Besides being a dance craze which incorporates 1960s dance styles with international finance, Twist and Exchange are the names of Winnipeg's two most tolerable independent coffeehouses.
Twist, at 392 Graham, is trendy (for Winnipeg), brightly-coloured and serves De Luca's own coffee roast, not my favourite roast, even if I had to pick one from Winnipeg, but it's pulled okay and it's better than the spittoon-swill they serve at the Fyxx.
The staff - or those that I have seen - are all girls that can only be faulted for their immaculate hipness and superficial small talk: They're not rude or slow and they're certainly not ugly (not that I would fault anyone for that).
I've had two espressos there, both were a bit light on crema, but not totally lacking it, and both were a bit tinny and thin tasting, as if roasted darker than they were meant to be, like an Irishman in Arizona. It's a nice change from Starbucks, though.
The space is definitely the most tasteful I've seen a coffee shop in in this town. There's some sort of series of abstract lowbrow paintings hanging that I actually quite like (except for the title: Emotional Weather Report), but they're probably for sale, so they could be replaced by pictures of coffee anytime. There aren't really any good windows and the patio is kind of detached: It's in the middle of the sidewalk, so unless you really like the new Hydro building, there's not much to look at. I hope they'll continue to have decent paintings inside.
The Exchange Cafe is at 137 Bannatyne, on the east side of Main, in an old brick building (really the only kind of building they have around there). It's poorly lit and decorated with bad paintings of Winnipeg landscapes, but otherwise a nice environment - exposed brick, ceiling beams, etc. It's bigger than most cafes, but I've yet to see it filled to anything approaching capacity. In summer, you'd be a fool not to sit at one of the two outdoor tables, perfectly situated under small trees.
There are two people that work there: A pale, apparently overworked manager/owner who sits in a corner with a newspaper and gets up with something less than enthusiasm to make coffee when it's ordered; and a more chipper woman with curly hair.
Most importantly, the espresso at The Exchange Cafe - roasted by Winnipeg's own Black Pearl - is the second best in the city (I'll get to the best). Its crema is thin, but caramely and the pour is about 3% too long, but, overall, it's a wonderful balanced, if not bold or exotic, experience. Just don't order decaf, or drip.The former is crema-less, the latter comes from something that looks like it was bought at walmart. I doubt the milk is much good, either. It's a nice place, though, so suck it up and drink espresso.
