And You May Wonder…

…why did Josie and I pick these certain places? I admit, Foggy Bottom isn’t the most Bohemian place in DC, but there definitely is more to it than countless stores of Starbucks and crappy food. Each one of the venues that we chose represents Foggy Bottom and what it has to offer. From the student run grocery store and coffee stand to the Pakistani-run hotdog stand, each one solidifies our experience in Foggy Bottom.  Do you want to go to the Bertuccis in 2000 Penn that is also back in your mall at home or that small bar around the corner where you can choose from 30 different types of burgers? With a wide array of restaurants, Foggy Bottom does lack a particular type of venue in my eyes: an actual coffee shop where you can just sit and work for hours on end, and no, not another Starbucks please. 


While visiting my best friend who goes to NYU I had a couple hours to spend by myself, so I took it upon myself to be studious, but also adventurous at the same time. My friend told me of a coffee shop in the area where I could go and get free Wi-Fi, a good latte and a comfy seat.  I instantly fell in love as I walked into the bustling coffee shop filled with an eclectic collection of people, let alone chairs. There were people deep in conversation and also people alone, absorbed in a book or work. After two hours of on and off working and people watching I had to leave. Ever since then I have wished that Foggy Bottom had something similar to offer.  I feel that a coffee shop of that sort would flourish within the university campus.  Café Orbis, the coffee shop, described by Richard Lloyd in his book Neo-Bohemia, idealized the ones in New York City. Nowhere like Café Orbis existed in Wicker Park before it opened and when it did, it was highly successful and received national recognition.  Foggy Bottom, let alone GW, is in desperate need where students and adults can casually congregate for hours and be surrounded by an atmosphere something different from Starbucks.

-DG