I'm downgrading my review substantially today after making another visit to Java Cat. The space is funky, at least for this neighborhood, and the coffee house tries to be gourmet, but there are numerous failings. First, and it may seem trivial, but when you walk into a dark cave of a space in the summer, you don't want to see garish \"cool white\" CFL light bulbs in the track lighting. Track lighting is meant to give warm, pinpoint accent lighting and the CFL's are harsh and blue. Second, I ordered a BLT imagining it would be hard to screw up this sandwich. I sat and waited way too long as the ladies behind the counter chatted away. After more than 10 minutes someone yelled out \"did someone order a BLT?\" gesturing at the counter, where my sandwich had obviously been sitting for a while. At no point in the ordering process did they tell me how my sandwich would be delivered or announced. Apparently I was supposed to watch the counter.\n\nOn to the sandwich. The BLT came on flavorless, doughy-white ciabatta type of bread and had lettuce hanging out a good two inches on all sides. The ingredients were jammed in in an unceremonious fashion, but nevermind, I thought. If it tastes good, I am happy. After folding the lettuce over so that I could actually take a bite, I realized that the bacon was extremely salty and tough. I lifted off the bread and saw that they had used bacon shaped into rounds, obviously \nmanufactured for use on bacon cheeseburgers and other fast-food nastiness. The bacon was so salty and nasty that I couldn't taste the rest of the sandwich and literally had to choke the thing down. \n\nI'm afraid that Java Cat really falls short in a city that aspires to much more. Just down the road Crema Caf\u00e9 does everything much better, with a flourish and a flair and with a real sense of customer service. The new Madison Sourdough cafe on Willy Street is a great gem of a place, raising the bar on casual breakfast and lunch fare even higher. The only thing that could possibly recommend Java Cat is their gelato, which is an unusual and refreshing offering on this side of the lake.
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