urban farmhouse vs. the lamplighter

I consider myself somewhat of an expert on coffee and coffee shops. I used to work as a barista in college (Go Red Raiders! even though you fired my beloved pirate coach) and one day I hope to own my own place (although more of a human coffee and pastry/doggie pastry concept).  So, off I went to Urban Farmhouse and the Lamplighter.

Urban Farmhouse - great corner location in the Slip that has an open, airy feel due to lots of windows and jazz streaming from the speakers. "I could hang here for awhile," I thought upon walking in (they would not be able to get rid of me if they served wine.) They also have a dry goods section that is a bit weird in a coffee shop/cafe, but I get it. It's supposed to be more of a market/cafe than coffee shop. Organic, fresh, and local are buzz words here. The lids of the to-go coffee cups are compostable. Speaking of eco-consciousness (read: liberal political agenda. Don't get mad lefties, I'm all about recycling and the Earth and whatnot), they sell Sweet Leaf tea, which is yummy and based in Austin. Y'all should drink it. And if you non-Texans did not get the connection, Austin is very liberal and the home of other eco-friendly companies such as Whole Foods, which I wholly love. Anyhoo (as Nana would say,) Hubs and I dropped by for dinner last week.  Hubs' cafe au lait was served as coffee in a mug and then he was told to add his own milk from the self serve coffee condiment bar. No steamed milk.  This would be a drip coffee with milk. Not an au lait. To be fair,  cafe au lait is not listed on the blackboard of coffee options. But seriously, if one does not know how to make a cafe au lait, how can one deal with the half-caff, half-fat, 2 pump, very little foam (but still some foam) -flavored latte drinkers?   And I do not mean to disparage those who like frou-frou coffee. I have those days as well. It's just that cafe au lait is not a high maintenance drink. On to the main fare... I had roasted red pepper and sweet potato soup and 1/2 a farmer's grilled cheese panini with black truffle oil. I was left wondering where the cheese was (supposedly fontina) but the bread was delish and nicely grilled and pressed. It was served with carrot sticks and Kettle chips. I really could not tell a huge difference between my soup and hubs' carrot ginger in taste. Both were lightly sweet. The texture of the carrot-ginger was more smooth and the garnish was different. My recommendation is to go heavier on the red pepper and lighter on the sweet potato. We split the winter beet salad with oranges, fennel and mint. It was good with a bit of goat cheese. Mint was M.I.A like the fontina. So, the food was not terrible but not stand-out and hubs' coffee was a failure. My cappuccino was fine, btw.  Despite these things, I find myself here late on a Saturday morning, sipping an extra dry cappuccino and typing this blog. There is just a great feel to this place and the employees are friendly.  I will be back to sip and chill and read and blog. I say this as hub's overloaded almond butter and jam sandwich breaks apart and runs down his hand. As an addendum, we got a loaf of bread to take home and in our sack after we left, I found animal crackers in a baggie tied closed and affixed with an Urban Farmhouse logo. Cute!
An aside - ladies, check out the loo. It's a great space, if one can say such things about public restrooms. 

The Lamplighter - we snuck away from work on Thursday (a very rare occurrence, indeed!). The vibe here is Richmond grunge (distinct body odor resonating from some patrons) and does not get a lot of light inside. The space is possibly an old gas station, and it is tiny but clean. It was packed with VCU students. If you are over the legal drinking age, go here to eat but not to chill or get work done. But definitely go here to eat! Hubs' cafe au lait was made perfectly and one can purchase their locally-roasted coffee by the pound or get a custom monthly subscription based on your caffeine consumption. Myriad pastries are displayed on the counter where your order is taken and my eye was drawn to the donut case and an unusual looking donut. Turns out the donuts are from Country Style, Richmond's oldest and only mom and pop donut making outfit (this is what I was told and I WILL be schlepping out to the airport for some donuts soon).  It was unfortunate that there was only one toasted coconut covered donut in the case as hubs and I waged a fork-war over every little morsel. I ordered a 17 1/2, a turkey and swiss with caramelized onions and Caribbean jerk aioli. Hubs got a Cappadonna with capicola, brie and pear. Both sandwiches were on focaccia (made at Lucille's Bakery) which was buttery and soft inside and crunchy on the outside. These sandwiches are good, y'all! The second time we went (yes, we have been again since Thursday) I got a tuna melt (the tuna has capers and is not too heavy on mayo) and hubs can't break out of his Cappadonna habit (no NAGATFT here, baby! He said, "one of my favorite sandwiches in town" I said, "Hello, heart attack and early widow-hood") You get a choice of sides (we recommend the cucumber salad and ambrosia). The sandwiches are large, so the prices are very reasonable. I want to try the Vandenbergehimer, honey balsamic glazed tofu with grilled veggies and sundried tomato pesto. I took one home for dinner, and I expect it to be delicious. I will update if it is not. But don't expect an update.

The compare and contrast paragraph which pretty much sums up the vibes - UF has mags such as Saveur and many mags about running. TL has mags such as Dwell and comic books (including wall adverts for such things as the great richmond zombie book) I will go to TL to eat but to UF to chill and drink coffee which is hopefully made correctly.

In other news, I am still candle making and here are last night's products:

Soy candles with organic lavender essential oil.

up next: a blog about bonvenu and we are going to arturo sandoval next weekend!