Well, I had a great day today. The little league team that I manage had finally won our first game! (They really played their hearts out.) Afterwards, my nieces came over and we (Me, my two kids and my two nieces.) saw another ball game. A great fun filled day was had at the ball field. Afterwards, we all went out to dinner, my wife, myself, my two sons, my two nieces and my parents. It was a great dinning experience, a pleasurable time was had by one and all. We patronized an authentic Italian pizzeria. I lived in Italy for a few years and I got to know this special type of pizza quite well. (It's the type of pizza that has a very thin crust and is served on a plate. You eat it with an knife and fork. It’s great!) The owner of the establishment is from Italy. He had this special wood burning pizza oven shipped over from Italy and built. He even imports the flour from Italy. A lot of blood sweat and tears went into this endeavor, and it shows. The ambiance was great, real lively a bit noisy, but the good “happy” kind of noisy. There were all kinds of people there and a lot of Italian being spoken. Anyway the vibe was fantastic, the salads were good, the wine was great, and the pizza was to die for. In short, everything was superb. We are all laughing, talking, joking, just having a good time in general. I was starting to feel like I was back in Italy. Then I made “The Mistake” I ordered an espresso... I assumed that since everything was “Italian”, (and so far everything was great, it really made me nostalgic for the "Old Country".) I thought that I should go for it and order an espresso, as I would in Italy. But Noooo! It was perhaps the worst espresso I ever had the displeasure of tasting in my entire life. It was a nasty, gnarly, repugnant swill. Jesus, talk about a buzz kill. This is a problem that happens more than I care to think about... You go to a fine restaurant, have a great time, pay good money, then at the end of the meal you order a coffee or cappuccino or espresso, only to have it suck out loud. It's very disappointing so say the least. When will the restauranteurs “get it”? They take so much pride in their food, in their chef, in their wine, their ambiance, their menus, hell, even their little paintings on the wall, but when it comes to the coffee it’s usually the untrained dishwasher or busboy who makes the coffee/cappuccino/espresso. This is the last thing we consume, the last thing we taste before we leave their establishment. When its mediocre it just lowers the dining experience a few notches, but when you drink nasty, gnarly, repugnant, sour, bitter, swill... Forget about it! It destroys the whole dining experience for me. It just pisses me off to no end! I have that “fucked up” taste in my mouth while I’m paying the bill, as I’m driving home and even an hour after I’ve been home. Not cool! This is very dispiriting and we have to put a stop to this!!! I had better stop right now before I really get going, It can get ugly. I’ll just leave it at that. Thanks and good night. (In the spirit of full disclosure, I am in the “Coffee Business” my name is Barney and I am the owner/roastmeister of Pacifico Primo Coffee Trading Co. and thats why I am so... pedantic about coffee. It’s my passion.)