The Edge Coffee Shop

The Edge is located between Raymond and Hwy 280

If you're looking for a nice Saturday morning coffee shop, this is a great find. Located at 2399 University Avenue W. (just west of Raymond), The Edge isn't a full-service restaurant and the food options are limited (mostly pastries and pre-made sandwiches, from what we saw). But coffee and a funky atmosphere are the centerpieces of The Edge.

Urns in the windows, and across the street, EpicUrns.com

Our visit started quietly, as we picked a table by a sunny window to sip coffee and enjoy a chocolate croissant and pineapple-cranberry muffin--all very good. The window ledge was intriguing, packed with urns, plants, and lamps. (A placed called the Cremation Urn Gallery is across the street, and it made us wonder about those urns in The Edge's window--but we didn't get up the nerve to take a peek inside.)

Yum! Chocolate croissant (with emphasis on chocolate), raspberry muffin,
mocha and latte. 

Before long, a group of bluegrass musicians started to circle their chairs in a corner of The Edge and get out their instruments. By 9:15, at least ten had started a jam session, even as other musicians continued to arrive. We're assuming these guys have a little standing gig here on Saturday mornings, and it's a nice backdrop to morning coffee. The decor in The Edge is a hodge-podge, with old sofas, stuffed and wooden chairs, a piano, and various antique-y touches. When we'd finished, we hopped in the car and felt compelled to listen to Bluegrass Saturday Morning (with Phil Nussbaum, at 88.5 FM) on the way home. The Edge is open daily, but it seems to be especially in its element on Saturday mornings.

Flavor-enhancing and unobtrusive acoustic music from a bluegrass jam session
in the corner by the door.

Trung Nam French Bakery

Yeah, Joel's right on: the Hurricane fencing, the recycled fast-food building, excellent croissants and an iced coffee that will put hair on your chest. Those croissants. When I moved from Belgium to the Twin Cities more than 20 years ago, in St. Paul there was one good bakery (Napoleon's), one place where you could get a good cup of what I call coffee (espresso at Dunn Bros.) and nary a place where a Belgian could buy a decent beer. When Napoleon's closed I almost cried. Things have changed, for the better, mostly. Beer is no longer a problem, Minnesotans have finally learned to brew something other than "lite." Coffee (as opposed to "flower coffee," as my grama used to call the stuff through which you can see the flower pattern at the bottom of your Meissen china cup) is abundant (though I still like Dunn's best), and ther is the Trung Nam's French Bakery. Croissants so fluffy and light, crisp on the outside and slightly chewy within. Just the right amount of filling, not to overpower. And by all means, have the iced coffee, early on a hot, muggy July morning. You'll be awake to taste the croissants.
--Christian