From Loathe to Love

THERE ISNʼT A THING IN THE WIDE WORLD THAT HAS TRAVeled farther between the ends of my desire spectrum than coffee. As a kid and teen, I couldn’t understand how my dad savored on the daily this putrid, bitter, brown bean water. My gateway into the world of coffee happened in the usual way: a desperate late-night study session in college that called for something stronger than soda. I ordered a Pumpkin Spice Latte (basic, I know) in a Hail Mary situation, and to my surprise … it wasn’t horrible. In fact, I found myself craving them more and more.

Fast forward to today: I have a dog named Java and my early morning cup of joe is the reason I get out of bed in the morning. Don’t get me wrong, I have all kinds of fulfi lling reasons to get moving. But being a chronic insomniac and night owl, waking up has always been a challenge. When the sun comes up and the alarms start dinging, I know if I can just zombie crawl my way to the coffee station and take a few sips, I will be ready to face the day.

Healthy or not, it has become a joke and an understanding in our family — no questions for mom until after she has had a few sips. People have bought me hilarious mugs on the topic.

“No coffee no talkie.”

“May your coffee be stronger than your daughter's attitude.”

“Coffee is my love language.”

It gives me immense pleasure to present to you our mouth-watering “Guide to OKC’s Coffee and Pastries,” because nothing complements a beautiful caffeinated drink like a scrumptious treat (pg. 4). For this cover shoot, we had the shops bring their yummy items to our new office space. I’ll be honest in saying that feasting on the delicious pastries after the shoot was a little slice of heaven. We have some incredibly talented bakers in this town. Don’t miss the interactive coffee passport map (pg. 4)!

Also in this issue, we are excited to introduce you to a young OKC chef who has already made international waves on the small screen (pg. ) and a fi ne artist whose work is literally on fi re (pg. 4).

BEHIND THE SCENES

To help beat those hot summer temps, we offer hydration tips to keep you cool and healthy this sweltering season (pg. ). We also feature a modern and serene design spread (pg. ) and entice your appetite with eatery options in Bricktown and the warm weather favorite that is chicken salad (pg. ). Finally, we’re keeping you in the know with the lowdown on the major studio movie currently fi lming all over the metro (pg. ).

I hope you are having a summer worth savoring!

Enjoy,

Julie Partin EDITOR IN CHIEF