Going from the title of this post alone, you can figure out that this is not my first trip to this location. In fact, this was one of the first places I reviewed for my blog. I'm not going to give you a play-by-play of the first post, but I will say that I didn't leave there with the best outlook for this small cafe. Click here to check out my first visit.
After my first trip there, I didn't really think about it much. It wasn't until something that had happened a couple of weeks ago that not only had me thinking about Cafe Tourane, but what I am doing here on this blog to begin with. That "something" was simply.....a response.
I get notifications every time someone leaves a comment on a post. When I saw I got a comment on the Cafe Tourane post, I was a little surprised because older posts don't get that much attention. When I saw that the name of the person who commented was Cafe Tourane, I started to freak out a little bit in my head!
"Oh Shit! Are they pissed I didn't like their beignets?.....FUCK!" I didn't say that out loud, but I wanted to. Luckily, I didn't have to worry at all. They were actually really cool about the whole thing.
"Thanks for the post J. Miller :)
Just so you know we have been working on our Beignet Recipe since we opened in January!
Come back and try some more soon :)"
Yup, they took the high road. I'm not shocked that they did. I guess I was ready to hear something like "Fuck you and your shitty blog!" or "You better not step foot in here again!". Reading what they said actually put me at ease.
To me, the fact that they responded was a huge surprise. Getting comments from other customers is expected. But to have a proprietor respond blew me away. I honestly hadn't prepared for that. In doing so, it put a lot into perspective.
I know I don't have the most popular blog on the web. In fact, I still see this as somewhat of a hobby. After seeing their response, I quickly remembered that for these business owners, it ain't a hobby. It's serious fucking business. As much as I like to joke around on here, I do have to be aware that what I say on here can make an impact on how a restaurant is seen. My review may just cause someone to avoid going somewhere.
In my opinion, I don't think my first review was out of line. You can judge for yourself on that one.
So, with that said, and that read, I thought it was only fair to give them another shot. I mean, why not? What's it gonna hurt?
My next day off from work, I headed over to CT to get some coffee and beignets. I walk in, and instead of seeing a bunch of teenagers, I see a bunch of old folks! With school out right now, no surprise there.
I ordered a mocha latte and beignets. As I'm paying, the guy working the register offers me something that looks like a credit card. He explains that you show it whenever you make a purchase to get points towards free drinks and such. OK, I'm down for that.
Once the order is in, I see someone come out from the back with a ball of dough and start to roll my beignets right there! Made-to-order beignets? I can dig it! I just hope they taste better than last time.
Here is what I was looking at.
The coffee was very good. A nice, subtle chocolate flavor that seemed to work with the coffee instead of overpowering it.
The beignets? They.......they were.......VERY GOOD! A far cry from when I had them the first time. These were little pillows that almost melted in your mouth. Very soft with no greasy mouth-feel. They did a lot of things right here.
Bottom line: Big improvement on the beignets.
So, there it is. A second chance. A second impression. I'm happy that I went back. I'm happy that the people at CT would welcome me back. I think I'll leave it at that.
http://www.cafetourane.com/
J. Miller
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