The Blend

For weeks we've been driving by the banner that said "The Blend Opening Soon" in Washington at 1128 Peoria Street.
This week we saw The Blend was open, and stopped in to check it out.
The decor is upscale coffeehouse, with orange and yellow walls, pendent lights, eclectically upholstered booths and glossy cement floors.
The Blend roasts their own coffee, and on the day we were in, the bags were marked "fresh roasted on 10-4". There are several varieties of coffee to choose from. Next time we need some, we'll go buy some so it's fresh and we'll brew it up at home and see what we think. I also have my eye on some flavored varieties for Christmas presents.
The Blend serves bagels, muffins, scones and something called Wally Biscotti, which look awesome with flavors like Ginger Binge-ers, The Lemon Sisters and Pistachi-o-wie. They also have huge cinnamon rolls. We opted for the bagels, covered with poppy seeds. I had mine with garden veggie cream cheese, which was very savory. StfRon's been raving about the softness of the bagels. Our only complaint: they should see about a faster toaster, maybe one of those chain dealies where you put the bagel it and a few minutes later it pops out on the conveyor belt ready to go.
To quench your thirst, The Blend has espresso drinks, hot chocolate, chai, teas, smoothies and juices. I opted for some Minute Maid orange juice, having already caffeined up at home that morning.
If you decide to hang out at The Blend, they have some magazines and books to read and WiFi access, and so far are open in the evenings as well as mornings.

August, 2008 — We rode our bikes to the Blend before a weekend road trip. We were disappointed to find that they had seemingly changed both their bagels and cream cheese. The bagels were not as soft, and the cream cheese was not as savory. They are still roasting their own coffee on a regular basis, though, which will make for great gifts for coffee lovers.