Zola's Cafe in Auburn--Yes!

So I went shopping yesterday for jeans, and started to miss the shopping experience I had while in Europe.  This is how you do it there:  you go out in the morning (usually with a friend), take a while shopping (usually in an outdoor market, but there is often regular stores nearby, within walking distance), then you have a very leisurely lunch in a funky little restaurant or cafe with a great atmosphere and good food and chat and/or do some people watching.  This whole process can take about four hours, and yes, I know, we Americans have a hard time even thinking of taking that long to shop, but keep in mind that you don't just shop, you have a shopping experience.  There's no rush.  You linger over the items to buy, compare prices, get some bargains, and then because this is a lot of work and walking around, you take some time to relax and enjoy your environment, and I don't mean going to a shopping mall food court and stuffing down fast food and hurrying off.  No, you sit and relax, because shopping for bargains and the best deal you can get is real work, and you deserve some pleasure out of it all.

I couldn't do much at the moment about the missing friends, but I could do something about the cafe.

There was a cafe I remembered, from before we went to Germany, in downtown Auburn.  I hoped it was still there, because it had a good feel, with comfortable chairs and such.  Luckily, I found it again, and indeed it had that Sittard Market feel.  It's Zola's Cafe, and to my delight, they had expanded their menu, and had added some VERY nice beer (English ales, as well as a genuine German Hefe Weissbier!) as well as some good looking wine.  I didn't have any of the wine or beer, since I was driving, but they did have mineral water (I remembered in time to call it sparkling water).  They also had espresso.  All the drinks that you would find in an European cafe.

Their menu, so far, is light, with a Mediterranean slant.  I've been on a non-high fructose corn syrup kick since I came back from Germany (food tastes very sweet to me now), so I was glad to find they make their own foccacia bread, so there is definitely no corn syrup in that, plus their sourdough has no corn syrup in it either.  I had a grilled ham and cheese sandwich on the foccacia bread, and there was a nice bit of decorative salad with pickle on the side, enough for a contrast to the sandwich. Not too much, not too little. Just right.

I also found to my delight that they have live music every Friday evenings from 7 pm to 9 pm.  The music ranges from blues, jazz, "indie," and country-western.  No cover charge, but you can tip the musicians, which I think is important (they are providing a service, after all), as well as buy their CDs.  Zola's events calendar has links to the musicians' web sites/music, so you can hear what they sound like.

The staff is friendly and the service good, and they do take the time to chat a bit as you are ordering your food if it's not horrendously busy.  I hope to persuade John to go there one evening and have a light dinner there, relax, and sip some wine or beer as we listen to some good music.  I'll let you know what it's like after we do.