A few weeks back I was walking through the parking lot of the old warehouse district in Modena. This is my favorite part of the city where abandoned buildings with huge windows are covered by creative graffiti and paintings.
I walked past the Teatro Delle Passioni (Theatre of Passions), which is the contemporary theatre, also housed in one of the converted warehouses, and I noticed a sign that was written by hand that said “Caffè now open”.
Caffè Delle Passioni
As it turns out, the once small and insignificant coffee bar in the lobby of this Theatre had just been taken over by an Architect with big dreams. We chatted for a good half hour, and she told me that there would be live music every Friday evening and a full “American-Style” brunch on Saturdays and Sundays for 10 euro.
I promised I’d be back, and I asked if it was ok if I brought my son…since you never know if an owner welcomes kids or not. She mentioned that she is a mom of three, and welcomes kids at ALL events (even late night ones).
I haven’t had a chance to make it out on a Friday night, but since this place opened, I’ve been here countless times on weekends, inviting different groups of friends to come along.
The Decor and Vibe
I’ve seen this place evolve (rapidly) from a very relaxed tea and coffee wifi spot with 3 tables occupied, to a bustling weekend spot with EVERY SINGLE SEAT occupied and an hour long line out the door.
I would say that during the week, when there is no one, you will be able to read the paper, drink a cappuccino and eat a panino in peace for hours without anyone hurrying you along or cramping your space.
The crowd during the week is mainly people who stop in for an espresso because they’ve parked their car in the warehouse area parking lot (free) and they walk into the centre from there since traffic in the centre is restricted.
However, during the weekends and during special events, be prepared to RESERVE a seat, GET THERE EARLY and don’t plan pulling out a laptop, book or paper because the conversation will be loud, the music even louder and you won’t want to distract yourself from what’s going on around you.
Jazz
I remember chatting with the owner those first few weekend brunches, when we were the only people in there. She came up with this idea of a jazz jam session, where instead of calling one single jazz group, she wanted to call all jazz musicians in the area to perform a real improvisational jam session.
I spoke to some of the musicians last week about how they do this. Basically they concentrate on a roster of music or particular composers (which could be upwards of 250 songs) and work from there. I don’t really know enough about the complexity of jazz to be able to explain this well, but it didn’t seem improvised at all, and I would have sworn it was all rehearsed!
The atmosphere was fantastic, and even hanging out in the outer lobby with my son and his little kid friends as they ran around I was able to fully appreciate the music and feel like I had a good time and wasn’t “missing out” because I couldn’t stay seated to enjoy it.
In Toronto I went to a few different jazz bars frequently enough to learn the rules of pauses, and solos and when it is the right time to clap. It was always a kind of tense environment. For example, if you were the new person at the bar and clapped at the wrong time (or ALL the time) people would give you side-eye like you were an annoying newbie while they were seasoned professionals.
At Caffè delle Passioni it is the exact opposite. People clap when they want, or not at all, kids run through the musicians , you can speak over top of the music, get up and order something, go to the buffet, sit intently and listen or move in and out of the crowd.
You never felt judged by the other patrons for your ability to appreciate jazz and culture. You just enjoyed and “basta” (that’s it!)
The Food
I wouldn’t recommend that you go there to eat something typical or have a “good meal”. Since everything about the “American-way” is really popular right now in Italy, the buffet focuses on novelty items like omelets, pancakes, donuts, cheesecakes and croissants.
Things that, in Italy, are hard to come by and not well-prepared. But, let’s be perfectly honest, for 10 euro you can’t go wrong. It is a buffet, kids eat free, an espresso or cappuccino is included and also a small bottle of water…sounds good to me! Oh ya AND you get a free jazz concert that you can go to with your kids!
My only recommendation would be, that if you go there on the weekend when there is a special event or jam session arrive EARLY if you actually want to eat something aside from cold pasta. Italians are to an all you can eat buffet like ketchup is to a hotdog…all over that s%&t.
Kid Factor
It’s amazing how your opinion of places changes once you have kids (espeically once those kids are mobile and their cries are no longer sweet, delicate newborn cries, but blood shattering, jazz interrupting demon cries).
This place IS kid-friendly. In the outer foyer there is a big round couch to play on, coats to run-through, and a small section with to hangout in.
The only real problem I ran into, was when my son had a meltdown when we had to leave and didn’t want to put on his coat or go into the stroller. His piecercing, never-ending, uncontrollable cry drowned out even the loudest of saxophones! But there was no where to take him except out in the cold, so we just kind of hurried up and left. (This is where as a MOM I say….poor little guy it was passed his nap time and we stayed too late…. our bad, sorry musicians!)
One other problem we encountered was when I called to reserve out tables. We were a group of 7 kids between the ages of 2 and 4 and 10 adults. When I arrived they had given us two small tables with 10 chairs.
Hmmmmm……
If I CALL and ASK if it is OK if we bring kids and you say YES, and I say “will there be space reserved for them” and you say YES, and I say “do they need to pay” and you say NO, then make some friggin’ space for them!
There is nothing worse then when a group of 17 individuals arrive to be seated in a space for half that amount. We were hungry, we had squirmy kids and we had to wait another 20 minutes to be seated until they finally agreed to give us the EMPTY table that was right beside us reserved for a party of 2, so we could have more space.
Honestly, if you are so worried about “wasting space” on kids, either:
a) Say no kids allowed (p.s. EVERYONE in there is a family)
or
b) Charge for kids, even if you don’t charge full price, charge 5 euro if they occupy a seat, and make it clear
Enough said.
All in all this is a great spot in Modena to check out. And if you are lucky you can even visit their aperitivo buffet during the week before or after a performance at the theatre. Before my little guy was born I saw a few pretty great things there, not that i remember any of them since that part of my life is now eons ago.
My advice is to reserve for the total number of individuals without saying how many are kids. If someone needs a chair they need a chair, and babes in arms are the exception.
But that being said my son DOES have a great time whenever we go, I get to doll myself up, have some good adult conversation and embrace my inner jazz diva.
