400ml of Coffee, Stat!

It's been a rough week for me, coffee-wise. Earlier this year I blogged about a dilemma: do I buy my one favorite brand of coffee, Raven's Brew, from the down-and-out but punky and atmospheric coffee shop Aurifice or from the more upscalish but still hippie-laden coop grocery Madison Market?

The problem has been solved for me: Aurifice has gone out of business. Madison Market has decided to no longer carry Raven's Brew on the grounds that neither side can certify Raven's Brew as "fair trade."

Lovely. Now I have to find an alternative outlet. I may just end up buying my Deadman's Reach by mail order. One thing I've always appreciated is the way the roasting date is on the bag.

Verona Pizza: trying too hard on opening day

Omaha and I have long wished for a decent pizza joint near our home. The best we had on offer was a place called Buffalo Pizza, which made terrible pizza as an excuse for selling beer to guys who want to watch football on television, and Dinos, which makes an okay pizza but one that's a bit too salty for our tastes. Recently, however, two new pizza places have sprung up in our neighborhood: Abruzzi's and Verona's. Abruzzi's hasn't opened yet (it has a Grand Opening Soon! sign everywhere), but Verona's had just opened this week, so we went there for dinner last night.

Omaha and Kouryou-chan ordered mini-pizzas, and I ordered a calzone. They also gave us a free sampler of their soup.

What was good: The meals themselves were great. The crusts were wonderful, the fillings and toppings more than adequate, and the sauce delicious. The pizza and calzone were baked to perfection. They really piled on the cheese, more than Omaha usually likes, but that was a matter of taste. I certainly can't claim they skimped on anything. Kouryou-chan said she liked it there. The soup was also good and obviously made fresh that day.

Not so good: Their iced tea was a fountain drink, not brewed, so it came pre-sweetened. Also, and this is much harder for them to correct, the baklava at the end had a very hard and unchewable crust. The filling was delightful, and the syrup and presentation were lovely, but the crust was not ready for delivery.

The proprietor of the place was trying too hard. She went over the top trying to please people, and she's going to run herself ragged trying. That's not so good. She needs to slow down and stop trying to explain every little misstep. We know she just opened, and the rough patches are yet to be ironed out, like a better crust for the baklava, or a tea-brewing tower instead of Nestea, or crayons and paper for the kids.

I'd like to go back, or at least order take-out. They do have free delivery, and I'll probably be taking advantage of that (provided, of course, that Abruzzi's isn't just better after they open).