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Back Buzz - December 21, 2008

Lunch Station, 327 Glossop Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire

I don't have many occasions these days to try sandwich shop espressos. This past week, however, I had just enough time between a job interview on Sheffield's Ring Road and my job in Collegiate Crescent to stop somewhere along the way for a quick sandwich and espresso. Entering Glossop Road near the University of Sheffield Information Commons I was very tempted by the lovely aroma wafting from a little cafe that used to be the popular Scott's Pantry; and when I noticed they sold not only sandwiches but proper falafels, I started salivating nostalgically, remembering the exquisite pleasures of Me & Me in Los Angeles, Adeeb's Deli in Long Beach, and Kosher Delight in Seattle.

But alas, there was no room to sit inside on this cold December day, so I settled for the sandwich shop next door, the Lunch Station, as they had a few empty stools at the window counter.

I parked myself on a stool and ordered a sandwich and an espresso. My sundried tomato, basil, and mozzarella panini was tastier than most sundried tomato, basil, and mozzarella paninis I've had simply because there was an abundance of sundried tomatoes, which I think helps to flavour the slightly bland-tasting mozzarella. And the fact that a very smiley sandwich man proudly brought it out to me instilled a feeling of confidence as to the quality.

My double cappuccino, on the other hand, was stunningly wrong in all respects. I suppose it might fit the bill as a latte macchiato, which is hot milk marked with espresso. But it was certainly not an espresso macchiato, where the espresso is marked with milk foam. As I picked up the large cup filled to the brim with steamed milk there was no way I could hide my complete and utter shock and disgust -- after all, I'm a happily neurotic American, not a stiff-upper-lip Brit. It was a good thing I'd already had my minimum daily caffeine requirement in preparation for my job interview.

The sad thing is that the Lunch Station advertises their coffee, La Vazza, with a countertop display showing how the most common 4 espresso drinks are made. And one of the 4 is espresso macchiato, described as "a shot of espresso marked with a little frothed milk". I think there's definitely a lesson to be learned here...

Right where the Lunch Station is located, Glossop Road is met by the jauntily diagonal Clarkson Street. (Is that Jeremy Clarkson himself I see speeding directly towards me in his Lamborghini Gallardo?) And directly across the street is the West End Pub. As I gave up on my large glass of hot milk, wondering where that slight sweetness was coming from, I thought perhaps I should have gone for a pre-work pint instead.

Speaking of lattes dressed in macchiato clothing reminds me of a recent increasingly Businessspeak e-mail exchange with a workmate when I was having trouble getting an organisation-wide link sent to me:

...and because this is my End Of The Year column, I'll include another exchange. This time it's a text message exchange dressed as an e-mail exchange between me and Drewline, who always lets me know in an anagrammatic way if he's picked up the day's Guardian:

Related Links

• All about falafels (Wikipedia)
• A complete guide to Businessspeak (Wikipedia)
• A hero for our times: it's The Adventures of Action Item!
• The definition of grauniad, the original anagram for the Guardian (Urban Dictionary)