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Meadowlark Coffee & Espresso
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
7 reviews for Meadowlark Coffee & Espresso
Meadowlark is interesting... it exists in this strip mall which I swear is a teensy strip of Seattle that has landed in Lincoln. It's next door to an imports store dripping with patchouli scent and a whole/natural food co-op... as a result you do tend to get a more liberal, tree-hugging, earth saving (and not so often clean shaven) crowd. :) All of this I happen to enjoy. I also appreciate their supporting local artists - giving them a place to display their art and perform.
If I like them so much then why three stars? I'm afraid I have to downgrade them for cleanliness of the facilities and inconsistency in their product.
Couches in gitchy coffee joints are good in theory, if they are resilient and well maintained, or at least scotch-guarded occasionally. These are not. They are comfy enough, but don't look too closely at the fabric if you want to hold your locally-made-whole-grain-organic-oatmeal-cookie down :( Also, while it is possible to get a good latte here, you are just as (or even more) likely to get a bad one. The coffee-prep here inconsistent and I find that my lattes are often overheated and, alas, come out tasting more like cigarette than coffee.
Also - if you have to drive there, you are forced to use what my husband I lovingly refer to as 'the parking lot of doom' *yikes*
I can't complain...the coffee was really good and the homemade granola bars were outstanding. My husband and I enjoyed the ambiance too...it's nice having a bit of a hippy enclave in conservative Nebraska. I hold back giving 5 stars as the staff member the first day we were there seemed less than interested in assisting paying customers.
Yes, you work in a coffeeshop. Is that really cause for pretension anymore? Especially if said coffeeshop exists in a strip mall? Apparently, it is. In fact, it entitles you to:
- huff angrily when asked if perhaps the carafes are empty
- tell paying customers that if they can WAIT six minutes, they can have some coffee
- take almost twenty minutes to make the coffee, despite having no customers at the counter, with much eyerolling
- pound on the swinging trash lid so that partially-empty cups, sugar packets, and scone bits are hurled at the customers who so rudely want to fill the cups they purchased
- snarl "I'm sorry I threw TRASH at you guys."
Oh, Meadowlark, you can bet I'll be back!
yay for Meadowlark. This place is casual and very kind to artists... The slam poetry there is really wonderful and can compete or best the slam poetry at its place of origin: the Green Mill in Chicago. Of course the decor doesn't compare to the Green Mill, but really the poetry is better.
And Meadowlark benefits from being next door to Open Harvest, so they have nice treats there...
You are at Meadlowlark, and a middle aged man is on stage, wailing on the guitar. He's an older man with a gray pony-tail, singing some original songs about the "bonds of opression" ... a crowd of gray-haired retirees, eating organic cakes and drinking free-trade coffee, watch the show with great interest. Along the edge of the shop, on the couches against the wall, high school students were trying to block out the silver crooner by listening to IPODs or working on laptops. Like these high-schoolers, you are trying to ignore the performance...
Go check out the bookshelf, for something to read until the music is done...What's this? Nothing but back issues of "Earth First" and "Real Goods" magazine, or else a stiff copy of an environmental treatise by Al Gore. You then realize that you are the only young urban professional in the joint, surrounded by nostalgic boomers eating Vegan Nut Crumble and high school students drinking Chai. The art on the wall? Photos of aging rock and roll bands, a close-up of a wrinkled hand fingering a fret board. On the bulletin board are posted ads for workshops on "true renunciation" and Cooking with Flax. There is an organic grocery next door, and this shop is obviously targeting their customers. You'd better go downtown.
This is actually a decent place, if you are a high-schooler or the parent of a high-schooler, but not for 20-somethings.
My friend & I have been to Meadowlark Coffee several times during the past year. They frequently feature musical groups-Blues Messengers, with Anna Degraff, being one of our favorites and they were there on our last vist on Dec. 28. Meadowlark is always "standing room only" when B.M.are there. The audience is a nice mix of students and people of all ages. Some are using their laptops and others are playing games. The lattes are always very good and the service is also timely. The art work changes periodically and their is a large selection of books to peruse. This is a terrific neighborhood coffee shop with a very friendly atmosphere.
Meadowlark Coffee and Espresso is a very comfortable coffee shop where anyone any age can feel welcome. On Friday nights when my friend and I are usually there, families with children will be in one area playing board games or cards, young adults, middle age and seniors will be listening to live music, using laptops or visiting with friends. There is a definite community feel about Meadowlark which is what makes it so special. The coffee, tea and bakes goods are excellent and my overall opinion is that this is a great place to enjoy a cup of coffee and wind down from a stressful day.
