The big week(end) is rearing its party face, but all you can think about is that big Orgo exam on Thursday… Even worse, your professors are giving you thesis and homework deadlines the Monday after Binder! Rude!

So to help you get through your studying, may we suggest a simple black coffee? Aside from keeping your awake, it’ll help against migraines and headaches, among other things. No need for all the Starbucks variations (they’re all bad for you anyways) or the “sugar-free” energy drinks — remember, you still need to be in premium shape for all the activities to come.

As for all the seniors, make it a Hoegaarden (pronounced Who-Garden, not… the other way) tonight at the Geec.

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How many times have you peed at Coffee Exchange? If you’re a normal human being, probably a lot, because caffeine is a natural diuretic, duh.

But perhaps next time you’ll think twice before you use the restroom at this hamster haven. A CofX employee has been allegedly videotaping users of the cafe’s unisex bathroom, according to The Providence Journal. A RISD student found a hidden camera below the sink Friday, and yesterday the employee was charged with video voyeurism, the Projo reports.

It’s too bad, because a totally scientific BlogDH poll two months ago voted Coffee Exchange the second-best coffee on the East Side…and we love their Kid from Brooklyn blend! Keep frequenting the spot, just make sure you use the bathroom before you leave the house.

Then again, who knows? Maybe this is all an elaborate hoax for some avant-garde voyeuristic film by a RISD student. Art, people, art.

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The holidays got to Providence way too early. But now that we’ve reached the Thanksgiving turning point, we can officially pull out the festive pajama pants without being met with confused stares. I personally like to celebrate the holidays with some drank— and by drank, you know I mean coffee. If you’re like me, most of your college budget goes to coffee, which unfortunately has resulted in my becoming somewhat of a coffee snob. So I’m here to help you quench that festive drink craving by compiling a list of where to go and what to order at some of the East Side’s finest warm beverage establishments.

Tealuxe’s Tea-Infused Hot Chocolate: Before you judge me for not choosing their famous Chaider, allow me to explain. Yes, their Chaider is the bomb. Yes, you can find it elsewhere, from Blue State to your very own kitchen. Hot Cocoa with tea, however, is an interesting specialty. If you’re still not convinced, try it with Caramel Crême Brûlée and then get back to me (or Royal Coconut or Peppermint). Available with skim, whole, or soy milk. Price: $4.44 for a regular  [Read more →]

This year, it seems that the Holiday Season has sprung upon us sooner than ever. The snowflake decals in the windows of ABP went up on November 1. Those red holiday Starbucks cups were brought out on October 25th, just days before we all dressed up like kittens and Muammar Gaddafi and reveled in all that Halloween had to offer. There is nothing BlogDH hates more than being untimely. Forget Steve Jobs—we all know who should have been invited to the Too Soon Party.

Apparently, we’re not the only ones who feel that the holiday joy has been rammed down our throats. According to an article in Direct Marketing News, economic uncertainty has prompted retailers to start holiday marketing campaigns much earlier to “draw in recession-weary customers.”  Toys “R” Us sent out its holiday catalog in September. To put things in perspective, we were still shopping for classes when kids were telling mommy they wanted pimped-out ATV cruisers on their Hannukah lists. L’Chaim.  [Read more →]

Money can’t buy you love or happiness, but well-designed material items can make your life really fucking great. Though BlogDailyHerald has plenty of swag, we don’t get free swag, and no one is paying us to be this effusive.

Don’t own a travel mug? Buy this one now. Already own a travel mug? Give it to someone who deserves items of inferior quality, buy this one and never look back.

The Bodum travel mug does not leak. At all. You put this thing in your backpack, and there are no worries because your beverage will most definitely stay in its container, even upside down. No need to keep the mug upright in one of those intense beverage-holder mesh pouches my $15 Jansport definitely did not come with. And it’s clear! Which means you can watch the milk swirl into your coffee. Is anything more sublime than watching milk swirl into coffee? Only this travel mug.  [Read more →]

In a new low of holiday marketing, Starbucks has officially started the Christmas marketing BEFORE Halloween has even begun. Starbucks, get your Christmas fanfare-mongering paws out of my warm beverages! I will be boycotting Starbucks until November 1, when the Christmas carols will still be too soon, but less blasphemous.

No one needs an excuse to save money (and if you do, then you’re probably in the fabled 1%, in which case suck it).  With that noble goal in mind, here is a weekly cross-section of face-melting ways to save dough, which you can turn around to use and buy dough for baking.  I bake.  Do you?  It’s fun.

ARTS

Say you’re tired of walking the streets of Providence and will puke if you see one more colonial house on Benefit Street.  The remedy for your architectural blues lies a few feet below, in the form of the East Side Railroad Tunnel.  This beast of a hidden area makes the Keeney tunnels seem like corn borer holes (Midwest thing, sorry) and is the best place in Providence to go for a creepy stroll.  It’s got ledges to shimmy along, rivers of red goo and at least one Satanic ritual has taken place there – can anyone say crucified bird?  There’s some great German graffiti, and it’s generally a good place to practice your Half-Life 2 walkthrough.  But bring one of those SARS masks because, when I was in there, I think I ingested about two more hours’ worth of rust particulates than the FDA recommends.

Savings:  Your industrial design sanity.

TL;DR – P-town underground.  [Read more →]

In our recent BlogDailyPoll, only 6.5 percent of you chose The Edge for “best coffee on the East Side.”

Unfortunately, the 93.5 percent of you who didn’t understand the magic of The Edge will now never understand because IT IS CLOSED FOREVER.

Oh, cruel world! Our only consolation? The owners left behind a parting gift.  Their pumpkin muffin recipe, posted on the closed café’s shuttered doors…

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Tired of Starbucks? Check out this new fixture on Thayer. It’s parked right in front of Watson, making its debut as the newest eatery on wheels. It’s only open until 4:00 pm, but don’t worry! It’ll be back tomorrow morning around 7:00 am. Hurry up and get your chai latte! Seven Stars pastries will be featured on the menu starting next week.

Guys, this is so great. We are peeing in our pants. Literally. Because we just drank so much coffee in the Ratty.  That’s right. Coffee. Not “coffee.”

The Ratty now has a new coffee station (not even completed! It’s going to get more awesome!) that serves Sun Coffee, the same brand sold in the Blue Room and other Brown Dining retail locations. This is a game-changer.