Jury duty. Ack. While we won't get into the specifics behind our general reluctance in doing our civic duty, we were glad for the opportunity to revisit one of our favorite coffee joints -- Wild Awakenings, 142 McAllister Street, right behind U.N. Plaza. This used to be our daily spot when we worked around here; we hadn't been since about August 2003.

There's a lot to like about Wild Awakenings -- the atmosphere is one. The space is HUGE; it's littered with chairs and tiny round, wooden tables, with a single couch of dubious cleanliness in the back. Aside from the couch, the place is spotless, if a bit rustic -- there's a real honest, hard-working, made-on-elbow-grease feeling. Lots of art -- both framed and directly on the walls, not to mention that cool coffee-joint-menu chalk-art -- lend to that arty community feel. The music while we were there was great; blues in the background, just loud enough to listen or ignore at one's leisure. Lots of food options available; fresh salads, baked goods, and more. There are four computers with Web access; rates are $3 for 20 minutes and $7 for an hour. This is also the first coffee joint we've seen that offers California Lottery tickets -- this place wears many hats.

But it's still mainly a coffee place. For those buying coffee beans in bulk, there are tons of blends available. For those of us that want to drink our coffee in this pleasant, airy, friendly place, the options are also numerous.