One of the first coffee shops that I ever reviewed for this column happens to be one of my favorite coffee shops in the Pittsburgh area. Delanie’s Coffee, on East Carson Street in the South Side, is home to some of the most incredible beverages, and some of the most immaculate vibes. 

Since the publishing of that column, Delanie’s has expanded its menu to include a relatively extensive variety of food options, as well as more drinks. Because of this, combined with feelings of nostalgia for being a sophomore and discovering good coffee for the first time, I wanted to revisit them.

The coffee is, obviously, still spectacular. Although, they have switched from serving Commonplace Coffee to Onyx Coffee. I personally am unsure which of the two I prefer, but if you love Commonplace, don’t worry, plenty of other shops still serve their roasts. On top of that, Onyx offers up a delicious and well-crafted roast, so while the beans may have changed, the quality has not.

As always, I recommend getting a latte with lavender flavoring. This is the best coffee drink that you can get anywhere, and Delanie’s is no exception. If coffee isn’t your thing, Delanie’s has an extensive smoothie list. I recommend the Pablo Honey, and not just because it’s a Radiohead reference.

The biggest change that Delanie’s has made to its cafe since I first reviewed them is its food menu, and that’s what I’d like to focus on now. My girlfriend and I both opted for the same breakfast sandwich, a sausage and egg souffle on an English muffin. 

This sandwich was flavorful, and tasted quite good, but had one flaw: the sausage itself was relatively cold, especially towards the center. This can happen from time to time when food is prepared and frozen or put in a fridge and then heated up in a microwave or similar heater. If this were at a Dunkin’ Donuts, it wouldn’t have bothered me as much, but Delanie’s is a high-quality establishment and I would have liked my sandwich to be heated properly.

That being said, it was a very busy Sunday morning, so I am happy to cut them some slack. For that same reason, I was afraid to ask for it to be reheated. Maybe I’m a coward, and this criticism is completely invalid. I’m sure that if I had asked them to reheat the sandwich they gladly would have, but I am fearful of being perceived as an inconvenience.

Do you ever think about that? About how many issues in our lives and in other people’s lives stem from being afraid to speak up? How commonly we roll with the punches, just because we’ve rolled with them for so long? 

Eventually, those punches wear us all down. And eventually, the wearing down reinforces this cycle of self-pity and sacrifice. This goes beyond directly saying something to someone, how often within our personal lives do we want some sort of change but refuse to make it out of habit and cowardice? For me, pretty frequently.

So, yeah, I don’t blame Delanie’s for my sandwich being cold. It is what it is. I guess I’ll just keep rolling with the punches for now. But next time, I’ll ask them to reheat it, and you should too. They definitely won’t mind.