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Back Buzz - September 25, 1998

Lighthouse Roasters, 400 North 43rd Street, Fremont

This friendly cafe and coffee roaster on the corner of 43rd and Phinney is located in the quiet part of upper Fremont just south of Phinney Ridge, and a mere two blocks west of a great hedge trimmed into the shape of three faces. The cafe was very quiet one recent Wednesday afternoon when we stopped in. It's furnished with classy diner-style tables and chairs from the 1950s as well as cool '50s barstools lining the inviting bar. The walls, painted in pleasant autumnal Fremontian colors, lend an odd-angled look and a feeling of disproportion to the place. A stage in the back corner displays bags of Lighthouse coffee beans and a couple of antique machines, perhaps coffee roasters or grinders.

When I ordered my double short cappuccino from the barista he asked Max, who had accompanied me on this visit, what he'd like. "Oh, nothing, thanks," said Max. The barista gave him a sad look and then insisted with a sparkle in his eye, "...but it's really tasty!" Somehow Max found it in his heart to decline anyway.

My cappuccino was served in a beautiful cup: flatter than tall, shiny white and lusciously round. The drink, made with Lighthouse's own beans, was very good: strong, robust, shots tamped hard enough, and the foam a pleasant blanket cloaking the rich black goodness. Yes, a fine cup!

The mural menu behind the bar shows two large cups of coffee floating in the ocean near a lighthouse. One of the cups, sadly, is spilling its coffee overboard; but I'm sure this spill would be much tastier and more stimulating than your typical oil spill. And I don't think the wildlife would object as much, either.

Actually now that I study them, the odd look of the painted walls is helped by the angled cuts of each plane; the exaggerated perspective is obviously intentional, like in a House of Mystery.

Yes, I remember those distorted houses of my youth. One was at Knott's Berry Farm, as I recall; if a tall person stood in one part of the room and a short person stood in another part, the short person would look taller than the tall person. As a child I thought it had something to do with the universe being curved. But what did I know? I was only a little girl who would later become enamored with Einstein's theory of relativity...

Reminds me of a short discussion from this past week with my Bay Area friend about math, physics, and beer:

For some reason the comfort and design of Lighthouse Roasters also brings to mind a train, not to mention this e-mail exchange with my Chicago friend: