My first trip to the Strip on a Saturday morning found me starting off my day in the beautiful cigar smoke haze of The Leaf and Bean Company. What a gem! This place looks like it may have just been picked up out of 1970′s NoLa or Key West and placed on a little side street in the Strip. Their logo is a dancing Grateful Dead bear with a cigar and cup of piping hot coffee. Really?! What is not to like there?
http://www.leafandbeanstrip.com/inthestrip.htm
As we drove into the Strip District, we passed this place and knew instantly that this is were where would start our day’s adventure.
We walked in, breathed in the sweet cigar smoke (it actually smells LOVELY in there) and got ourselves some yummy, cheap coffee. Then we found a table, sat and chatted with each other and some folks who looked like they probably were Leaf and Bean regulars. We perused the cigar humidor and chatted with the man in charge. This place is far from pretentious the way some “alternative” coffee shops tend to be. The crowd was super laid back. There were people working on their laptops (I think there is WiFi) and a dude next to us was reading a novel while simultaneously smoking a cigar, drinking coffee and keeping the beat with the jazz and blues pumping out of the speakers.
From around noon-3 every Saturday, The Leaf and Bean has “Songwriter Saturdays.” We just lucked out and got front row (well really front table) seats to hear some great Memphis blues live and in Pittsburgh. Who woulda thought?! They even have a speaker outside so you can hear the music up and down the street. In the warmer months, you can sit outside, listen to music, and even play some chess!
I can’t say enough about this place. I couldn’t have picked a better place to start off my Saturday in the Strip!
