Caffe Italia may be the least obnoxious cafe in Montreal. It is a cafe for and by grandfathers. It has plain formica counters, giant TV screens, some old soccer posters--and if that's good enough for its plainspoken regulars then it damn well better be good enough for you. It wants you to grow up, get a job, raise a nice family, and stop dreaming those crazy dreams, you crazy dreamer. If you want to write free verse in Caffe Italia, you must have very, very large balls.

And, of course, it serves an excellent and grandfatherly espresso. My notes on the flavor, in this context, are ludicrous, since I'm from wine country and only know how to describe beverages in metaphor. The pencil smudges on my paper say something about "tobacco bouquet," "sexy on the tongue," "blackberry finish," and, for some reason, "indiscriminate spankings." But, honestly, this is not the point.

The point is, you will have to look very hard to find another cafe in Montreal where no one cares what you look like, will not judge you by the book you have in your hand, nor is the least bit interested in the obscurity of your dissertation. What they do at Caffe Italia is serve damn fine espresso. And thank god.

(Caffe Italia is located at 6840 St-Laurent, (514) 495-0059)
*photo courtesy: radio-canada.ca