“There, shimmering like a mirage at the end of the jetway, in the midst of what on my last visit had been a wasteland of Pizza Huts and Burger Kings, stood a newly opened Starbucks. I know, I know. Heartless corporate giant. Monster of coast-to-coast uniformity. Killer of mom-and-pop cafes. But that’s not what I thought at that moment.†[Extracted from At Large and At Small by Anne Fadiman, Copyright]
Well, have you ever caught yourself thinking, saying, implying, or otherwise proclaiming the sentiment expressed in the quote above? Have you ever seen one of those mom-and-pop cafes start, struggle, and go down with a whimper after dukeing it out with the Monster? Exhibit A to the contrary: a mom-and-pop-and-children-and-loyal customers-cafe called The Conservatory.
In the somewhat amorphous urban creation called Culver City, a subunit of Los Angeles, the truest expression of capitalism is found. The cafe’s owner, Dave Trygstad, is a genial and affable man in his mid-60’s, tall with a generous crop of curly gray hair. In 1995, at the urging of two of his daughters, Christine and Lisa, he led the family unit into the adventurous world of self-employment. Additions to the cast include mom, Jane, another daughter, Ingrid, son-in-law AJ Barish, and a nicely situated location across from the Sony studios and blocks away from what is now the Kirk Douglas Theater. His next door neighbor, Victor Jr’s, is of the same spirit, but that’s a culinary story for another time. If you are there on the right day, your nose will tell you that they roast their own here, and they do it in a setting peculiar to their tastes. My favourite AJ roasting effort is called Dark Blend.
While the name is mundane, the taste is not. It’s rich without a trace of bitterness, and behaves itself well in a French press or drip style. They’ll grind it for you, but why spoil the experience of grinding your own and unleashing that aroma in the morning at home? They feature great pastries from a French bakery in the area, and also offer fresh, toasted bagels and cream cheese to go with your brew of choice. They steam the milk in the northern Italian tradition (more than this I can not say). It’s always a treat to watch the experienced hand of the staff pour out hearts and leaves in foamy white and coffee brown on your latte. It’s almost a shame to spoil it by drinking it, but that’s easily overcome.
There’s also a rich selection of high quality loose-leaf teas that they’ll bag for you on the spot or blend your own special mix. Ingrid is a specialist at this, not to mention her hand-made jewelry on sale in the shop. The staff is an eclectic mix of people many moonlighting for a little extra income, especially students. Dave has always made it a point to hire them, work with their schedules, and nurture them in his own way. He can do that because he’s his own man functioning within his parameters, not a homogenized standard crafted from afar.
So what makes them so special? It’s their decor, hand painted, detailed, arranged, and the nicest touch of all, their music. Enter into the warm atmosphere of the shop and you might hear music from the big band era, jazz, classical, you name it. This place is like a caffeinated Morning Becomes Eclectic (for you cognoscenti). AJ likes to have Django Reinhardt recordings on and is himself, a respectable guitar player. The clientele is fiercely loyal and likes to hang around talking business, reading, people watching, or grabbing that necessary elixir on their way to work.
The Conservatory is closed on Sundays and works a short day on Saturday. This schedule has never bothered the customers who perhaps have weaned themselves off the frenetic I-gotta-have-it-now syndrome that afflicts so many in this city. I know it doesn’t bother me as I sniff the aroma of freshly ground Dark Blend in my kitchen and reflect that it is good that Dave’s people too are off this lazy, peaceful Sunday afternoon.
The Conservatory
10117 Washington Blvd, Culver City
(310) 553-0436
1 response so far ↓
1 Jamie // Jun 13, 2008 at 2:18 pm
I just heard about this place on another blog, too bad it wasn’t in the coffee competition, it sounds so good!!
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