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                            MIDNIGHT CAFE

                                                                       
                                                                         



WELCOME!
Here we include everything you ever wanted to know about cafe culture & coffee (there is also a nostalgia section devoted to diners, drive-in movie theatres, and lounge culture of the 1950s & 60s).  This section is under construction during Dec. 2003 - Feb. 2004.  Check back periodically.


COFFEE NOTES:

Coffee originates from a tree grown in cool climates.  It was first discovered in North Africa.  From there its use spread to Arabia, then Turkey, and Europe.  The Church considered it the devil's handiwork.  Coffee was brought to the New World in the 1700s.  First to the Caribbean, and then to Central & South America, and the U.S. Espresso didn't develop until 1822 in Italy.

Coffee has two beans that have an oil-like content.  This is what produces the aroma and flavor.  A few pounds can be produced annually from each tree.  However, it generally averages only one pound.

Caffeine is an alkaloid found in coffee as well as in tea and kola nuts.  It stimulates one's heart and nervous system.  Dark coffees contain less caffeine than the lighter coffees.  It depends on how the coffee is roasted as to if it will be a lighter or darker roast.  Dripped coffee contains more caffeine than the brewed coffee. Instant coffee varies from less caffeine than brewed to slightly more.  And, of course, decaf contains only trace amounts of caffeine.

Some experts recommend storing coffee in the refrigerator while others think it should simply be placed in a dark cool place since it has a tendency to absorb flavors from other foods stored in the frig.  Some experts think coffee should be stored in the freezer while others claim that doing so will damage the coffee beans. Whatever method chosen, coffee should definitely be stored in an airtight container.

There are two important commercially produced type of coffee: arabica and robusta.  Arabica generally grows at a high altitude of more than 3,000 feet.  It produces some of the world's best coffee.  Robusta grows at lower altitudes.  It has a stronger flavor and sells at lower prices.  Italian espresso usually contains the robusta bean.  The lighter roasted bean is generally not used for the Italian espresso since it produces a more acidic flavor than the dark roast.  In roasting a bean a longer length of time produces more oil.  In America, the arabica bean is preferred for espresso.  When referring to the popular French roast it usually refers to a darker roast.

A good coffee should have strong acidity.  Aroma and good body are important too. Coffees from the Far East contain more body than coffees from Central and South America.  Some coffees can be dry or sharp such as those from Central and South America.  There are coffees with a caramel or chocolate flavor.  Some have a delicate, earthy, spicy, fruity, mellow, nutty, sweet, wild, or winy flavor.

For a good cup of coffee one should find a coffee that offers a balance of everything--no one flavor overpowers another, good body and aroma.  And on a final note, whole coffee retains freshness longer than coffee already ground.  Two tablespoons of coffee are necessary for a 6 oz. cup of coffee.  And, never reuse coffee grounds nor coffee filters.  Always cleaning the coffee maker is a given.


GREAT COFFEE LINKS!--

http://www.cafenation.net/
Cafe Nation

http://www.caffeinearchive.com/
Caffeine Archive

http://www.caffmag.com/caffmag/
Caffinated Magazine

http://www.coffeereview.com/crl/index.html
The Coffee Review

http://www.koffeekorner.com/
Koffee Korner

http://www.flyingsaucers.com/
Flying Saucers Gourmet Coffee & Tea (also gift items--UFO theme)

http://www.kalaheo.com/history.html
History of Hawaiian Coffees

http://thunder.ocis.temple.edu/%7Eghinkle/java.html
Java Link:  Ye Olde Internet Cafe & Coffee Resource Page

http://www.bramahmuseum.co.uk/
Bramah's Museum of Tea and Coffee, London

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1670coffee.html
Modern History Sourcebook:  The First English Coffee-Houses, c. 1670-1675

http://www.nmpinoncoffee/npc_shop/index.asp
New Mexico Pinon Coffee Co.

