connecting*the*dots

John Smith and I met last Friday afternoon, as I worked out of The Press (Wine Cafe) across the street from my home/office. We rapped about driving in NYC, women, music… dude was just real and at times, a riot.

I think I caught him in the above photo thinking about whether or not he could retain his manhood while drinking beer from a frosty glass. That entire conversation killed me, because as he vociferously defended the mechanics of the bottle and the presentation of “guy” it projected, he had a slice of lime swirling around in his beer bottle.

Heh.

Meeting cool locals like John isn’t the only new thing happening across the street. The spot has quickly become both my office of choice for calls & non-design intensive work (the WiFi connection is really strong) and my default lunch spot (Turkey Panini, chips and a coke, gracias). And while I wasn’t quite digging the music much before, the vibe has begun to shift a bit.

First of all, the live shows — what I’ve caught at least — have been damn good.

They had a solo, acoustic act a few weeks ago; the guy moved smoothly from Stevie Wonder to Mark Cohn to Neil Young and sounded amazing. Last week, I stumbled in on the Thursday night show and people were cuttin’ up the rug by the sofas. And this past Thursday, I swear the senior member of the jazz quartet couldn’t have been any older than 24… and their improv was as sick as their flow was tight.

Greensboro talent representing.

My only real complaint of the day to day experience — the CD rotation — has changed a bit as well. I just don’t know if Mike and Aaron know about it.

I’ve been slipping the staff mixed CD’s with jazz, hip-hop and electronica, shifting the vibe a bit from the afternoon elevator jazz we’ve had to endure this past month. The vibe is definitely still jazzy, but there’s now some freshness to the mix. I’m hoping that down the road, the guys invest in some form of a jukebox solution, something that customers can influence at no cost.

Until then, it’s all good.

Mike and Aaron opened up a few weeks back, after months of building and prepping the corner of MLK and Gorrel. I’ve wanted to write about them since, as their general manager, Stephanie, fed Lucy treats each day as we passed on our walk, but I’ve been way too busy.

Yep, blogger bought off by dot biscuits.

But with free WiFi, comfy couches, good and decent-priced food, a relaxed atmosphere and local artwork adorning the walls, you really can’t go wrong spending time over there. I’m not a wine fan, but from what Angela tells me, they have a choice selection. And oh yeah, the Ganache Chocolate Cake is ridiculous.

My only criticism so far (they got rid of the canned fresh fruit) is the background music rotation; it leans too much in the Kenny G direction for my tastes (I’m much more of a Mingus, Miles, Thelonious kinda guy). Thursday night is live Jazz night, so we’ll see where this evolves…

Check ‘em out and wish them well, as they’re Southside’s first foray into the restaurant / bar / nightclub world.

Where the magic happens

Aaron on opening day

My third office (counting The Green Bean)