Good cafes

Getting to know the area around my parents' home in the suburbs has made me appreciate one aspect of urban living: Everything is mapped out.

The notion of an undiscovered treasure in the midst of urban sprawl seems to be a total myth to me. If a place isn't listed on Google or doesn't go out of its way to appeal to consumers with good service, I will probably never hear of them. Coffeegrounds, Taft Street Coffee, Agora, Te House--all of these places that get described as insular hangouts actually WANT to be discovered, as indicated by their well-designed websites and Twitters that promote their excellent hospitality.

However, the suburban sprawl seems to be a completely different story. There's a Starbucks on every corner here, but I don't want to pay for wifi that can be had for free at home and I want my cafes to serve something more filling than a piece of over-priced bread.

If I ask around my friends or do a search on any of the countless review websites for cafe sites, dozens of locations with recent reviews, photos and filled in information will pop up around and within the loop. The story is completely different for my suburbs unfortunately--four places that weren't Starbucks showed up between Spring, Cypress and the Woodlands, and few of them had done anything to promote themselves.

So, now I'm ready with a catalog of my thoughts on various cafes north of Houston. Expect this to be updated as I wander around town:

Crepe Paris Cafe

http://www.crepepariscafe.com

16870 Stuebner Airline Road

Spring, TX 77379-6207

(281) 257-5990

This is a cozy little nook that is perfect for get-togethers and hanging out. The service is so gracious and thoughtful to all clients, with great food to boot. All in all, a fun place to relax, and it looks like they schedule community events such as karoake nights.

It has free wi-fi (ask the manager for the password), but I felt that it needed more couches and more comfortable seating in order to become a cafe where one could veg out and read for hours.

The experience was also dragged down by service that was gracious, but didn't seem to really listen to me. I ordered something off the menu, and the cashier wouldn't ring it up until I told him the menu number. Then he brought out something a little different than what I ordered. It was still delicious, but I felt like those little errors brought down the experience.