The same but different, or different but similar?
Cafes/bars here typically have pastries in addition to coffee/caffè, as in the U.S. Similarly, they might be made in house or commercial. Not surprisingly, the made in house ones are almost always better. In addition, some pastry shops (pasticcerie) also have coffee, and seating. What we have not found in Italy is a place that also roasts its own coffee. There are coffee roasters in Verona, but they distribute their coffee to some local cafes. We saw some examples of this in Vancouver as well. It exists in Connecticut, too, since I think most cafes do not roast their own beans (though most of the places we go regularly do — hmmm). The difference here in Italy is that the cafes seem to be using mainly national/international brands. The ones we’ve noticed are Segafredo (based in Naples) and MokaRica (based near Bologna). We haven’t seen LavAzza (my first espresso, based in Turin) nor Illy (based in Trieste), two major national brands. There may be a coffee roaster here in Verona that also has a cafe — I hope to find the location. (We went there — stay tuned!)
I’ve been thinking about the place we normally go here, Café Martél (formerly Café Povia). Like our favorite restaurant, Osteria Al Duomo, it has a mix of locals and tourists. The balance may have tilted more towards tourists these days, but we have definitely seen/heard some locals. (And this morning, Monday, for awhile we were the only non-locals.) They make most of their own pastries (they have a few packaged commercial ones for sale to go) and they make some savory things as well: sandwiches and their own long-time specialty, panzerotti, like fried mini calzones, for which they were renowned locally. They also have some alcoholic beverages: wine and cocktails, which is common for cafes (which are often called bars here).
All those aspects remind me of our regular local cafe, Vernon Coffee Roasters (VCR). Like Café Martél, VCR has a mix of locals and “tourists” (people who are just passing through, stopping off of the Interstate). VCR makes an increasing portion of their pastries, and they make sandwiches.
The two biggest differences both have to do with the coffee. First, VCR roasts their own beans, while Café Martél does not (they use Segafredo). Second, VCR, like most American cafes, makes a variety of flavored coffee drinks (mainly lattes with added syrup(s)), which don’t seem to exist here, at least not that we’ve seen so far. The other big difference is no alcohol at VCR, but that is also typical of U.S. cafes.
One other type of difference is how the coffee/caffè is served. In VCR, and most U.S. cafes, you order at the counter and then pick it up at (some place on) the counter. At Café Martél, and most other other cafes/bars, you have two choices: you can sit at a table and a server will come take and deliver your order, or you can order and consume your order at the counter (the bar). It used to be the case that caffè cost more if you sat down, but since we haven’t stood at the bar to drink out caffè this time, I’m not sure if that’s still the case. In Café Martél, I have seen people drinking/eating at the bar, though, so I know that’s still a practice.
For me, it’s interesting to “compare and contrast” (as the old exam questions used to say) the two businesses.
For the final compare and contrast, here are the facades of the two places:
