13/365 - Minuti Coffee, Heart of Downtown

Normally just opening on weekends, my friend Sarah was asked to pick up a closing shift tonight @ Minuti Coffee (Yelp), a wonderful little Italian cafe in the heart of downtown Houston on Texas in between Travis & Main St. (close to the METRO rail). Minuti offers comfortable seating inside with connected entrance to the Post Rice Lofts as well as a full patio outside. Everything is so quaintly decorated with canvases of Italian cars & Vespas adorning the walls.

Minuti has a full list of drinks: wines, beers, teas, & COFFEE! Is that it? No, they also serve food: sandwiches, yogurt, fruits, & pastries! All of the items are fresh and most are made & prepared right there on site.

I enjoyed a hot Baguette Italiano (salami, ham, cheese, pickles [removed them]) toasted in their panini press which most assuredly satisfied my hunger.

Sarah fixed me up with a Yoyo Cubano which is a double shot of Italian style espresso packed w/ raw sugar & cinnamon spice added before brewing. I also grabbed a little Molinari chocolate similar to a Ferrero Rocher. So tasty!

I stayed until after closing chatting with a friendly patron James, an independent commodities broker in Houston, about small businesses. It’s always so invigorating to hear how entrepreneurs & small businesses operate and their vision. Best of luck, sir!

12/365: Agora, Pheonix Rising from Ashes

Wednesday afternoon, I received an excited phone call from my dad that Agora cafe (website, Yelp) had just officially reopened! I quickly messaged all my friends telling them the good news!!!

Last Halloween (2010), a fire at the antique store next door to Agora consumed both buildings and Agora suffered massive fire damages causing it to close. All of us in the coffee & wine loving community in Houston / Montrose area let out a devastated cry for our dear meet up space featuring booming jukebox, TVs to watch Euro Cup & World Cup soccer matches, baklava, coffee, wine, beer, Greek art, & steep stairs to the open balcony second floor. What were we to do & where to go? Thankfully, the owners vowed that they would stick around and rebuild & reopen!

Well that day has finally come! AND remarkably only a little over 2 months later. The place looks incredible. The bar area had been extended. Seating outside now wraps further around the western wall; however, there is no more 2nd floor outside balcony. Jukebox is as loud as ever. I think they lost some of their old Yugoslavian music. The current art adorning the cafe is very similar to the pieces they had pre-fire.

Sipping on a double shot Americano as I plopped down on a ground level table in the middle of Agora, I chilled (cold day) & caught up on life with Calynn, a sweet Terry Scholar friend from Texas State, who’s moving into the Houston area soon! Need a high quality suit? Tailored for you? Contact me & I’ll get you in touch with her.

I returned to Agora later that evening and claimed my spot upstairs near a window. I watched as friends of the owners & regulars greeted each other with kisses & warm embraces. Everyone must have been calling & messaging friends to come join in for the reopening of Agora (I know I did!) because Agora was hopping! My friend Jesus H. eventually made it & climbed the stairs to my little table. The awesome Sarah GForce pulled up a chair after her small group & added to the excitement in the air.

Above: The owners!

Suddenly, the crowd downstairs split and an open circle formed & it started. Music. The little bells. The two belly-dancers. Of course, Agora would choose to open on belly-dancing night. Perfect time to sit far back & look through photos from the Houston Zoo. :P

Sarah, Jesus, and I had a blast and even played a match of chess with various neglected pieces from incomplete sets on a little board drawn on one of the tables. Sweet times!

9/365 - Happy Birthday, Heidi! Opa & Coffee!

A gigantic Happy Birthday to my big sister Heidi!!! I love you.

After church this morning, we all ate at the always delicious Yia Yia Mary’s (Yelp) off of San Felipe. We ordered a side of hummus & pita and bread & oil. I savored the traditional beef & lamb gyro. I’m fairly certain that their meat portions are larger than that of Niko Nikos (still love them both; Mmmm NN’s rice). After our lunch entrees, we enjoyed a quick cup of coffee (decafs & regular espressos) and a slice of galaktoboureko for dessert.

At church at Ecclesia tonight, pastor Chris Seay started a new series on Heaven. What is Heaven like? What does the Bible have to say about Heaven? Who will be there? Appearances? What will we do? How does believing in Heaven change the way we live our lives? It’s definitely going to be an exciting refresher! Check out Revelation 21 here.

For dinner, I joined the always jovial Emily & guys (who went to ACU!) from Ecclesia & ate at Chipotle. Craving coffee & dessert, I meandered over to Antidote Coffee (Yelp) for the first time & met up with Sarah (oh & ran into Cat studying). Good laughs! Tried a cup of Ethiopian coffee. Tasty! What a neat little coffee shop!