My reason for ending up at Allegro was one of pure academic snobbery. Of all the coffee places on the "Ave," the moniker lovingly ascribed to University Way by University of Washington students, I searched for the place that proved possibly the hardest of all to find; its entrance is located not on the bustling street of used bookstores and "authentic" Indian accessories but rather in an alley. I bypassed the numerous other independent coffee shops far more conveniently located on the way to sit in the same cafe where years ago Michael Hardt, Duke literature professor and co-author of Empire sipped his coffee as a UW graduate student in some vain hope of absorbing whatever academic insights he may have left around the back corner table.
After spending about two hours sipping espresso that could only be described as caffeinated bliss accented by a milk foam leaf, I decided to meander along the "Ave" during what I was assured was a rare sunny day in the rainy city. I met a couple who was hoping to hitchhike to Vermont (I gave them a dollar and said it wouldn't get them very far, but they seemed thrilled), a very socially-awkward redheaded bookstore owner who blushed all shades of pink when I purchased Men in Dark Times by Hannah Arendt, and a very pretty thrift-store employee from whom I bought an awesome dress and possibly my first real girl crush. I left my house alone, but I think I came back with a few friends.
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