Savory Off South

Somewhere between emotion and objectivity — thats where we come from — little mindteams in fancy names of the brain.
This place is nice — it looks a bit smaller than it is, as only 8 tables plus a plush couch make it — yet it extends back in deceptive fashion.
The food is really good and not expensive. Keep it simple, egg on bagel or perhaps a swiss cheese, tomahto, lettuce & mustard sangwitch. Coffee is selfserve, which is a model for New Jersey to learn from. It tastes better than the mighty Wa — but only by a little
The family who work hard there are certainly friendly and cater to reason — wi-​fi is fast and always UP, bathrooms clean, reading materials of this era abound.
The tasty treats are wrapped up in packies of 2 — this is no good — tho only a buck, how can you not eat both? i dont mind paying the same for one. those disdainful hateful eyes when i unwrap a choco, pay, then place one back in the basket for the next… the police gave me just a warning this time
Much more working class than Jaeva on 4^th, the vibe improves daily and it may just survive til the Spring thaw
Lets hope so!

Three bad signs. First, the owner and friends permanently occupy the only really good table in the place – the one closest to the windows and (in stuffy summer weather) the source of the only breeze in this un-​airconditioned place. Second, the ventiliation is so bad that the air is thick with rancid grilled-​panini-​grease. Third, and perhaps most egregiously, the display case prominently features cupcakes for which the owner affects (after being asked three times on three separate occasions, the first two times by friends a couple months ago) not to know the ingredients. Answers ranged from «they don’t tell us» to «sugar and the usual stuff.» One nibble reveals the cupcakes’ tragic flaw: they’re made with crisco, which not only is more full of trans-​fat than butter, but falls somewhere between tasteless and tasting bad. It’s not just the bad, unhealthy cupcakes (butter’s unhealthy in a different, better way) but the lack of interest in respecting customers’ reasonable questions. «Savory» this place is not. Steer clear.

Savory is a hard location to gauge visually. It reminds me of the anti-​starbucks cafes you might find on a liberal arts college campus which sprung from the cafes in the village in nyc which owe the style of low-​key parisian cafes… etc etc.
Cute comes to mind, but not as cute as something like Set Table. Bonus points for the old yellow couch in the front, vintage table, and lamp with no lampshade. It’s hard keeping fishtown or norlib crediblity around South street. Minus for photographs on the wall that would be fine for someone’s first apartment but not for your café.