Some people use baskets and others use pillowcases, garbage bags, and even boxes. All kinds of people wash their clothes there. I see people ranging from bikers to mothers with children. The city changes when it rains, at least from this perspective. The buildings simply do not look good against the grey. Some views are stunning with dark clouds looming overhead but not this place. The buildings across the two-way street are simply too close for comfort and rain falling only seems to make me feel claustrophobic. Winter can be dreary, too. While winter is bad everywhere, it is worse here because the effect of the weather are within close proximity of the window. In fact, the window is always more neglected in the winter. The bottom is always spotted and the windowsill is littered with dead moths. In addition, cold air seeps in, making coffee a necessity.
The place always smells like something greasy but good. When you open the door, the handle even has that greasy feel to it and the rush of air that hits you in the face is thick, warm and filled with the aroma that can only be equated to a greasy kitchen. The smell is nice and welcoming and I find that it's best on rainy days -- especially rainy days in the winter. The smell of burgers and french fries frying is always in combination with the strange aroma of coffee. They do not make specialty coffee, which is probably why they do not have more morning customers. No latte machine and no cappuccino drinks. Just straight coffee and you add the sugar and cream from your own table. The cashiers will keep your cup...
The regular crowd leaves and there are never more than three people in the place. The window at my favorite table faces west so the afternoon sun shines in and warms but does not interfere with my computer viewing very much. The place is calm and I generally share the place with a businessman that works down the street. He brings clients in for a light snack and their muffled voices can hardly be heard over the clanking of dishes as the owners wash up after lunch. The clanking of dishes drowns out the radio and the voices. It sounds like the noises might be distracting but they are not. Sometimes I do wear my iPod, when I'm pressed for a deadline or when the voices are too loud. Sometimes the owners get into spirited debates and their voices carry all the way to the front of the place. The place is worse when they first open. Worse in that the coffee is bad (it takes them at least one pot to get it right) and the owners just need time to get things in gear. The radio is never turned on until the lunch rush begins and until food actually starts cooking, the place loses some of its appeal. It's too quiet. While the owners are prepping things for lunch, it's not quiet loud enough to make me feel like I'm in my favorite corner at the restaurant. Just before they close, things are very mellow. Eventually, the dishes are washed and the floors are swept and mopped. The smell of Lysol permeates the air and is always startling to the senses after lunch. All of it makes me love Joe's.
