It didn't take long for me to become a fan of Siphon Coffee, the new coffee shop on West Alabama, just east of Montrose. It didn't matter that there were no seats when I arrived on a sweltering Sunday afternoon. I didn't even have to order their signature siphon coffee for it to become my new "it" coffee house.
When I took a sip of my latte, with its not-so-precisely designed latte art design (the baristas can use some practice perfecting this part of their craft), the creamy latte exhibited that great depth of flavor that you can only get at an artisanal coffee house that pays attention to the finer details. The temperature was correct; the milky foam (they use local dairy purveyor Mill King) displaying a good density and fluffiness; the color, that rich mahogany brown that tells me even before I take my first sip, that the coffee will be just as I like it.
The place itself is designed in that industrial-meets-rustic-country aesthetic that you might find at restaurants like Underbelly or Oxheart -- trendy, but comfortable, a place that's clean and nice, yet stripped down with a polished cement floors, and mixed metal and wood accents. A black chalkboard with big, bold, white lettering offers a simple menu of coffee drinks, and points to beer on tap, as well as snacks and light bites. It's here that you place your order, adding a bakery item from the case if that is your wish, before effecting payment on a white tablet touch pad.
Three siphon stations are on display just to the left of the counter where you place your order, and pretty much any time someone orders a siphon coffee, there is someone standing there watching. The baristas are seemingly oblivious to all the attention. I myself snapped several photos, and I watched as other patrons stood silently gawking or videotaping the proceedings.
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