http://www.virtualcoffee.com/
Virtual Coffee (e-zine)

http://www.freshcoffee.com/wboard/
Java tales (forum)

http://www.badgett.net/
Badgett's Coffee Journal

http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/3303/
Cafe Mocha

http://www.coffeekid.com
Coffee Kid

http://www.expresso.com/cgi-bin/wsmbb/wsmbb.cgi
The Expresso Forum

http://www.blackapollo.demon.co.uk/cafinf1a.html
Cafe Magazine -- The History of Coffee and Romance of the Cafe

http://www.natashascafe.com/
Turkish Coffee & Other Exotic Items

http://www.eclectricafe.com
Eclectricafe (e-zine)

http://www.epicure.com/
Epicure Exchange

http://www.coffeeexpress.com/
Coffee Express                     

For those of you interested in New Orleans:

http://www.frenchmarketcoffee.com/

http://www.cafedumonde.com/


Other nostalgia sites (diners, 1950's, talk radio, etc.)--

http://www.astro.princeton.edu/~goldberg/diner.html
Dave's Diner Homepage

http://www.rev.net/~foghorn/lendy.htm
Lendy's (diner)

http://www.roadsidemagazine.com/
Roadside Online

http://www.driveintheatre.com/
Drive-In Theatre

http://www.drive-ins.com/
Drive-Ins.com

http://www.briandriveintheater.com/
Brian's Drive-In Theatre

http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Shire/2574/driveins.html
The Drive-in Theatre Tribute Page

http://www.geocities.com/moonglow_drivin/index.html
The Drive-In Concession Stand

http://www.americanfolk.com/
American Folk:  folkore, folklife, folk art, popular culture (includes The Biscuits & Gravy Quarterly)

http://www.toaster.org/
The Toaster Museum Foundation Homepage

http://www.tx7.com/fries/
The Official French Fries Pages

http://www.bluestarcafe.com/blue_star_cafe001.htm
Blue Star Cafe

http://www.sca-roadside.org/
Roadside Architecture:  Society for Commercial Archeology

http://www.roadtripmemories.com
Road Trip Memories

http://www.historic66.com/index.html
The Mother Road:  Historic Route 66

http://www.carculture.com/
Route 66 Home Page

http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Studio/8990/kicks.html
Get Your Kicks

http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Studio/8290/travel.html
On The Road Again

http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~cirilloussights.htm
USA Yesterday

http://www.eccentricamerica.net/
Eccentric America-Roadside Oddities

http://63.249.135.19/synthetrix/potf.html
Synthetrix Photos of the Forgotten

http://www.bygonebyways.com/
Bygone Byways -- Route 66, Highways 80/99/101 & More!

http://www.losthighway.net/
Lost Highway Museum

http://www.hiddenamerica.com/
Hidden America

http://www.lostamerica.com/lostframe.html
Lost America

http://www.roadfood.com/
Road Food.com

http://www.dinercity.com/
Diner City, online guide to classic diners and the American Roadside

http://www.dinershow.com/
America Good Morning--The Diner Show

http://www.talkamerica.com/
Talk America

http://www.dinermuseum.org/
American Diner Museum

http://www.signmuseum.com/
American Sign Museum

http://freespace.virgin.net/t.marsh/home.htm
Tee Jay's Retro Site

http://www.joesherlock.com/fifties.html
Fifities--The Fabulous 1950's

http://members.tripod.com/~thealleysplace/fifties.html
Fabulous Fifties

http://www.cruisiusa.com/
Fab Fashions from the Fifties

http://www.english.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/home.html
The American 1950s

http://www.fiftiesweb.com/
Fifties Website Home Page

1950s.org
http://1950s.org/

http://users.erols.com/mlbl
Remember When (memories of Yester Years)

http://www.magnetplace.com/RETRO/
Fifties Boulevard:  A Graphic Picture of The Fifties In America

50's American Homes
http://www.swankpad.org/rooms/roomsmain.htm

http://www.retrographix.com/clipz/clipz1/
Paperpast Archives

http://www.loti.com/page1.html
Rewind The Fifties:  All the 50's all the Time

http://members.tripod.com/~Mystery_Date/
Mystery Date


Some other interesting sites--

http://www.sealander.com/personal.html
The Road To Nowhere (a personal zine)

http://www.waysouth.com
Way South (a Southern zine)

http://www.cafe80s.com/
Cafe Eighties

http://www.sevensoupcans.com/tgch/
The Galactic Coffeehouse House

http://www.coffeehouse4writers.com/
Coffeehouse for Writers

http://www.americanfolk.com/bgq/
Biscuits and Gravy Quarterly



MORE TO COME!



