Best Hangout

Desert Companion Magazine - February 2011
by STEVEN MASON

Lots of coffeehouses drink so deeply from the anti-Starbucks vibe that they've become caricatures of anti-corporatism. Fair trade? Check. Organic? Double check. Che Guevara posters? Venti check. So whether you're traipsing around Greenwich Village or San Francisco's SoMa district, finding a coffeehouse that creates an oeuvre and owns it - instead of proffering over-roasted coffee and overpriced imitations of food - is next to impossible. But that's all because you're not looking right here in Las Vegas (Boca Park, to be exact), where Sambalatte Torrefazione serves world-class java for the true enthusiast, freshly roasted, ground and brewed (French press, vacuum brew, chemex, aero press or single brew), tea, foodie salads and sandwiches like their caprese; pastries flown in from Paris; comely desserts; and palate-cleansing gelatos. All in a two-story, spacious environment, walls adorned with photos of coffee in various stages of production; communal teak tables; the requisite Wi-Fi along with a bevy of rechargeable Wi-Fi stations; books and magazines; room for the impromptu business meeting or understated art of the pickup; live Latin and jazz music on many nights; unobtrusive but substantive music the rest of the time; and an eclectic mix of cool, personable coffee-lovers (as customers, baristas and servers). When it comes time for my dictionary, Sambalatte has got first dibs on the word "oasis."
[750 S. Rampart Blvd. Suite 9, 272-2333, http://www.sambalatte.com/]

Newbie cred: Steven Mason, brand strategist, ADHD connoisseur, and megadose consumer of caffeine, has lived in Las Vegas for 15 months.