Predictably, the first question I ask Bird on a Wire Espresso [1] owner Heidi Herr is if her establishment is named for the unforgettable Leonard Cohen song, or the forgotten Mel Gibson/Goldie Hawn movie.
Neither, it turns out.
"When I was trying to think of a name for the cafe I looked outside and happened to see a few birds on a power line," she says with a shrug. "The way they were lined up, they kinda looked like customers."
Her reply says a lot about the West Seattle coffeehouse. If someone opened a place like Bird on a Wire in Belltown or on the Hill, the name of the place would be positively loaded with portent. A graffiti portrait of Cohen would hang on an exposed brick wall over faux-Eames furnishings. The cafe's preachy mission statement would cover the entire back page of its take-away menu, and mention the artistry of the foam, the names of every fair trade farmer who supplies their beans, a plea for world peace and so on.
None of these things are deal-breakers, but in visiting Bird on a Wire, you remember what a drag other coffee joints can sometimes be. It's a positive throwback to the days when coffeehouses were extensions of somebody's living room -- the easygoing baristas, the comfortable (and mismatched) vintage chairs, the walls appointed with local art and the shelves covered with funky ephemera. The overall feel of Bird on a Wire is one of laid-back, inviting bohemia; you can easily spend an entire morning or afternoon here doodling in a sketchbook, writing in your LiveJournal (there's free Wi-Fi), doing your homework, and generally perching like a you-know-what.
However, you don't go to a café just to do things you can do virtually anywhere, and Bird on a Wire goes to great lengths to offer the offbeat and the unique. They pour Ketchikan, Alaska-based Raven's Brew [2], a fair-trade, air-roasted coffee that rivals locally roasted beans for taste.
Bird on a Wire also sells Raven's Brew by the whole bean, and browsing through the cleverly named and beautifully packaged coffees is a delight. My favorite is Deadman's Reach, named for a shoal along Baranof Island in Southeast Alaska's Peril Strait. Slogan: "Served in bed, raises the dead."
The Bird on a Wire crew takes wholly justifiable pride in the considered and thoughtful way they pull espressos and foam lattes; according to the café's Web site, coffee should be "smooth, velvety (and) like a chenille blanket on a naked bum." And it is ... um, I mean, I imagine that it is.
The food menu also boasts a few surprises. While you'll find the requisite bakery case full of pastries and the expected breakfast sandwiches, Bird on a Wire also serves buttermilk waffles topped with your choice of butter, syrup, strawberry jam, cream cheese, peanut butter and yes, my pork-loving friend, even bacon. And you see that soft-serve ice cream machine behind the counter? It's not there just for looks.
The only thing about Bird on a Wire that isn't so great is its location. It's in Arbor Heights, a part of West Seattle you'll seldom have reason to visit unless you live there. But maybe that's another mark in its favor. Heidi Herr could have opened any old bare-bones coffeehouse in the neighborhood and been successful, but she chose to make a place with genuine personality, quirkiness and good taste. It's a rare bird indeed.
Bird on a Wire Espresso is at 3509 S.W. Henderson St.; 206-932-1143. Visit the coffee shop online at www.birdonawireespresso.com [3].
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
