Welcome to The Mug

“ The Ugly Mug is not quite a coffee shop in the traditional sense, considering its (relatively) extensive beer selection and the bottles of ketchup and mustard prominently situated on each table. In terms of decor, it's basically what you would imagine Blarney's would look like if Blarney's was well-lit and people went to Blarney's to study instead of drink. More inviting than it sounds. However you want to describe it, the place features free Wi-Fi and all the coffee you can drink for under two bucks, so there's no reason why you can't bring your laptop and loiter like you would with your average Starbucks. Plus, the restaurant aspect can come in handy, since you're not limited to bland baked goods, disgusting reheated burritos, or sad little fruit cups to satisfy whatever pangs of hunger you might experience. The menu is unpretentious, with your basic selection of sandwiches, burgers, and desserts. In particular, I had a turkey-bacon-swiss panini sandwich which was quite good. I'm not going to engage in hyperbole because, you know, it's a panini sandwich. But it was infinitely preferable to the hours-old refrigerated sandwich that I might have had otherwise. To be clear, the selection of hot beverages is as extensive as you would expect from any coffee shop worth its salt. I just didn't have the budget to go beyond the bottomless mug, although the coffee itself is notably good. The obvious sticking point is location. If I lived in Farmington, I would probably come here all the time (and consequently bump up the rating to five stars). However, when people say the middle of nowhere, they aren't kidding. The Ugly Mug is in a legitimate strip-mall strip mall, neighbored by a dog-grooming business, a tanning salon, a place that appears to sell beanbags, a terrible looking pizza place, and an equally terrible looking Chinese restaraunt. (Oh, and a Subway, obviously.) Relative to its surroundings, the Ugly Mug does not compute. Also, because of its location deep in the heart of suburbia, the clientele is mostly family-based. This means that people watching is minimal, and that you're going to get the occasional annoying kid who does typical annoying-kid things like drop the same pair of dice onto the floor over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. Kid haters might want to stay away. The 45-minute drive from Minneapolis to Middleofnowheresville just isn't going to happen for me on a regular basis. But if you live in the area, you need a coffee break before a trip to the zoo, or you're the "friend with the car" who agrees to ridiculous driving favors that require you to kill a couple of hours, then the Ugly Mug is perfect. All in all, just a really cool and relaxed ambiance. I would frequent the Ugly Mug often if there was a Minneapolis location. (Then again, this is also the kind of coffee shop that hipsters would quickly ruin if given the opportunity, so maybe not.) ”

Jimmy K.