 "Photo: River Roasters")
 "Photo: River Roasters")
Everyone has those places, those haunts where they say they're going to work, study, whatever, but when they arrive, they know that their books won't be leaving their bags. Whether it's chatting with patrons at neighboring tables, bumping into long-lost acquaintances, or just staring into space while happily smoking your eighteenth cigarette of the evening, everyone has those coffee houses, those bars that are inimical to productivity - mine is Paris on the Platte.
Located at 1553 Platte Street, one of Denver's favorite coffee spots, Paris on the Platte is across Confluence Park from Union Station in LoDo, making it highly convenient to from both the C and E light-rail lines. As the name suggests, Paris is only a block off of the Platte River, and guests traveling on foot have the chance to cross the Millennium Bridge, a Denver landmark often viewed but rarely trod upon.
Paris on the Platte boasts front and back patios, which are always packed in warm weather. The two-room interior, with bakery cases, a kitchen, a full-service coffee bar and an antique bean roaster, would seem more fitting to Lewis Carroll than Lower Downtown. The ceiling is partially covered in a black and white checkerboard, and Christmas lights abound, even in the middle of summer. The walls are gaudily hung with local art for sale, the chairs don't really match, and the too-small tables have suffered years of misuse and graffiti. Patrons are offered one of two seating options: aisle, where they're subjected to the constant stream of foot traffic, or wall, there to sardine it over their laptops (There's an open Wi-Fi connection throughout the restaurant, and a large conference table with dial-up outlets in back).
Upon arrival, customers are greeted not only by staff, but also by the regulars happily smoking on stools near the bar. The servers themselves are a motley crew, pierced and tattooed in the most unlikely of places, bespectacled, and usually smoking while taking orders (Paris on the Platte was able to avoid the smoking ban due to their sale of tobacco products - adamant non-smokers beware). However, Paris' wait-staff represent some of Denver's finest, that is, once they realize that you've seated yourself in their section. On hand with refills before you notice you need another, chatting with the regulars and giving the not-so-regulars just enough space, your server may mistake lettuce for sprouts on your sandwich, but they'll do it with a joke and a smile. They're as popular with the high-school drama kids in the back as the brooding artists near the windows, dispelling tension between the first date couples and arguing philosophy junkies alike. If you're lonely, they'll sit and chat, if you're preoccupied, they'll take up just enough time to get your order.
As Paris on the Platte is primarily a coffee house, one would expect the house coffee to be great and the food to be mediocre. However, I've found the opposite to be true. The house blend is palatable but far from extraordinary and the beans are burned on an all too regular basis. However, at $1.50 a cup with three refills (or more if you don't remind the server you're at your limit), or $3.95 for a pitcher, the taste is forgivable and is highly complimentary to chain-smoking for hours at a time. Paris does play host to a large number of mixed coffee drinks (iced and hot); as well as numerous teas; hot chocolate like your mom made on snow days; and an especially tantalizing apple cider, served with cinnamon and orange slices. Their chai tea is lacking: while flavorful, it tends to cause a strange burning sensation on the tongue, even when enjoyed cold.
The food situation is a lot more stable. The menu offers pizza, nachos, deli sandwiches, fruit and cheese boards, and an array of vegetarian options. A personal favorite is the deli club, prepared on three pieces of the patron's toast of choice: the sandwich offers a tantalizing combination of honey ham, turkey and thick bacon with sprouts, lettuce, tomato and mayo optional. Served in a little red basket with a dill slice on the side, the sandwich is more than a mouthful. The accompanying tortilla chips are a little disappointing, but by the time the sandwich is eaten, there's rarely room left over. Until, that is, you catch a glance of the dessert menu, half of which is enticingly displayed in the bakery cases. With cookies, cakes, smoothies and milkshakes, splitting desserts here will almost surely lead to blows over the last bite.
At first sight, Paris on the Platte is a little run-down, the wait-staff a little weird, and you're always at risk of elbowing someone in the nachos. It's smoky and noisy, the chairs are uncomfortable and the coffee's not that great, but there's a sense of community here that's hard to find elsewhere in Denver. Paris on the Platte is where the misfits come to fit in, and where I come to not get things done.
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