St. Joseph, MO: Pony Espresso

Many years ago, Jim Fly had the serendipitous opportunity to taste the smoothest latte he had ever experienced. For years he recalled it as enchanting and often thought it would be great to offer  St. Joseph that same experience.  But he had no idea how to go about opening a true coffee shop.  As happenstance would have it, and when the timing was perfect for him, he waited at a traffic light one day next to a van with a phone number painted on the  side. The van belonged to one of the area’s premier espresso technicians who has been involved in the business  for decades.  He called the number and the rest is history.

Jim has owned Fresh Aire Fare Health Food Store since 1994.  Ten years later he converted Fresh Aire’s  storage area into an attached coffee shop.  It was the perfect size for a comfortable meeting place for the true coffee connoisseur or hungry passerby.

Healthy sandwiches  and salads made fresh to order complete the simple but ample menu.  Coffee table by leather sofas strewn with magazines, local artwork for sale on the walls. It all makes for a pleasant resting place.  Jim’s collection of cartoons from The New Yorker that are posted for all  to view can lighten anyone’s day.

Jim only serves  fine organic espresso and coffee, with his espresso being a very special Pony Espresso blend that makes the smoothest shots for miles. And his baristas  have been trained to pull shots like the best in the field. 

Pony Espresso baristas are quite inventive, too.  Folks go out of their way for an original barista creation called Cherry Mash Latte, named after the Cherry Mash Candy Bar that’s made in St. Joseph.

So if you’d like to be enchanted with a smooth latte like Jim was so many years ago, Pony Espresso should be your next stop. And like the Pony Express that began it’s  route west from this town long ago, The Pony Espresso can be the beginning of great adventures for you, as well.

 Pony Espresso

114 E. 8^th St., St. Joseph, MO

St. Charles, MO: The Crooked Tree

t’s not just the French toast and crêpes that draw people out of their way to The Crooked Tree.  It’s also the classic turn of the 20^th Century eclectic style that surrounds them while enjoying that breakfast they’ve paired perfectly with the signature drink Café 559. Crooked Tree’s Café 559 is an espresso with steamed milk and a perfect blend of seven secret flavors. Breakfast in a unique coffee shop – a welcome change from any diner.

In 2002 Stein & Julie Hunter decided it was time to put Stein’s 25 years of restaurant experience to the ultimate test.  They designed their shop from the ground up with a mission in mind:

Provide an environment where our guests can feel at home, and our employees can better themselves through gainful employment. Serve good coffee and great comfort food. Treat everyone like a friend. Work hard. Laugh every day!

And what better place to test their dream than a place where the crooked tree legend has inspired many generations of St. Charles residents to take pictures, watch for springtime blossoms and to relax and play under broad catalpa leaves. Their success has proven them.

Just like the relaxing environment of any old Victorian home would have a piano, so does The Crooked Tree.  If you’re a musician and get the urge to play a tune, you are most welcome.  But not common to the Victorian era, a guitar also awaits the customer/musician. It’s a nice change for a coffee shop and the acoustics are great with hardwood floors and a tin ceiling.

So when you’re in Saint Charles and need to rest your feet with a bottomless cup of great coffee, perhaps have a meal or a delectable pastry, remember to stop by The Crooked Tree.  Maybe you’ll understand why the AOL survey voted them #1 in St. Louis.