Could this be the good life? Sitting downtown in a coffeeshop, drinking a mocha, eating s'mores for lunch? Yes, we think this is the good life and you too can have the good life at Halcyon.

It's where Ruta Maya used to be--that old brick building on Lavaca and 4th, sandwiched between Lavaca St. Bar and Fado.

We hadn't been in a while and we were downtown and in need of coffee and a place to sit down and write (longhand, on a Mead notebook, coveting nearby laptops). Plus they offer tableside s'mores. When aren't s'mores a welcome treat? Never. Although we do kindly suggest that they provide handywipes with the s'mores. A marshmallow face is kind of embarassing.

The baristas are decidedly hip, but the clientale ranges from punks to geeks to chicks in high heels. In other words, very Austin.

They were playing that newish radio station Bob FM, the one that claims to play everything, though we have yet to hear anything by Jay-Z or Missy Elliott or Barbara Streisand. Frankly we are pretty miffed about the absence of Streisand. Bob was playing Avril Lavigne.

"I'm looking for a place
searching for a face
is there anybody here i know
cause nothings going right
and everythigns a mess
and no one likes to be alone.."

Yeah, we know all about it, Avril. So true. So true.

There is nothing but good things to say about the decor. It's hard to go wrong with old hardwood floors, high ceilings, and lots of natural lighting. The art on the walls is pretty good, as well. Is it just us or does a lot of coffeeshop/cafe art resemble your local high school fine art fair? This stuff was actually impressive. And if we had a spare grand we might have bought a picture to take home.

The coffee is refreshingly good. We hate to complain, but sometimes it is difficult to get a good cuppa joe around here. Freshness, people, freshness! It's always a good sign when there's a board listing the day's varieties along with descriptions.

We like Halcyon. We do believe it is a happy, calm, golden place. It's just like Ruta Maya, really, except without the dirty hippies. Oh, just kidding, of course. We love dirty hippies! Especially that Matthew McConaughey.