Take a step into Café Bassam and enter another time, another place, another world; where the antiques which adorn the room bespeak the elegance, culture, and wisdom of its inhabitants. Jules Verne may have marveled at the idea of a trip around the world in eighty days, but an equivalent experience is found here, in just one evening.
Gaze around the room and you will find a colorful palette of faces from an array of cultures and backgrounds. An unassuming piano in the corner is occupied by a seasoned concert pianist, bringing Chopin back to life. Laughter and the mingling of foreign languages add but another harmony to the music filling the space. Strangers amble about the room conversing with one another like dancers gliding from one partner to the next. While the glowing, amber light which envelops us is warm and comfortable, the café is electric with anticipation. It’s as if we are all sensing that something amazing may happen at any moment. Or maybe it’s that we are all aware that something amazing is happening at that very moment.
And so it is, that those who visit Café Bassam leave a little different than when they arrived. They are enriched by conversation, wine, and food; and they are endowed with a greater appreciation for diversity in humanity and the arts. I entered Café Bassam as a customer, a stranger; I left as a regular, a friend. If you stop by for Opera Night (the last Wednesday of the month), you will find me enjoying a delicious affogato, while captivated by the singers’ melodies, surrounded by an assortment of new friends who somehow seem more like old friends.
