EDitorial ± 25-May-2018

Light Lunches: La Tour Cycle Cafe, Ipswich

Remember the docks? You know, where you might have bumped into Michael Caine in 1986? Changed a bit since then. Now, if you so desired, you could do a coffee crawl along The Waterfront starting with cappuccino at the Cult Cafe, cortado at Coffeelink, bottle of water at Coffee Cat (ex Colours), then a latte at Isaacs Coffee Tavern before a light lunch at the Grazing Sheep and a final espresso at DanceEats. Totally wired.

Popping up between the final pair is the new home of La Tour Cycle Cafe. Elbowed out of their former comfy home on Tower Street, the redoubtable Anna has resurfaced at a swish location. While readying for the cafe's relaunch, she's already hosted a bunch of events including That Sunday Market and a superb afternoon of live music with Ben Brown, Bessie Smith, etc. Not to mention the tireless work for the homeless and otherwise disenfranchised of the town. Seriously, Anna's one of the good guys.

Character witness statements aside, the caff is up and running. Second full day of opening when me and Andy stepped in. Inside, which is vast, is becoming ever more homely with a couple of long tables nearest the counter and the much-loved sofas at the far end. Early days, foodwise, so we had pretty much two of everything: sausage roll, cheese scone, crisps and a San Pellegrino, all consumed in the depths of a squishy settee. Little kids played nearby, parents chatted and all was right with the world.

I volunteered to make the long walk back for sweet treats. Their trusty coffee machine is also back in action and provided us with some decent Americanos. Day two and already the choice of cakes was huge. Super generous slabs of coffee & pistachio helped foster that Friday feeling. Go support Anna and La Tour and do something good for this town.

If it was a car -- Honda Civic Giro D'Italia Support Car.
If they were passing by -- Gary Imlach.