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Monthly Archives: March 2020

The Tiger Eye

I can’t believe I missed a spot. Especially since it’s located right along the Road of Dread. That’s what I call the stretch of Derry Street that leads from my house…to the dentist. Perhaps as I was driving there I was too focused on the impending low-key torture porn that constitutes modern dentistry to think about coffee at all. Or maybe I was a bit befuddled by Novocaine on the way home and failed to notice something as innocuous and positive as the little multicolored cottage on the left that housed a veritable smorgasbord of coffee and art. Whatever the case, I was genuinely surprised to find this little gem hidden less than fifteen minutes from my front door.

The Tiger Eye is probably the only independent coffeehouse out here in the Lawnton exurb of Harrisburg or anywhere nearby. We’re not known for our coffee culture out here in the burbs. It’s Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, or nothing, as it’s casually assumed that everyone here is either heading to or from work. It’s a place to come home to, not a place to go out to. Cultural events simply don’t happen here. That’s obviously being shaken up within these pastel-pink walls!

So, after stopping by I really don’t know what I can say about this place. No, really, I don’t know what I can say about it because I was sworn to secrecy by the woman behind the counter. Having just opened last December, she’s still in the process of developing the community connections that she intends to make, the nature of which are top secret. Suffice it to say, the owner has every intention of making The Tiger Eye a nexus for art and music in the community, as evidenced by the enormous number of paintings, sketches, and musical instruments adorning the walls.

I ordered the coffee called City Roast. It wasn’t one particular bean; rather a blend of several including my favorite, Colombian. It was quite good; a little on the lukewarm side, but understandable given that I’d come there in the middle of the afternoon in between rush hours. It was smooth but not too bold, making it a rather stellar medium roast. Not a bad start to this enterprise! The hours are wonderful by the way; 6 AM to 9 PM every day but Sunday when it’s closed. It gives me a lot of pride to see people bringing the arts to our blue-collar corner of suburbia. I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us this summer.