For a band on tour, what's the next most important thing to performing? Eating, of course! Every band that has hit the cold roads of Canada has its favorite restos, diners, coffee shops and steakhouses. Tastes of the Tour Bus features these road-tested recommendations. Today, singer songwriter, Kathleen Edwards.
Polaris Prize nominee Kathleen Edwards loves music, the road, and coffee. Throughout this entire series, we have never come across a more serious coffee drinker. She combines taste, craft, emotion and scenic memories into her love of each location listed below.
Kathleen Edwards has enjoyed a heck of a career. The Ottawa native started her musical journey wielding an acoustic guitar, writing tough lyrics, all with country flare. After a couple of solid records, she tried something new, and released the slick and sometimes spacey Voyageur album to much acclaim.
Edwards sat down with fellow foodie and musician Miranda Mulholland to talk about the best cups of joe to touch her lips and heart.
NELSON, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Oso Negro - 604 Ward St
KE: "It's sort of like the oasis of Nelson. Nelson is this little small and quaint and pretty removed rural town. There's this killer coffee shop and it's pretty much the hub of the town. There was this sticker on the espresso machine. It was really one of the most beautiful sentiments. It really stayed with me for a long time."
NORTHHAMPTON, MASSACHUSSETS
Northhampton Coffee - 269 Pleasant Street
KE: "This place is particularly emotional for me because not only the coffee amazing, when I fell in love with this one boy who had come and see me play, it was the place that we went for coffee for the first morning together. We took pictures of our two beautiful ice coffees sitting on the counter."
LOVINGSTON, VIRGINIA
Trager Brothers Coffee - 486 Front Street
KE: "Rural Virginia is a no man's land for a Canadian driving around in a van. Google maps is amazing, sometimes you can just check your route and then check coffee. This place just popped up. We pulled over and it was in this guy's shed. He had a roastery and three people working and one little espresso machine. It was behind his house and his driveway was crumbling from erosion. It was the best cup of decaf I've ever had. I actually drink a lot of decaf coffee, which is super embarrassing. It helps when you suffer from anxiety but you love coffee.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA
KE: Minneapolis St. Paul, one of the coolest places in America. It's literally in my Top 3. Great local restaurant and food culture. You have to walk to not the best part of the city to get to it, but it's totally worth it.
ST JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
KE: If you ever go to Seattle, you have to go to Georgetown. It's between Peg's Market and Boeing Field. It's hugely industrial so there are lots of train yards. If I would ever move to America for awhile, I would probably go live in Georgetown."
TORONTO, ONTARIO
The Rooster Coffee House - 479 Broadview Avenue
KE: The Rooster is my coffee shop because I live in the East End, which Westenders don't even consider it part of Toronto. This woman took over this little run down convenience store and turned it into the coolest little coffee shop on Broadview, where there's nothing. It's become the hub. The best thing about it is that the view is that view of Riverdale park, you can see the CN Tower and the city buildings, it's the best view of the city I think.
EAU CLAIRE, WISCONSIN
Racy's - 404 Riverside Ave
KE: "Racy's is where, when I was making Voyageur, this is where we went all the time to have coffee. The second best thing about Racy's, besides the coffee, is the best blueberry pancake I've ever had in my life."
OMAHA, NEBRASKA
Listen to Miranda Mulholland's entire conversation with Kathleen Edwards by hitting the Play button to the left
posted by
Mark Wigmore
on Jan 22, 2013