Caffeine, cocktails, and a menu that goes far beyond scones

Coffee houses are billed as homes-away-from-home, but that's only true if you too never have any food in the fridge or booze in the pantry. Offering next-level caffeine, plus eats, drinks, and a place to hang out and abuse the free wifi: Coffee House Cafe, soft-open now.

From an adjunct UTD professor who actually drew up the business plan as an undergrad 20yrs ago, this coffee-plus operation is lined with canvas bags-o-beans, while brick arches lead from a main bar, to a dining room, then on to a patio with marble tables and windows covered in ivy, through which you can gaze while reminiscing about when Drew Barrymore was still a naughty little...granddaughter of John Barrymore. Created by "Rockow" (the Prince-ly moniker'd former exec chef of Rex's Seafood), the menu runs from a pancetta-topped Eggs Benedict Over Challah, to Scottish King Salmon Tacos with raspberry chipotle glaze, to burgers made from TX-raised Akaushi -- descendants of Japanese Wagyu cattle flown into the US via 747 thanks to a trade-law loophole since closed tight as your arteries after this burger. Pick-me-ups that only total downers will point out are actually depressants include the Cucumber Melon Gin Fizz, the Skinny Margarita (silver tequila, Grand Marnier, St. Germain, fresh-squeezed OJ, lime juice), and the Crown & maple syrup Blueberry Old Fashioned.

Then of course there's the coffee: organic, shade-grown, and fair trade, it hails from Portland, where it's blended post-roast for more complex tasting notes. It's then brewed here using handmade Italian espresso machines that quadruple-filter water; you can have it made at your temperature of choice, and have the "coffee sherpa" add either housemade syrups and flavorings, or adult enhancers like vodka, whiskey, or liqueur -- because as they say, home is where the hooch is.