Ode to an Espresso Puck

Oh what shall I make of thee,
Puck of coffee spent?
Dry and void
Of oils and flavors,
Lacking aroma.
Yet you look too cool to casually discard
With the straw wrappers and dirty napkins.
What good are you now,
Impotent coffee puck,
Soon to become compost
In my small herb garden.

The End

TONIGHT!

Road trip to Algoma again

On Monday, Kim and I drove up to Algoma just for the heck of it. Stopped at Cafe Tlazo for a sandwich, soup, couple of beers, espresso (me) and mocha (Kim). I've mentioned Tlazo before...very nice place...relaxing decor, a good lunch menu, satisfying coffees. My espresso was good...tasty and presented in an attractive demitasse...the crema was a tad lacking, but still a very enjoyable follow-up to our meal, along with a cup of their delicious gelato. They do a nice job at Tlazo; it's become something of a "must stop" for us when traveling north along the lake and time allows.

The Havenly Inn

From there we popped in over at Shaun and Brad Schmiling's new B&B, Havenly Inn. If you've read earlier posts on here you know that the Schmilings are owners of the Von Stiehl Winery in Algoma. Shaun gave us a great tour of the B&B, complete with ghost stories... It''s a beautiful place and we intend to take advantage of it sometime soon.

Next stop on the way home was the Flying Pig, where we had another good cup of coffee and some nice conversation, while enjoying the art and garden.

Best Coffee in Manitowoc County...

Well, the votes have been tabulated and the results are in in the "Best of Manitowoc County" poll conducted by the Herald Times Reporter. Here's how the now "award winning" Stumpjack Coffee Company did:

3rd place for Best Lunch (that's a very pleasant surprise...for a place that does only a couple sandwiches each day...excellent sandwiches, mind you, but still a very limited menu)

3rd place for Best Soup (maybe an even bigger surprise, since we only have one soup available at any one time...a very nice compliment)

3rd place for Best Atmosphere (behind the Courthouse Pub and Element American Bistro)

2nd place for Best Coffee ('scuse me whilst I giggle at this...first place goes to...Starbucks! It does make sense that in our area a fast food franchise would garner more votes for name recognition alone, and for people who aren't in the coffee loop, so to speak, it's the most logical vote). So I can live with that, because it is also then fair to say that Stumpjack Coffee received:

1st place for Best non-Franchise Coffee in Manitowoc County!

1st place for Best Live Entertainment (tied for first with the luxurious Capital Civic Centre...a surprise, a pleasant surprise...)

So, we get a plaque, some PR diddlydoo, and braggin rights...it's all good...

Thank you very much, everyone who voted for this place...that is very cool indeed.

Saturday night with Koz & friends

Just a few shots from Saturday night...

Jazz sax

Koz and Alice singing an Irish love song

Alyssa accompanies with her own lovely vocals

Joylyn, Laura and Brandon confront Marv for cards up his sleeve

"A nice round of applause for Alyssa!"

Kevin sings "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"

My two girls

Bruce joins Koz for a rousing folk tune to end the evening

What a fun couple of nights. Weekends like this, he said humbly and appreciatively, are why the Stumpjack Coffee Company garnered first place in the Best Live Entertainment category of the "Best of Manitowoc County." (more on that later...)

Last Night: Koz & Special Guest, Jacob Tardoni

Here's a few pics from last night. Koz introduced his guitar student, Jacob Tardoni. The duo performed several tunes together, much to the delight of the audience, including many of Jacob's friends and family. It was Jacob's first live performance in front of an audience...needless to say, he was great. Very cool...

Koz will be back tonight...be here or be mad at yourself! He'll probably start around 6:30 or so, and we'll go 'til around 10:00. Coffee, beer, wine...great live music...good company...what more would you need for a fun night...

LIVE MUSIC this weekend at Stumpjack!

People have been asking when he'll be back, and so he's back...

This Friday & Saturday, May 25 & 26

The multi-instrumental talents of Koz...saxophone, clarinet, guitar and banjo...and a song book that covers a heck of a lot of ground, from the old folk, big band and swing eras to modern era folk, pop and soft rock. It's quite a mix and very much fun indeed.

Koz will start around 8:00 p.m.

The first 20 people in the door get FREE ENERGY BOOSTING CAFFEINE in every coffee drink ordered! That's right...FREE caffeine with every cup!