The real-life cafes get a little less charming as i get older. The staff get less charming (except for those rare exceptions like a couple of the people who work at ro), more sullen, more disinterested It gets less and less worth paying elevated prices for lukewarm standardized beverages Maybe there's still fantastic cafes somewhere else. Maybe it's just the neighborhood that's gone to shit. Gentrification changes the rules at all strata of experience.