The Cafes of the Upper West Side

New York has a great cafe culture!  Step into a wonderful cafe and feel the bustle and energy of the city!  You'll see all types:  those reading Marx and discussing the proletariat; those on laptops and phones working on that next business deal; those savoring fine pastries and passing gas.

The Upper West Side has some of the finest cafes!  The other day I went to a cafe and brought some books and my Moleskin journal for a project.  My aim is to use Michel Lecoult's magisterial monograph on socialist movements of the early 20th century as a theoretical framework for understanding the renaissance of Dockers pants in the early 21st century.*

I enter the cozy cafe on Columbus Avenue, and I see a world of energy! A young man in black with a bad haircut is chugging espresso and eating almond croissants.  Two former sorority girls drink French press coffee and discuss their former glory ("like, oh my god.")  A woman in her forties is on bluetooth pretending to care about a client's weekend (although perhaps she's not really pretending to care, perhaps she does care because her soul is so empty she has nothing else to care about).

I approach the register.  "Yes!  I'll have an iced coffee, large, and one of those rolls filled with fresh cream!"  "Oh, yes sir.  And did you know our cream comes from cows that are sustainably raised and milked?"  "Oh, is that right?  Did you know you're an idiot!?  Just give me my pastry!"  

I'm given my coffee and pastry.  I sit down and bite into my cream roll...not bad.  Now onto my project!

*Is it clear to the reader what is meant by "renaissance of Dockers pants"?  I know what I mean by that, but is it clear to you?