August 20, 2008
What's Up With the Heat at the Cosi at 14th and H?
It's a really slow day for local news, so allow me to indulge in a little PoP-style observation and question session. I'm not often downtown during the day, but on the occasion I have a meeting in the middle of the day, I usually install myself someplace nearby with free wireless internet to get back to work as quickly as possible. Today, I picked the Cosi at 14th and H Streets NW. They have salads, wifi, and a spacious upstairs section in which it's easy to find a seat.
But good lord, is it hot in herre! I'm probably exaggerating, but it feels to be roughly 100 degrees in the upstairs area. The shift manager informed me there's nothing they can do until someone comes to repair the a/c unit -- even though the downstairs section clearly has working air conditioning. A friend who works nearby tells me the heat at this particular Cosi is a consistent problem. He had the same experience here three weeks ago, and said he recalled it being a sauna during a lunch meeting here last summer, too.
If any of you come here regularly, can you tell me how often it's like this?
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The one at 10th and E also has this problem a lot (although (and I HATE people who write comments like this (but I LOVE nested parentheses)) I think this might be a little less than newsworthy)...
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If it's too hot for you, go somewhere else.
Duh.
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It happens every time it is hot out. Hot day + poorly working air-conditioner = hot building.
That, or they are barbequing baby pandas next door again.
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sommer, you said hot in herrre!! now i'll have that nelly song stuck in my head.
as for cosi? cosi sucks.
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and i agree with just jenny. instead, of a hot cosi, (shameless plug warning!) you should totally write about that new pedestrian bridge going up near the rhode island ave metro stop that will connect the met branch trail to the metro. that's newsworthy on a day when people are getting hit by trains. http://www.railstotrails.org/newsandpubs/news/press/pressreleases/20080222_DC_MetBranchPedBridge.html
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I have been going to that Cosi for years and it has had that same problem for years( not the AC or anything). I believe it has to do with some heating pipes for water(or something) that are in the back left corner. If you sit anywhere else, not the back left corner, you are fine.
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Psst. Go downstairs.
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What's up with office buildings keeping the A/C on so high (low?) that you need a jacket, space heater and mittens? I'd rather be cold than hot but still.
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What's the deal with being able to drive on parkways and being able to park on driveways?
Hello?
(thump, thump)
Is this thing even on?
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At least it's not a post about something in the 'burbs
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YAWNNNN--you are NOT PoP!
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It's part of their scheme to get customers to buy more Double Oh Arctic Mocha Iced Crappucinnos. It's the only way you can stay cool in there. It's either that or sit on an icicle.
The icicle is also cursed.
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What's up with office buildings keeping the A/C on so high (low?) that you need a jacket, space heater and mittens?
Blame the out-of-shape sweaty mouthbreathers who get winded after taking a massive dump.
Them and the secretaries having hot flashes.
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I've experienced that problem at the Cosi on 14th and H. I assumed that the effected portion of the upstairs was located right over the brick oven.
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Well, at least you didn't go the one on 13th and K where I saw a staff lady pull a piece of bread from the prep table, rip a corner off, replace said slice for later customer consumption, and eat the ripped piece while behind the counter.
Who cares about a little heat when you've got a health violation on your hands, literally. I know people gotta eat, but damn. Really?
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What does it matter. that is the official world's most slow and upsettingly time-consuming Cosi. It's a fact.
Which leads me to conclude that the heat is really a byproduct of the shitty attitude and pent up rage of the employees.
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That heat? Oh that happens when the "upstairs" is really just the space over an oven in a 1-1/2 story space, and since it is a "brick" oven in an office building, those wacky guys at Cosi probably just vent the smoke right into your ass as you "tuck" into some panini. Or at least that is what I was told...
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In other news, the ventilation and quality of the sandwiches are two reasons why I won't be going back to Hell any time soon. (Who toasts a muffaletta?) And while the service was not uninspired, I had to wait a full ten minutes for someone to open my burning sarcophagus and give me a menu. And when I asked for a glass of ice water, I was told they were out and did I want bottled water. This is unacceptable. You can be sure that I registered my complaint online as soon as I got back to NoMa.
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Blame the out-of-shape sweaty mouthbreathers who get winded after taking a massive dump.
I'm in Minnesota right now, leave me out of this.
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Hot? I don't know Sommer, maybe you are going through 'the change' - by which I mean the change from frequenting corporate coffee shops to prefering independent coffee shops.
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@needlessspaces: that new pedestrian bridge going up near the rhode island ave metro stop
Given my experience with the Rhode Island Ave Metro stop they'll need a bridge resistant to heavy amounts of 'drifter urine'..
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Get out of the kitchen? wakka wakka wakka
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Um, can't believe it's gone past twenty comments before now... Sommer, the heat is so you feela nice anda cozy.
DISCOSTU
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It is incredibly lame that this site is edited by someone who can make the following statement:
"I'm not often downtown during the day, but on the occasion I have a meeting in the middle of the day,.."
Anybody who actually lives in DC with me on this one? Gothamist LLC, can you get a DC resident for this site please?
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Anybody who actually lives in DC with me on this one? Gothamist LLC, can you get a DC resident for this site please?
Not really, I think Sommer is referring to the "downtown" part of DC not the city itself.
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Yeah, but the best BBQ Panda is in North Carolina. Memphis, not so much.