Bardcore

Lovers and Madmen

by Trey Popp

Considering how little money people typically spend at coffee shops, it's hard to think of any place or product in the food-and-drink realm saddled with higher expectations. A cookbook only needs one or two great recipes to merit space on my shelf. As long as a bar excels in a single realm — whether it's cocktails, a good beer list, or just a convivial mix of light and noise — I can get behind it.  Even a restaurant needs only to do a few things really well to win repeat business.

But there's something about a coffee shop that makes people demanding on every front. The pastries should be decent. The chairs should be comfy. There should be enough natural light to read a book by. Enough papers and magazines to accommodate folks who didn’t bring one. Enough outlets to permit battery-challenged laptops to surf (free) wireless. And obviously the coffee better be good.

So Lovers and Madmen, which opened in March at 40th and Ludlow — close enough to my office to be a home away from work — has got me in a tizzy. Its name, lifted by manager Megan Powers from A Midsummer Night's Dream, echoes my feelings for it. There’s a lot to love, but almost as much that drives me crazy.

From the plush couches to the wall-to-wall win­dows covering the north and east façades, it's an ideal place to ensconce. Free WiFi, outlets everywhere you look, friendly vibe.

And it can take you to sandwich nirvana. Inside superb rolls are top-quality ingredients in perfect balance. The "ham and two cheeses," which marries Niman Ranch ham, Brie and blue cheese with hot peach chutney, is almost transcendent.

But L&M can also perplex and disappoint. Both scones I tried were soggy as damp sponges. (I suspect the problem lies in their transportation from East Oak Lane's Under the Oak Café; the cinnamon knots, also from Under the Oak, and croissants, from West Philly's Four Worlds Bakery, are much better.)

More troubling, though, is the uneven coffee. Two cups were loaded with sediment. Oily flotsam slicked the surface of another. Only once did I get an expertly brewed cup — which is ironic considering all the back issues of Barista magazine lying around. Handled with care, their Counter Culture beans produce uncommonly good coffee, with way more variety and eccentricity than the norm. But L&M needs to bone up on its brewing, especially since they’re charging $1.75 for a small — more than La Colombe.

If they can master that, they'll turn my high hopes into happy loyalty.

Lovers and Madmen | 20 S. 40th St., 215-243-9851. Mon.-Sat., 7 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sun., 8 a.m.-6 p.m.. Pastries, cookies and quiche, $1.75-$6.50; sandwiches, $6.50-$7.50