Java Me Up, A Cool Little Coffee House In Irving, TX

But this lense is less about Coffee exactly and more about coffee shops... and more specifically about coffee shops in my current home town of Irving, Texas.

Really, if it was just about the coffee, we'd all stay home and revel in our Chickory infused Community Coffee (every knows no other compares!). What most of us don't have in our homes, though, is the great variety that a coffee shop offers. We may order the same half-cafe latte and croissant every time we visit for ten years, but being surrounded by thirty different teas, twenty coffee varietals, 15 different pastries... etcetera... makes that cup of joe a choice rather than a default.

Unless you are one of my cousins, coffee at home likely also lacks the gregarious quality that java in a shop does. Or at least the illusion of gregariousness. Lots of folks go to be with a crowd, but not necessarily part of the crowd... in most shops strangers rarely seem to talk (which may be why folks look askance at me... I talk to everyone... perhaps because my first serious coffee shop experiences were at Coffee Call in Baton Rouge, but that's another story...) my current favorite place to wake up and smell the coffee is...

Where else can you go the children's section in the library, order your coffee through a sliding window and drink it in the library? This is awesome! But to really experience Java Me Up, enter the shop itself. Java Me Up is a family-run shop which serves a good variety of drip and expresso drinks, smoothies and the best chai latte in town, as well as other teas. Besides the wonderful pastries (brownies, cakes, baklava), and sandwiches, try the samosas, a wonderful Indian potato-stuffed crust, served with tamarind and coriandar chutneys.

Beyond the drinks and eats though, this place has game nights, Halloween costume contests, a gated patio outside where dogs are welcome to enjoy the ambiance with their humans (the shop owner, Pat keeps a dog bowl on-hand, and has been known to bring water out to the patio for any canine patrons).

A variety of seating options, from over-stuffed chairs to high stools to classic bistro chairs guarantee that you can find a comfortable perch. Free WiFi and the wonderful canal view are the icing on the cake.