The first time I heard about Bobs Bagel Café in Kalk Bay I wasn’t keen to go. I mean, that lack of apostrophe is enough grounds for boycott, right? But I heard good things about the coffee, and there’s a playground outside, so off we went. It only took one visit to make me realize how wrong I was about this place. Turns out the shop is owned by Robert, and “Bobs” is his nickname. So even though it still makes me queazy, I had to admit that there is method to this particular apostrophe atrocity.

Bobs (ugh, it still hurts) is a hole-in-the-wall coffee and bagel shop, and Robert doesn’t mess around. He makes a mean cappuccino, and an even better New York-style bagel. He also pretty much knows every one of his patrons. Yes, it’s one of those places where the same people come to hang out, chat, have coffee, and have their kids play outside.

It’s one of the things I’ll miss most about Cape Town (T minus 5 days until our move to Portland): the sense of neighborhood that so many coffee shops possess without even trying. There is an effortless community inherent to so many of these caffeine-fueled third places. I’m sure these places exist all around the world, but as I sit at this table made out of vats from the Groot Constantia wine farm, I savored that cup, and committed the sights and sounds to memory.

That’s all we can really do as people who move around a lot. We can take our moments with us, and write about them so that we won’t forget.

I won’t forget.