Today J needed to do some more “remote testing” for her new Mac before she leaves the country. She wants to make sure she knows how to use it, how to remote into her own computer here in the lab, and all that jazz. So we went to Panera bread last time and had a blast trying some new things out – she wasn’t able to get into her desktop back at home, but she did learn a few things. This time she really wanted to get the hang of it so we took out a few hours of the day and went uptown to Noda. A little French bakery called Amelie’s. So adorable!! We loved it immediately.
Now, for some absurd reason we both felt a little nervous as we walked up the stairs to the curtained doors that faced the sidewalk. I dont’ know why – maybe the building itself was imposing in some way. Anywho, we boldly walked up and stepped inside. A charming atmosphere greeted us with light [French] blue walls, widely striped, and interesting decor around us. All the light fixtures were different, unique and stylish in a really weird way. One had metal kitchen utensils stuck all over it, another was made of two brightly-colored urns and an Eifel Tower with a lamp-shade on top. The chandeliers were big, happy, and shed a light that was welcoming at the least. Tables of all different shapes and sizes were clustered around the room – or I should say rooms. There must have been at least three or four not counting the kitchen, although we didn’t feel quite comfortable exploring just yet. Maybe next time. :-)
We walked up to the counter with our backpacks and purses, eagerly ready to catch a glimpse of the famed bakery items. Under the glass there were trays and trays of gorgeous, delicious-looking pastries, tarts, rolls, and sweets. Each item shone up saying, “pick me!” so it was hard to choose. We had already eaten lunch, but I will say that they have sandwiches there for those who are more for lunch than for dessert (who, in their right mind?). We finally narrowed it down to two: the salted caramel brownie, and the cinnamon raisin bun. They both looked so amazing that we couldn’t resist. Also, two iced coffees.
I’ll break here to tell you that in all the reviews, they praise their coffee like it’s juice of the gods. We were inclined to try it, as we are pretty proud of our own Residentiary coffee-maker. I’ll also add that although we are amature-coffee-connoisseurs, we’re not very fond of coffee straight. So we asked for one shot of “something”. Anything really, could be caramel, raspberry, Kahlua, Godiva, Baileys, etc, etc, etc. However, the man looked at us like we were crazy and replied with, “We don’t have any flavors here.” in a quiet, yet seemingly appalled voice. We gave each other a look and both ordered straight iced coffees, no sugar. The order was placed, and very shortly after we were sitting at a small table with an oversized checker-board painted on. Immediately after setting up our laptops, we divvied up the desserts and made a toast. “Cheers!”……… “Oh, my, word! Wow! This is so good!”……… moments later, “This is really good!”………. “This is the best iced-coffee I’ve ever had.”
So yeah, they lived up to their reputation. Amazingly good coffee, incredibly good food. :-D We’re going back for more “remote testing” (hah, right!) as soon as we can. The nice thing about this place, Amelie’s, is that it’s open 24/7! Most of the coffee-shops around close at around 9:00pm, so if we’re ever out past then (almost always) it’s hard to get some good coffee. Looks like we’ve found our solution! ;-) I recommend this to everyone and anyone. It’s a friendly, quiet, cheerful, unique, urban-chic, and relaxing environment that you can totally chill in for hours. It’s a large place, and once you’re there you’re really quite at home. Please check it out.
M.fs
