Java Joint

Coffeehouses, having become extremely popular in the mid-'90's, and then again about a decade later seem, once again, to have entered a third wave within the past year. Java joints are jumping up all over town.

Any wonder? As these public houses have evolved with the society around them, their look and bill of fare have remained constant as their convenience, allowing a quiet place to hang out, chat, read, open the lap top and work.

Tulsa Sips Coffee Co. and The Creamery on Brookside adds a twist to the concept, offering home-made ice cream, frozen yogurt, besides the specialty coffees. The coffee served is Dillanos Coffee -- known as the "the smoothest coffee in the world" -- as well as, Dominics coffee.

My purpose was to sample the coffee on this cool spring Saturday. A friend and I met here to see exactly how smooth Dillano's Coffee is.

Tulsa Sips is the anchor store at a little strip center at 38th and Peoria. The place is small, cozy and comfortable with a few tables, a few love seats, and a few single seats. One person was already in place sipping his coffee while pouring over a conversation on his cell phone as he multi-tasked on his lap top.

I ordered a large decaf coffee ($1.95/.87 for refills), and my friend ordered a 12-oz. Cappuccino ($2.70) and a 16-oz. regular black coffee ($1.70). We sat and continued to observe our surroundings while our coffee was being made.

Freshly made bagels ($1.30/$1.99 w/cream cheese) and muffins ($1.50 -- blueberry, banana nut, chocolate chip, cream cheese, lemon poppy seed, strawberry) are available snacks, and while they looked homemade, the girl who waited on us was not quite sure where they were made. We passed on those, but did get a Biscotti (packaged wrapped) to dip into the coffee.

Our coffees were ready. My decaf was good and strong -- smooth, I suppose, but I really could not detect any additional smoothness from other coffees I have had. My friend enjoyed his cap -- he especially called attention to the frothiness of the milk, saying the froth stayed with each sip going down, which was delightful. His black coffee was strong and rich, just as he likes it.

Tulsa Sips has an entire chalkboard of specialty drinks. Some of the hot drinks, which come in 12-oz, 16-oz. and 20-oz. sizes, include Coffee Latte, Café Mocha, Vanilla Latte, Americano, Chai Latte, Hot Chocolate and Steamer.

Some drinks "on the rocks" include Iced Latte, Iced Mocha, Iced Vanilla Latte, Iced Chai Latte, and with any of these, a Protein Shot can be added for .50. Also featured are Ice Tea, Italian Soda, Italian Cream Soda, as well as Jet Tea Fruit Smoothies (fruit puree mixed with antioxidant green tea) in flavors Mango, Strawberry Bomb, Pear, Wild Berry Blast.

Also at Tulsa Sips, whole bean coffee is for sale: a few include Verona, Midnight Express, Special Dark, Mias Special Blend, Sumatran, Colombian, House Blend, Breakfast Blend, Hawaiian Hazelnut, Carmella, and French Vanilla.

For those looking for another fine coffee shop to sample, Tulsa Sips Coffee Co. is worth the stop -- there's even drive-through service for those in a hurry.

Tulsa Sips Coffee Co.

3807-A S. Peoria Ave.

744-5056

Hours:

Mon.-Thurs. 7am-9pm

Fri. 7am-10pm

Sat. 8am-10pm

Sun. 9am-9pm

Rating:

Atmosphere ***1/2

Food ****

Service ****