The most compelling reason for dropping by the aptly (or is it unimaginatively?) named On The Corner is certainly not the retro-tinged decor, with ceiling fans and exposed ducting.
Nor is it the (almost) all-day breakfast — or even the egg muffin (with fries) that illustrated the side bar to my JT column.
It's the coffee. More specifically, the espresso counter in the entrance lobby, called Bear Pond No.8.
As the name suggests, it's produced by Bear Pond, the "cult-classic barista shack in Shimokitazawa that serves the hippest — and the finest, many swear — espresso in the city."
With its funky wooden furnishings and its counter-culture-oriented core clientele, Bear Pond is a throwback to the time when Shimokita was a radical-alternative student enclave — not the youth shopping plaza it's become today.
They ask you not to take photos of the interior, so I have always refrained (apart from sneaking one of the cup itself). But you get a sense of where they're at by the way the menu is printed out on a simple sheet from a ruled pad (as if it had been typed).
And the fact they call one of their blends the "Flower Child Espresso".
Fine as their coffee is — and it really is a wicked brew — that's all they do serve. But right across the street is a branch of Hara doughnuts, which are made from tofu (or maybe it's okara or just soymilk). They're pretty good.
[And don't quote me on this, but I think you're allowed to bring the donuts into Bear Pond to nibble on with your latte.]
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