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A dining guide
The Uncommon Ground is a realm of uncertainty: in its name erupts that quiet, marvelous spirit of man — man for man. Its exterior arranges itself on the 1400 block of Oak Street in a manner that subtly forebodes (the roof of the neighboring Italian restaurant gestures slovenly at its rectangular concrete slab); its position asks a question of us (or rather many questions, a survey of questions) and demands, in a very grand way, that we venture on, and see the true person within ourselves (despite all odds).
The Ground (as it should be called) is the local coffeehouse / sushi joint. The concept is invigorating: it suggests an atmosphere of bielemental electricity; dark earth against clear salinity. Perhaps in its future a fashionable portmanteau could be devised that fuses its two ends. The space is dutifully polarized: large and empty and clinical, walls pasted with thick stripes of green and yellow, hugging an expanse of golden linoleum; beyond a wall of glass — a bamboo paradise. At the western wall is a long tiled bar where the true Spirit of the Ground speaks in a fully-fashioned topos of unity: coffee and sushi — barista and itamae — brothers at last.
Naturally the counters are merged. The smell: an essay in integration. Coffee and shoyu; muffin and mochi.
We ordered ‘spicy’ around the table (except our vegan friend). Texans strongly believe that ‘spicy’ denotes physical warmth. Several Sciracha-flavored maki and four doppio espressos later, I knew what the Ground meant: real human moments. Those moments when the fighting just has to stop.
(1401 West Oak Street. 7 days; 11 – 11.)