Insight Southside

At Insight Coffee on 8th street in midtown, you will find the single widest assortment of seating-types in any coffee house west of The Sierras. Ok, no- I haven’t visited EVERY coffee shop west of the Sierras, but boy are there are a LOT ways to sit while you gain Insight- Wow!

Feeling nostalgic for your middle school’s wooden chair with a desk attached? Eager to experience what its like to perch yourself atop the longest, skinniest bench attached to the longest, skinniest table known to man? Or maybe you’re looking for a simple movie-theater-style-seat? Whatever your pleasure, Insight has it and has made it readily available. To all of us!

I’m here, of course, to sample Insight’s Espresso Gibraltar (mama loves her Gibraltars, known to other less-evolved coffee spots as “two shots of espresso with a splash of steamed almond milk, please”). But what is espresso without ambiance, dear reader? What. is it. Indeed.

When I agreed to sample all the coffee houses of Sacramento for this newsletter, I’ll be honest with you- I was as excited about exploring different coffee shop vibes, as I was about tasting all of the dark water caffeinated pleasures midtown has to offer.

And, Insight at 8th street was the perfect place to start.

The space is incredibly hip (was I supposed to ride my self-built bike here?), with a good natured tip of the Fedora to the wilds and beauty of nature. There are stunning slabs of wood, seemingly wrenched directly off the sides of local Redwoods, repurposed as art, and hung elegantly on the walls. Next to those, is a kind of “mature” grafitti on the wall- the kind of grafitti that says: “Yes, I’m still young and edgy enough to spray rebellious words on this wall, but no, I’d never do so tastelessly. I’ll use this high-end spray paint, paired with the fanciest of fonts.”

And I know what you’re wondering, dear friends: Is she telling us this place is poised on the precipice of pretension (thank you, alliteration, for your service here)? Well, that depends on your particular inclinations. For my taste, I have only this to say: My Almond Milk Gibraltar was dark, acerbic and delicious; I now desire to hire their woodsman-arteest to hang a slab on my walls (no, that is not a euphemism), and I KNOW, when next I am working on my ever-in-development screenplay, I will most certainly be hunkering down in the back corner of Insight on 8th, enjoying the back corner secret seats. That’s right, the seats in the back are so unique and interesting, I now forbid myself from describing them to you. You’ll have to venture out, and see them for yourself. ;)