking rather than just doing problems by copying and regurgitating what you learned.
I've had very few other teachers like that, but Erik Truelove (yes, that is his real last name), owner of Tucson Drum Studio, is one of them. So far as I can tell, there isn't just one way of doing anything in drumming. If one way isn't working for you, Erik can usually give you one or two alternative ways of doing it, and he encourages you to play around to find a way that works for you. I really think that's one of the marks of a good teacher. You may think you got lucky because you found someone who thinks the same way as you, but maybe in reality that teacher has just learned to look at things in many different ways so a lot of people with totally different learning styles have that same I-got-lucky experience.
I have had many good things to say about Erik and I suspect I'll have more, so I won't repeat them all here. Just looking for any Tuesday (or occasionally Wednesday) blog entries labeled Whacking Day.
Southern Arizona Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center
This is where I will forevermore (at least as long as I live in Tucson) take Pepper for emergency care. Everyone I've met there has been very kind and caring and understanding about pet owners falling apart when their animals are in distress from the adminstrative staff to the technical staff.
The last time we were there, I think we dealt with about three different doctors, and they worked very well as a team. Instead of leaving me to wonder what the hell was going on as we bounced from doctor to doctor (which is my typical experience in the human healthcare system), each doctor informed me of who the next doctor was that would be taking care of Pepper whether due to a shift change or because she was being transferred to a new department, let me know when he or she would be in, and made sure I knew who to contact (and was welcome to do so!) if I had questions at any time of the day or night.
At every step of her treatment, the doctor explained to me item by item what he or she recommended for treatment and took care to explain what was most necessary vs. what was recommended but not critical. Each time more treatment was advised, a written estimate (or verbal if by phone) was prepared, discussed with me, and did not proceed without my approval. They were very agreeable to performing treatment one step at a time rather than giving me all-or-nothing options (which I've heard another emergency clinic in town has a reputation for doing), and I never felt pressured or guilted into changing my mind when I declined a treatment recommendation. After Pepper was discharged and her care was concluded, I even got a call a few days later from one of the doctors following up with me on how she was doing.
The administrative staff were all very professional. When I called to speak with a doctor, I was either put through right away or (during rounds) was given accurate information as to when my call would be returned. It took me just a few minutes to settle up my bill with them because they had an accurate itemized list of everything that was done prepared for me when I came to pick Pepper up, and the total cost was right in line with the estimate with no surprises.
I only wish my own healthcare experiences went so smoothly.
posted by Kirsten | 3/29/2006 12:00:00 PM
4 Comments:
Mmmmm... frozen custard.
I LOVE frozen custard! Thanks for reminding me - I haven't had any in a long time.
There is a local frozen custard shop that is open from April Fool's Day until Halloween that serves the best frozen custard I've ever had (and April 1st is just a few days away). Aside from the usual flavors, they have special flavors that they change up every two weeks, ranging from various fruity flavors (cherry, blueberry, etc) to pumpkin in late October.
Maybe we should all have frozen custard wherever we happen to be on 1 April. I could lose my frozen custard virginity and be filled with creamy goodness!
I'll never eat frozen custard again... Thanks, Kirsten.
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