With Thanksgiving break at the end of this week and finals looming close in the future, some of us might be inclined to resort to coffee for warmth or an exam-week pick-me-up.
Or maybe, if you’re like me, you’re just a caffeine junkie who’s always in search of a good cup of coffee.
If you fall into the latter category, Clarksville won’t have much better to offer you than Mag’s Coffee Shop. Mag’s is located at 201 South Riverside Dr., or the corner where Commerce Street meets Riverside Drive.
I’ve had coffee from Mag’s before, and have always been happy with it. It should also be noted that I don’t drink exclusively good coffee.
On the contrary, I think everybody should occasionally have a bad cup of burnt coffee just to stay awake.
That being said, Mag’s makes genuinely good coffee. As I said, I had tried their black coffee several times, but hadn’t tried any of their sweeter drinks before this weekend.
I got a normal cappuccino, partially because overly sweet coffee drinks scare me a little bit, and that seemed like a decent middle ground. Despite being fairly unadventurous in my choice, it was one of the best coffee drinks I’ve had in a long time.
It’s also worth noting that I’m not especially kind when judging coffee. I don’t mind a bad cup now and then, but most of the coffee I drink is average at best. I have no qualms with drinking mediocre coffee, but it takes something special to impress me.
Mag’s really is something special, though. Even their darker roasts are incredibly smooth, which is a tough balance to strike. Coffee can be a business driven somewhat by personal allegiances, so maybe my opinion won’t affect your choice of caffeine intake. But I give Mag’s Coffee a resounding “Conor’s Travels” seal of approval.
That being said, their food options are also surprisingly good for a small coffee shop. In my experience, shops normally specialize mostly in either coffee or baked goods, but usually not both.
Some customers convinced me to get a lemon truffle — which wasn’t exactly my idea of a coffee-friendly snack — that was surprisingly good and actually complemented the cappuccino well.
The indoor section of the shop is pretty small if you’re looking to hang out for a while, but when the weather’s as nice as it was this weekend, the patio tables outside are a nice option.
Mag’s is open from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Their drive-through window is a nice option if you’re on the way to work or school, however, it can get pretty busy on weekday mornings.
It still may warrant a pre-class visit, though. Once you try Mag’s coffee, you may decide it’s worth a little road rage.
