Davis Square establishment wins first ever Rafsty
Tomorrow Sunday is not just the end of 2006 but also the end of my year of working at an office in Davis Square in Somerville outside of Boston. I shall mark this milestone by handing out the first ever Internet128.com Rafsty, or Rafsty for short (Rafsty is an Anglicized version of the Swedish word räfst, but that is of no importance). If the Rafsty had a physical manifestation, which it doesn’t, it would look something like The Thinker, dressed in casual clothing, wearing a Red Sox cap, holding a large black coffee in one hand and a copy of The Wall Street Journal in the other.
I shall award this very first and maybe very last Rafsty to the establishment that does the most to improve quality of life in Davis Square and also best reflects the spirit of Davis Square, as judged by me.
The Square has several worthy candidates, as well as some non-candidate worthies. By the latter I mean places like Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts, franchise outlets that certainly help make a place better but hardly reflect its particular character.
Davis Square is currently drifting upwards: The bohemian Someday Cafe has closed and will be replaced by a crepes restaurant. H&R Block has opened up in the storefront that used to be Mini Mart. An apparel boutique has moved into the space abandoned by a video store. One Davis Square was knocked down a couple of months ago to make way for a CVS pharmacy and a health club. Some people undoubtedly welcome the changes while others revile them. Being a reactionary pro-market type of person, I’m rather torn. Well, I’m not all that torn about One Davis; when I first looked at Davis Square as a place to put the office three years ago or so I rejected it as too dumpy, partly because of that particular building. But Davis Square has commendable qualities which aren’t likely to survive infinite physical and demographic change. It would be rather sad if Davis, Porter, Harvard, and Central Squares end up more less indistinguishable from each other.
For now, at least, they are not, and Davis Square is the Red Line square that I like the best.
Among the worthy candidates are the Fruit Market on Elm Street, a convenience store with cheap and good fruit is a rare commodity and offers a healthy snack alternative to donuts and cookies; Blue Shirt Cafe, with tasty and competitively priced soups and sandwiches as well as breakfast items; Redbones, which hardly requires comment. Other places that many are likely to find Rafsty candidate-worthy are Dave’s Fresh Pasta, Somerville Theatre, Sessa’s Italian grocery store, McIntyre and Moore Booksellers, as well as other places. An institution that certainly adds to quality of life is the farmers’ market during summer months. Like I said, Davis Square has a lot of commendable qualitites.
However, I shall not dilute the Rafsty but creating a glossy magazine’s worth of categories just to ingratiate myself with as many people as possible. When it comes to Rafsty, there can be only one. At least this time.
And the Internet128.com Rafsty goes to…
…goes to…
Diesel Cafe.
One can reasonably call that a safe, conventional and unimaginative choice, but only because Diesel Cafe is that good. Kind of like calling the Soviet Union’s national team in ice hockey the best in the world in 1981. Duh. For those who question my choice I would point to the following:
1) Staff. Not quite friendly perhaps, but always courteous and polite, and I’ve never seen any of its members crack during the busy lunch hours. They have also never given me a reason to complain.
2) Food. Diesel offers excellent sandwiches (the Monkeywrench being my favorite) and salads good enough to tempt carnivores. The cafe recently expanded its offerings, but I haven’t gotten quite familiar enough with the new menu to pass judgement on it one way or the other. I doubt it will disappoint.
3) Coffee. There’s probably nothing special about Diesel’s coffee in this day and age. Diesel seems to have all those strange combinations people prefer these days - mocha, latte, espresso, what have you - but I’m a black coffee kind of guy myself. What’s worth mentioning is that Diesel sells its small coffee for just a buck twenty-five, about two bits less than the majors charge.
4) Seating options. Choose between Euro-continental seats and tables up front, or plush U.S. diner booths in the middle, or university style reading tables in the back (where additional booths recently were installed). There are even a token few bar stools. Pick your preference.
5) General ambience. It has buzz and energy, but is neither loud nor straining to be hip or relevant or any of that. I like that. One also gets the feeling that the people who own and run Diesel Cafe - and I am somewhat ashamed to admit I have no idea who he/she/they is/are - work really hard to maintain the place’s high standards. Heck, the staff has even produced a collection of poems and art work called Work. If I were to make one objection it would be to that one staffer whose Halloween costume, a gruesome neck injury, was a tad too realistic for a place that serves food. But, hey, you can’t fault a guy for dedication and execution. Finally, it bears mentioning that one can purchase wireless access for a reasonable-sounding $14 a month.
I should admit to having a certain cultural bias that works in Diesel’s favor, as I have mentioned before. When I went to high-school in the Old Country I spent countless hours after school in a cafe not entirely unlike - but cetainly not identical to - Diesel Cafe, exchanging trivial gossip and discussing Important Issues with a group of classmates that shifted in composition and size but probably included some dozen or more characters. Like I said, I’m a reactionary. But chances are you’ll like Diesel Cafe, too, even if you didn’t grow up in a cafe culture. Diesel is the kind of place, I think, that can make you like it for a any of a number of different reasons.
So Diesel Cafe bags the Rafsty.
