4 JllSt OUt • auflusl 19.20Q5
IWf^out
is, in my opinion, the best in town. The owners
are two fantastic lesbians who are out and
proud, the main rixim is not dark at all but very
To the E ditor :
bright, and the larger room downstairs is full of
cozy couches and chairs and has WiFi and air
’m writing you in response to the article in
your Aug. 5 issue titled “True Brew,” where
conditioning. As for the coffee, they use Stump
you claim to have “spilled the beans on Port town (the best), and I have never had a bad
land’s queer-owned java joints.” 1 feel that the
drink there.
review of Touchstone Coffee House was really
The snacks for purchase include full and half
misleading and that Touchstone was not given
sandwiches, or you can have a bagel sandwich.
nearly as much credit as it deserves.
It is not just veggie fare.
First and foremost, 1 really resent your per
1 have been to many of the other coffee
sonal reference remarking that the decor of
places, and I disagree with most of those ratings,
Touchstone is “overwhelming...cozy hut clut
too. 1 think to actually give a review on a place
tered.” Touchstone actually just t<x>k down a
you need to go there, be there and feel the vibe.
majority of the artwork (which I’m assuming is
1 really do not feel this will make a difference
what you meant hy “clutter”) on the walls, and
on anyone’s business, but I think you missed the
a lot of regulars like myself miss the old “clutter.”
boat on this article.
Your reference implies that coziness is good but
that clutter is bad. Who is not to say that the
K elly O’S haughnessy
clutter is what makes the place cozy?
! Portland
Then you go on to claim that the artwork,
which has a new age influence, is distracting.
What is the artwork distracting people from?
The everyday stresses of life? Well, g<x>d! That’s
To the E ditor :
the point! When you step into Touchstone, it’s
like stepping into a sanctuary, and you get to
A fter reading the article “True Brew,” it was
1 ; obvious the reporter did not spend any
“rest you spirit” there.
amount of time in Touchstone Coffee House. If
1 think what really intrigues me is how you
chose to bring out the negative aspects of
she had, she would have realized that not only
Touchstone while bringing out the positive fea does Touchstone have a resource rix)m, but it
has free WiFi access. Touchstone even offers a
tures of other coffee shops. You dwell on the fact
computer for customers to use.
that Touchstone has limited hxxJ options, when
in actuality it has more options than most.
The article points out that Touchstone is
cluttered. Again, if she noticed, almost every
Every other coffee shop in your article only had
the usual “pastry fare,” as does Touchstone, but
thing in the store is made by a l<x:al artist show
ing her talented art and trying to make a buck.
on top of that, it offers sandwiches and bento. If
Did she at all interview anyone entering the
the other shops offer a full menu of steak and
door? Doesn’t appear so, or you would have
lobster, then I am mistaken.
1 am a proud regular of Touchstone and have
heard how great the coffee is and how great the
been since high schtxd. It’s such a special place
atmosphere is.
I’m shocked! What criteria were used for this
that I chose to “come out” to my parents there,
survey? Did you ask the same questions to all?
stopped by for pictures in the garden before my
senior prom and met my future wife in the
Haven isn’t the only one in town with cute
baristas. Many of the coffeehouses in town have
Touchstone library. I continue to go to Touch
g<x)d-kx)king baristas...but, hey, that isn’t what
stone on a weekly basis, even if it’s just to sit
down and breathe for a while. Touchstone is a
makes a gtxxJ cup of coffee.
special place and has been such a huge part of
What 1 like about Touchstone is that it lets
the gay and lesbian community for years. I feel
you “rest your spirit.” It may not be the place for
it deserves much more props in the line of vibe
all, but someone like me, who has been coming
here for six years, calls this place an extension of
and quality coffee.
home. My hope is that the readers of Just Out not
If Touchstone didn’t have such a gixxl vibe
and its coffee wasn’t the best in town, then why
take the article hx> seriously or they might miss a
do so many of us drive all the way across town
great place to relax and enjoy a great cup of joe.
to pay the extra money, when there’s a Star
bucks on every comer (or, better yet, other
K athy E lkins
“queer-friendly java joints”)? It’s because Touch
Portland
stone exceeds all expectations and then some
for the best cup of joe in town, with a mini sanc
tuary experience to go with it!
I feel like your review of Touchstone was
To the E ditor :
misleading, derogatory and merely a political
am so disappointed in my fellow GLBTs’ lack
of Capitol Building presence over Senate Bill
jab using only your personal opinions as a base
1000 and later House Bill 3508, particularly
reference. Perhaps getting the “vibe” of the
GBLT community would be more sufficient as a
after the big Basic Rights Oregon rally July 1.
reference, rather than using your article as a way
Did you totally give up after Speaker Minnis
to promote your favorites.
sabotaged SB 1000 on July 2? Were you waiting
for BRO to instmct you to be at the Capitol? Is
A nnie W ilson
it possible that if we had flixxJpd the House
Portland
gallery during a session that some of the repre
sentatives would have risen to acknowledge our
presence? Perhaps they might have then been
inspired to rise up for an HB 3508 remonstrance
(declare their wish for an up or down vote).
To the E ditor :
All you had to do was call the Capitol or
uy rue Brew”? I just read you article on
look/ask for the Web link for session schedules
1 queer coffeehouses, and I have to say I
and show up, preferably with the “blue shirt."
disagree.
Especially in the last few weeks there were gen
What makes a coffeehouse have a “queer
erally only two to five folks at any part of a day,
quotient”? Rainbow flags? Equality stickers?
most of them being committed Salemites.
1 think it has more to do with the attitude of A couple of people drove up from Eugene
the people there. ’
occasionally.
I go to Blend coffeehouse on Bumside, and it
I spent the last four session days alone on the
Touchstone fan
fires back
I
open
monday - friday 11 am - 6pm
Saturday * Sunday I lam - 5pm
adr :: 2230 ne alberta
ph :: 503.460.0760
ws :: www.pedxshoes.com^^
Touchstone a home
away from home
Where were you?
I
Blend fan thinks shop
was misrepresented