This review was contributed by Joey Robert Parks:
“Daily rush” is not the kind of coffee house I would typically stop for a cup of Joe – it’s in a stand alone building at 2613 N. Scottsdale Rd.; right smack between Super Burrtio Mexican Food and Smart Automotive. It’s the kind of building that’s been a hundred different things, none of them very successful and none that stayed for long. But my car ran over a screw (I was headed to another coffee house, actually), so while my tire gets unscrewed (at Discount Tire, just south of here), I’m writing this review just a few blocks north at “Daily Rush”.
The owner and operator, Richard Vietor, welcomed me as I entered what turned out to be a comfortable, casual interior: dark brown leather chairs, two large tables with plenty of work space, a nice array of green plants, even a little bar area with a flat-screen TV, where Richard likes to chat with the customers or watch the football game when people like myself and the other woman in the corner are absorbed in their laptop work. So right off, I’m really liking the inviting and charming atmosphere.
But is the coffee any good? Before I answer that, let me give you a little of my coffee drinking background: I was a coffee barista for 8 years, I wrote a fiction novel where the sub-plot circulated around the coffee industry, and the vast majority of my writing is spent in coffee houses all over Phoenix and Scottsdale. All this is to say that I was extremely pleasantly surprised to see “Cubana” on the Daily Rush menu board. For those who don’t know, a Cubana is 2 or 4 shots of espresso with a packet of Sugar in the Raw. It’s made by tightly packing those little brown sugar pellets between two layers of espresso grinds. When the high-powered water is shot through the machine, it extracts the sweetness from the Sugar in the Raw and blends it perfectly into the espresso, cutting out the bitter edge often associated with straight espresso.
It’s my favorite espresso mix and I’ve not found a single coffee house in all of metro Phoenix that will make it. They (the big chain coffee houses, as well as the little ‘mom and pop’ ones) all say the same thing, “It ruins the machine to make those drinks.” Frankly, it’s just not true. Fortunately, Richard at “Daily Rush” knows what’s what and has filled a hole in my precious espresso world. Add to all this, free wi-fi, with a strong signal that reaches beyond the patio tables to the parking lot and you’ve got a coffee house I’ll definitely rush to the next time I’m on this side of town or I get another flat tire – whichever comes first.
Daily Rush also has a drive-thru. Their hours are 6am – 5pm, Weekdays and 7am – 1pm, Weekends. You can visit their website at: www.mydailyrush.com
Copyright 2006 Joey Robert Parks
Joey is an independent writer and Phoenix native. He was featured in the July/Aug issue of ‘Desert Living Magazine’ and wrote the feature cover article for the forthcoming September issue of A2Z Magazine. When he’s not looking for sharp objects to run over with his car, he’s on the lookout for the next great wi-fi equipped coffee spot. He can be reached at joey@joeyrobertparks.com
