The Shotgun

One of the coolest things about Spain is that Starbucks is NOT the best place to get a good cup of coffee. Starbucks is nice if you just want a little taste of home and don't mind paying more than twice as much as you would at a Starbucks in the states (we're saying $6+ for the tall drinks...). I'm just saying that that caramel frapuccino is nice at Starbucks. It's nicer when you don't have to pay $8 for it!

But for just a nice cuppa joe? Let me introduce you to The Shotgun.

Yes, it's a bar. But it's not just any bar. The Shotgun is the short of place where everybody knows your name.*  It's the sort of place where people go to waste their wages away on the slot machines. It's the kind of place where bunches of old, scruffy men go to get completely plastered at 11:30 in the morning. It has a not-so-friendly curb appeal, and even less amiable clientele. But it's The Shotgun (La Escopeta). It has that memorable ambiance that just screams "not-so-classy Spanish neighborhood".

And the coffee? We'll just say that many a 1.20€ has been spent on a good cuppa café con leche at The Shotgun. I will surely miss this place...

*Well, they don't know my name, but the bartender fondly referred to my friend Danny as "rubio" (blondie) one day. Close enough to being on a first-name basis, right?