                               COFFEE WITH A SIDE OF GREATNESS


                                                              by Jimmy Toscano

   
    
    I think that my all time favorite thing about road trips is getting coffee, I know it sounds weird but I think it's the greatest.  It's not even the actual coffee that  I enjoy; it's the ritual that goes along with it.  Its like 3:30 in the morning and I pull over at some broken down gas station in the middle of nowhere, and I might only have like three bucks.
    But I walk in and its great, I know my three bucks is going to go a long way, because I look down the long candy aisle and it looks just like a huge tangible rainbow that I can reach out and touch.          
    The spectrum begins with a few assorted mints and lifesavers, that fades into the gum racks, then into candies like Skittles, Starburst, and Sprees, then it slowly turns into a huge selection of candy bars, then into chips and cookies, and then finally at the  end of this perfectly arranged aisle is an oversized display of every beef Jerky flavor and size you could think of.  After I have taken all of that in I make my selections.  First I grab a ninety-nine cent bag of Fungions, just because I haven't had them in a while.  Next, I realize that I'm going to need something that goes with my coffee, so I get my all-time favorite old stand-by, the Snickers bar.  
    Now I am ready to get my Coffee.   I walk over to the coffee station where there are like eight coffee pots all full and steaming hot.  And there is usually always at least one trucker there, and as we wrestle around each other trying to get our caffeine fix, he says a little more than nothing, but not much.  And I respect that because he doesn't feel the need to talk just for the sake of talking, and neither do I.
    But my mind is going a hundred miles an hour thinking how his life on the road must be.  And wishing I could see and meet all the people and places he made contact with.  But I ask him nothing, and just fill my twenty ounce cup a little more than two-thirds the way up including one creamer, so that it doesn't spill over in the car.
    I now have everything I need so I walk up too the clerk at the counter and lay down my treats and coffee, and as the clerk complains about her long hours of working through the night I notice a Bazooka Joe box marked five cents each.  So I purchase one, because I know it will hit the spot when I'm done with my treats and coffee.  And while she rings up my items and we're making small talk I think about that comic that I will be getting in my gum wrapper.  I remember my Dad buying me a Bazooka Joe a long time ago and it said, "Help me I'm a prisoner in a bubble gum factory," and I remember how clever he thought it was, and how much I miss him.  After that passes the clerk says, "That will be $2.99 please."  So I throw the thre  bucks on the counter and I am totally aware that she doesn't expect me to wait for my change, so I wait for it anyway just to see  her expression when I do.  I politely say thank you and get in my car and take off.
    For three bucks I live like a king on the road, perfectly content for at least another four hundred miles, drinking my coffee, eating my snacks, and listening to whatever I want to on the radio.  And maybe just maybe when I finally get to the Bazooka Joe it will be wrapped in that very same comic I had a long time ago, and I will smile and keep driving until I run out of gas or the gum runs out of flavor.

Copyright (c) 1998 Jimmy Toscano
Published on the World Wide Web by www.storymania.com

Reprinted by permission of the author



RECOMMENDED BOOKS:


The New Roadside America:  The Modern Traveler's Guide to the Wild and Wonderful America's Tourist Attractions
by Doug Kirby, Ken Smith and Mike Wilkins

Road Trip USA:  Cross-Country Adventures on America's Two-Lane Highways
by Jamie Jensen

The Gas Station in America:  Creating the North American Landscape
by John A. Jakle

Where Have You Gone, Starlight Cafe?:  America's Golden Era Roadside Restuarants
by Will Anderson

Fun Along The Road
by John Margolies

Route 66:  The Illustrated Guidebook to the Mother Road
by Bob Moore

Route 66:  The Mother Road
by Michael Wallis

Diners
by John Baeder

American Diner
by Richard J. S. Gutman

American Diner
by Michael Karl Witzel

Hometown Diners
by Robert Williams

Jersey Diners
by Peter Genovese

Roadside New Jersey
by Peter Genovese

Diners
by Karen Offitzer

Mid-Atlantic Roadside Delights
by Will Anderson



MORE TO COME!