Wake-Up Call

By now you'd think we Portlanders would be jaded about such things. Like robins in the spring, or ants on the sidewalk or yet another Republican forecasting doom and gloom should the free-spending Obama administration be allowed to throw away more public money on something as unnecessary as health care for all Americans. (If they'd only been as vocal about Bush and his war in Iraq, or the shenanigans in the banking industry, huh?) But I digress.

I really can't speak for anyone else, but I was anything but ho-hum when I saw that a new coffee shop had opened in a moribund little strip of shops on the corner of NE 7th and Knott. Situated under the sheltering branches of an elderly plane tree and designed to look like a Parisian street cafe, Cartola serves Stumptown coffee to an increasingly dedicated neighborhood fan base, even though it's been open just over a month.

Named for Brazilian composer and one of the originators of samba, Angenor de Oliveira, known as Cartola, it's a little jewel box of a place, with a comfy banquette inside and tables on the wide sidewalk outside. It's the perfect spot to spend a morning reading the paper, sipping a coffee and talking with neighbors. Especially with a samba playing softly in the background.

Watch a video of Cartola singing the classic samba "Alvorada."

Details: Cartola, 2723 NE 7th Ave. Phone 503-281-1420.