What: Iced vanilla latte
Where: Hot Lips Coffee Shop, 68461 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Cathedral City
How much: $5.50 for 12 ounces, as shown
Contact: Hotlipscoffeeshop.com
Why: The charm.
Before my career got complicated—with more phone calls and Zoom meetings and whatnot—I’d occasionally go to a coffee shop to work. It was nice to escape the office and write or edit in a place with a communal vibe, a nice buzz and lovely coffee odors in the air.
I was thinking about these days gone by when I first entered Hot Lips Coffee Shop on a recent weekday morning. Despite the surprising location—a cramped Cathedral City strip mall also featuring a liquor store, a smoke shop and a tattoo joint—Hot Lips is a delight. Clean and bright with a variety of cozy seating, and art and mirrors hanging on the walls, the shop is welcoming and far from boring. “A daytime disco for your mouth and soul,” says Hot Lips’ website; other than a welcome lack of blaring music, that sounds about right.
The woman preparing your coffee is almost certainly Tara Uziel, a former attorney who decided she’d rather be a coffee-shop proprietor. When I asked her what I should order, I was mildly surprised when she suggested a vanilla latte; it’s not exactly the most exciting coffee drink. “I make them really well,” she said.
Turns out she was right: It was a damned good vanilla latte. The Equator Coffee was rich and not bitter, and the amount of vanilla syrup was just perfect. It hit the spot on a warm fall morning.
While I don’t work at coffee shops any more, the presence of Hot Lips is making me wonder if I should reconsider. Perhaps if I cancel the Zoom meetings and mute my phone for just a bit …
