It Actually Got Off to a Good Start

I’ve complained on numerous occasions about our local Sunnyside coffee haunt, The Grind. It had been a while since I gave it a chance to redeem itself, so when I needed to clear out of our apartment for a few hours over the weekend, I parked myself.

And it didn’t give me much to kvetch about. At first. The coffee was good (not great), and I got served with efficiency and a smile. These two things have been a problem in the past.

The floor disaster from last year, with the scuffed up polyurethane, has been covered by tile that actually doesn’t look so bad, other than a few cracks here and there.

It was also a pleasure to see that the flat-screen TV wasn’t playing sports (although I guess I wouldn’t have objected to the Mets game, truth be told), and shockingly and pleasantly, there wasn’t any music playing. A number of people were clacking away on their laptops, but other than that and the occasional milk frothing, it was quiet.

Then someone must’ve noticed just how pleasant it was in there because a dude speaking very loudly on his cell phone came over to the mixing board and cranked up the moody electronica. And with it, came the much louder discussions at the various tables.

This sums up my continued experiences of The Grind. They just can’t let well enough alone. They can’t just sell coffee well. They have to try fondue. It can’t just be a neighborhood hangout. It’s gotta have live Christian music or Thursday night open-mic comedy.

One other thing that I don’t think I can blame on The Grind... Where’d all these skinny white people with laptops come from?