Omnivore - An idyllic hour at Dancing Goats
Rocking, swinging, and great coffee.
I’ve been driving by the Dancing Goats Coffee Bar behind the evolving Ponce City Market for a year now, but never visited. Truth is that I thought the place had closed, even though I knew it was a temporary location, awaiting occupancy in the market next year. It’s hard to spot any activity there when passing by.
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Then I heard the cafe had celebrated its first anniversary on Aug. 17. So, I decided to check it out last Sunday, when the Grant Park Shade Festival made parking near coffeehouses in the ‘hood impossible. I’m glad I did. If you’re in that area you should stop by. Other than a small bar, there’s no seating inside. But there’s an enclosed patio that was idyllic with Sunday’s weather. A light breeze whisked through the screened walls, reminding me of the sleeping porches of my youth outside Philadelphia.
The patio seating is full of brightly painted Adirondack rocking chairs. There is actually swinging seating at the far end of the patio, on either side of a fountain gushing from a wooden barrel. All that rocking and swinging and running water really could put you to sleep were it not for the wake-me-up coffee and animated conversation.
The Dancing Goats coffeehouses - there is also one in Decatur - are operated by well-known coffee roasters Batdorf & Bronson. I ordered my usual triple-shot macchiato. Granted, it was a bit more expensive than Starbucks’ version, but that’s kind of like comparing a good wine to Kool-Aid. I resisted the infamous mini-doughnuts from Duck’s Kitchen (formerly Duck’s Cosmic Kitchen).
Dancing Goats, also unlike Starbucks, has free wifi that actually operates fast enough to stream video. But realize there are no tables, except for some tiny ones to set your drink on. You’ll have to treat your laptop like a laptop.