To conclude Date Night Saturday night, Jenny and I dropped by our favorite local coffee house, Buon Giorno in Grapevine. Jenny has breakfast there with her girls on some Tuesday mornings, which is how we first discovered it.

Why do we like it so much? First of all, good coffee and tea. They roast their own beans to ensure the coffee is fresh. In addition to the daily brew of a few popular flavors, you can also order a French press of freshly ground coffee in a couple dozen varieties. A couple of weeks ago Jenny and friends tried a French press of the fabled Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, the first time I’ve ever heard of such a thing at a coffee house. I normally order a cappuccino. Jenny ordered some delicious tea.

Second, it is NOT Starbucks and doesn’t want to be. I don’t hate Starbucks, but I like many of the details in which Buon Giorno’s owners have chosen to be different. Their coffee and tea come in real ceramic mugs rather than wasteful paper cups. They have no drive-through. The pace is slower, the atmosphere quieter and more relaxed. You don’t hear yuppies rattling off a memorized 10-word long description of their cup of coffee. You simply place your order, find a chair or couch to sit on, and wait for them to bring your drink to you. On most Friday and Saturday nights, you can catch live music starting around 8pm. Tonight we heard a great singer-songwriter playing exactly the kind of introspective acoustic rock that you want to hear in a coffee house. We enjoyed a wonderful, relaxing evening and look forward to going back soon.