This month, we travel to find something with a bit more of a cafe-like atmosphere, a place with a solid espresso, a sippable cappuccino, and some great lunch - Le Sporting Cafe in Grenoble, France. Le Sporting is a nice place with some great atmosphere, located in the center of Grenoble. The town itself is in a valley next to the French Alps, and the view of the mountains is spectacular.

Le Sporting Cafe is a medium-sized (for France) hangout with a cozy upstairs, a bustling main floor, and plenty of outdoor seating, weather permitting. If it's slightly above freezing, portable heaters magically appear, making the outdoors around the cafe simulate spring; then, out come the tables and chairs. While the beer and wine selection are ample, I always preferred the espresso (5 FF). Be warned, their espresso is on the strong and slightly bitter side. The selection contains espresso, cappuccino with some various flavors, and American coffee, in it's appropriately larger cup. They also make some potent coffee drinks with Baely's Irish Cream, Khalua, and others.

While you're there, I'd recommend lunch. A bowl of carbonara (35 FF) is just the right thing for a relaxing spring afternoon. The owner's dog, Pepsi, is usually wandering around during the afternoon time hours. She's a friendly French Poodle, so don't be alarmed if you see a cute pooch wanting to be petted.

On a more domestic slant, for us anyway, there's a nice local place called Hava Java in Allentown, PA. It's a straight and simple coffee house. There's usually a good selection of homemade desserts, some bagels, and the coffee bean any way you like it. Nothing fancy, just the classics: cafe ole, espresso, cappuccino, mocha, latte, and usually a few varieties of American coffees. Staying with the classic coffee house motif, Friday and Saturday nights usually offer some musical entertainment. I've found that Fridays tend to be more folk music oriented and Saturdays cater to more rock / pop musical tastes, but this is by no means a hard and fast rule. Overall, Hava Java rates above average, but the overall appeal is enhanced by the lack of any better offering in the area. If you're looking for the alternative coffee house night crowd, this is really the only place to go. Being located across the only avante garde movie theater in the area doesn't hurt any, either.