Over the next few months, one of our favorite men about town, Pableaux Johnson, will be visiting local java emporiums. He’ll report on the food and libations but he’ll also give us a sense of the personality of each place: who hangs there, is it a poetry slam joint or a quiet place to take your laptop and write the great American novel, all the crucial info. This is the first installment of his serial exploration of the Austin caffeine scene, the “Coffeehouse Chronicles.”— Virginia B. Wood
Episode 1: Captain Quackenbush’s Intergalactic Coffee House and Espresso Bar
Neighborhood: UT/Drag
Address/Phone: 2120 Guadalupe, 472-4477
Hours: 7am-10pm
Munchables: Pastries all day; light fare for breakfast and lunch (breakfast tacos, salads, sandwiches)
Standard Cup o’ Joe: $1
High Octane Specialty: Leo’s Crowbar (fourshots of espresso w/a splash of steamed milk)
Crowd: Students/UT staff
Artwork: Only on the chalkboards
Bonus Points: Austin’s first coffeehouse; proximity to campus
The Room: There was a time, not so long ago, when the phrase “that coffee joint on the Drag” described a single establishment. For the past 16 years, the “Coffee House Commonly Known as Quack’s” has been consistently pumping steamy coffee drinks to UT students and staff alike — long before the advent of home espresso makers and gas station cappuccino machines.
Quack’s original location — facing the now-congested Guadalupe Drag — makes it the perfect gathering place for a largely pedestrian campus population. Along with the now-defunct Caf� Les Amis, Quack’s has served generations of caffeine-starved students, especially those desperate to cram semesters of unlearned Organic Chem II between classes. For staff and faculty, it’s an easy opportunity to get a much-needed jolt without losing a day-long parking space.
The room is split between smoking and non-smoking sections, with the former an ingenious indoor/outdoor porch area where puffers can light up to their lungs’ content. Inside, institutional vinyl chairs surround tables of varnished composite board — not the most comfortable fixtures, but perfectly functional for a few hours of pre-exam Kierkegaard.
The Quack’s kitchen caters to peak university rush times (snatch-and-go breakfast tacos, low-maintenance lunches) and slows down in late afternoon for the pack-toting legions looking for a latte-based inspiration to get them over the academic hump. Then, after hitting the books awhile, they’re off to the library or bargain barroom — with a little extra zip in their step, courtesy of the good Captain. — Pableaux Johnson
This article appears in January 29 • 1999 and January 29 • 1999 (Cover).