I would like to begin by first reviewing this charming little coffee shop/music venue, the Bazaar Cafe:
The Counter of the Bazaar Cafe
First, the atmosphere at this place was delightfully homely, in a San Francisco hippie music venue sort of way. For example, a small mouse toy was affixed next to a small hole in the drywall. There were also two acoustic guitars in the window, a counter full of vegan options and some delicious looking pies, and a floor plan that screamed “functionally obsolescent yet still endearing.” There was also a music listening station across from the main counter, next to a resolution from the City of San Francisco proclaiming a particular day “Bazaar Cafe Day.” As weird as this place sounds, I liked the atmosphere quite a bit and I think that you would like it too.
Separately, we should probably consider the foodstuff and coffee drinks at Bazaar Cafe. My first order of the evening was the Cafe Latte, a classic for anyone who enjoys coffee shops and/or espresso. The cafe latte was served in a pint glass, which meant that it was much larger than an average $3 cafe latte. Furthermore, this was well made. I ordered mine nonfat, and yet the barista was still able to give me a solid serving of foam on top of the latte. The espresso had a pretty solid flavor as well. For my meal, I ordered something rather small – simply a cup of soup. But the Bazaar Cafe had many kinds of soup, at least 6 or 7 varieties. The ones I remember include clam chowder, black-eyed peas, japanese-something, and spicy peanut. But there were more.
Anyway, I asked the older gentleman at the counter how the soups were and he enthusiastically replied, “Hearty, warm, and vegan!” This answer was friendly and descriptive, and did result in a smile and a chuckle. However, it was not exactly helpful, so I rephrased my question and asked him which soup he recommended. He happened to reply by naming the most intriguing-sounding soup choice on the menu: the Spicy Peanut soup. So, naturally, I gave it a try. It was some damn good soup. Imagine every Thai peanut sauce you’ve ever had in your life. It was like a hot version of that with vegetables (carrots, green beans, etc) and what I believe was a little bit of barley, with a slightly spicy flavor (described by the gentleman at the counter as “not hot-spicy, but spices-spicy”). Anyway, I like Thai peanut sauce, so this soup was a win.
Finally, I’d like to just mention that the coffee was good and refills only cost 75 cents. Another win. Final Grade on the Bazaar Cafe: 1450 on the old SAT scale.
Next up, I’d like to review Peter Vuksich. Well, not the dude, but his musical performance at the Bazaar Cafe. Anyway, here’s the low down: I STILL CANNOT GET THAT FEBRUARY RAIN SONG OUT OF MY HEAD. Seriously, that is one catchy tune. But I have to say, and this is coming from someone that generally knows nothing about music, that was a good show.
Peter Vuksich playing at the Bazaar Cafe
The tunes were very good, although I think Vuksich was at his best when he would kind of get away from his softer notes towards some louder deeper jams. Just about the only thing that I think that could have been improved were the jokes in between songs. But not always. Vuksich just tended to either hit a home run or strike out on those. Nothing in between. But the music was solid the whole way through, which I guess was the point. A pretty sweet bonus that the crowd received from this show was watching the people who would approach the front door at the cafe (behind Vuksich in the picture, above), realize a show was going on, freak out in various ways, and consider their options for entering the cafe for a few moments, then finally realize that a sign located on the door immediately behind Vuksich instructed them to enter the cafe through the side door.
Also, nicely done on the February Rain encore. CD’s were available for sale, and I know we bought one. Here’s his website: http://www.petervmusic.com/.
Final grade: 2210 on the new SAT scale.
Posted by prezidentv8 
