Dunn Brothers: a Chain with no weak links

Dunn Brothers Coffee
401 Church Street
Nashville, TN 37219
615-252-2567
Local Nashville Website

I'm going to tell you a secret. This bit of information is something that runs deep in me, and has grown in me as long as I've been drinking coffee regularly. I really can't stand Starbucks. It's not because it's a chain, but I have every reason to believe it doesn't help. I find their coffee bitter, overpriced, and uncreative. Generally, I think the snobbery at Starbucks is just as great at some of the Hillsboro coffee spots, and for no good reason. I consider it the McDonald's of coffee: ubiquitous, over-branded, and just greedy.

But chains don't have to be bad: Dunn Brother's, downtown on 4th Ave. N, is definitely a great coffee shop that is also a chain, and definitely gives you your money's worth for good coffee.

To begin, the place is deceptively large: at first you think it might just be this tiny store, but when you find the steps down to the back, it actually holds far more with their small couch areas and their restaurant-style tables. A place that first feels dark and cramped suddenly becomes open and brightly lit. That's especially welcome when coming in from the brutally hot Nashville summer downtown.

They roast their coffee onsite, so it's going to be fresh. They have a wife variety of coffee drinks, ranging from basic brews, all the way to the high end frappes and flavored espresso creations. They have several fine baked goods, excellent wifi, and friendly and knowledgeable staff. If I have a question, not only do they have the answer, they often volunteer information about making it yourself or how to enjoy it better.

Something else that's neat is when you walk in and find the owner roasting his own beans. He'll talk about his methods, and make recommendations. It adds to the experience greatly.

Now my main caveat (and the main reason I don't go more often) is the fact that it's in the L&C building downtown: therefore, no parking. There's just no cheap way to get there if you come by car. So I really only go there when I have more pressing reasons to get downtown. Also, due to the awkward layout of one-way streets, it might be slightly hard to find. My best recommendation is to take Church St., then turn south (the only direction to go) onto 4th Ave., and it will be on the right in the blink of an eye. Don't miss it.

Beyond complexities of getting there, Dunn Brother's Coffee is a great place to get your java on. It's tasty, reasonably priced, and fun to hang out at. If you can get there, you should really enjoy it.

Crema Keeps Getting Better

CREMA
15 Hermitage Ave.
Nashville, Tennessee 37210
(615) 255-8311
www.crema-coffee.com

The first time I visited Crema, I found the place to be extremely pretentious, a little expensive, and the coffee too different to impress me. The place came off as a retooled machine shop or auto mechanic.

The truth remained, however, that Nashville loves Crema. So, as time went by, I could not avoid it, especially considering it's location convenient to downtown. As I kept coming, the more and more I liked it.

To begin with, their different process of making coffee really is impressive. They borrow the name "crema" from the natural foam on top of an espresso drink. Usually, this is an extremely thin layer, and is easily ignored. However, the good folks at the Crema store use an entirely different espresso press which allows more air to pass through, this allows for a larger "head" (AKA a larger crema). This is not milk froth in a cappuccino, this is a froth made of the coffee itself. And it is a neat feature.

More recently, Crema has moved their iced coffee from regular brewed over iced to the milder and more refreshing cold brew method.

Now, I stand by my remarks that Crema is extremely pretentious. I realize now that this is not the fault of the staff, who are usually helpful, and sometimes extremely friendly: it's caused by the young hip crowd. Walking in and seeing ten Apple laptops scattered throughout the building is common. But the snobs are easily ignored, and the wifi is excellent.

Next time you're tooling around downtown, and you need that quick perk, Crema is an excellent choice.