Chai to die for

My roommate Sarah and I went to a cafe in Uptown this weekend called Uncommon Grounds where I had the "orgasmic chai tea" (seriously, that's what it's called) and a "wild blueberry buttermilk scone" (at least I think that was its display name was). Both were fabulous. I've never had chai tea that tasted so, well, orgasmic. It had your typical sweet flavor and cinnamon and cardamom but a bunch of other spices I couldn't even begin to describe. I was also really impressed with the scone. The blueberries actually tasted fresh (not like those weird fake blueberries you get in pancake mixes) and had the perfect scone consistency - not too sweet, not too crumbly, not too dense. Pair that with deep intellectual conversation and later watching "Jane Eyre" at Uptown Theater and my day was complete.

The real question, of course, is why? Why would I go all the way to Uptown (when I live on West Bank) to go to a cafe? Because Uptown is cool. There's a certain vibe there that I just don't get quite anywhere else in Minneapolis (though a few places come close). Uptown Theater was showing the movie, which was the main reason for this excursion, but Sarah and I could have gone to any of the million restaurants/cafes/eateries that inhabit this part of Minneapolis. Sarah had been to Uncommon Grounds before, so she knew the food and drinks were good (especially the tea). But I think the real draw was the atmosphere. Uncommon Grounds is in this old house that's been renovated into a cafe. There's all this plush, Victorian-esque furniture and big band music playing on the speakers. One can almost pretend it's the 1920s while sipping on a concoction totally unknown at that time period.

But out of all the options on the menu, why go for the chai and the scone? Well, Uncommon Grounds is known for their chai, but I probably would have gotten it anyway. It's become one of my favorite teas and, considering I can't make it properly at home, it's something I usually try to get if I go out to a cafe. As far as scones go, I'm a sucker for British-y tea eats. I didn't think about the connection between going to see a film based on a British classic and eating a scone, but I suppose there might be something there. But really, I got the scone because of the blueberries. Though it absolutely isn't the season for blueberries (I fail at this eating locally and seasonally business ) I was craving them and that particular sweetened delectable seemed the most appealing from the pastry case. Also, it's just hard to get good-tasting scones. The ones I've had from Starbucks and Caribou are hard and not very tasty. Thus if I can find scones somewhere else (especially not a chain) and the name is convincing enough for me to try it (how could I turn down a "wild blueberry buttermilk scone?" It sounds like something out of a children's book!) then I'm game.

A lot of this links back to personality for me. I like sitting for hours at a time, just talking, and feeling like a hipster in some little unique cafe. Going to Uncommon Grounds really feeds into that, as it feels like a cross between a small campus coffee shop and the house I always wanted my grandmother to own. When food is catered to my interests (not just a pastry, a scone; and not just any scone, but a wild blueberry scone) then I start gravitating towards specific things. Chai is tasty, it's popular and it's from India (which adds a flair for the exotic), which creates this little niche I like placing myself into. It's not that I think, "Oh, chai is so popular, I totally have to drink that!" or "Ooh, I feel like being exotic and British-y at the same time, let's drink chai and eat a scone." I just do it without thinking about these things. But on some level, there is a sort of truth to that. I do like to feel exotic or popular, even if it's just through my food. I feel like this is getting to something sort of Cartesian, where I'm trying to exemplify what's in my mind through eating habits; the good old mind dominating the body again. Or maybe I just really like scones. Regardless, what Uncommon Grounds does works - and I will definitely be back for the chai again.