Washington, D.C. - May 06, 2009

Half-Caf

“This Is Not That Cafe” Interactive Art Installation Opens

The soulless coffee shop around the corner just revamped its menu.

Before you sample a crappuccino, expresso, or mo-calorie mocha, try a remedy to your daily grind.

This Is Not That Cafe turns The Phillips Collection coffee shop into an interactive art installation, opening tomorrow night.

Riffing on an old-school intellectual center, the cafe will feature wall collages, a library that grows with new works each month, and games where you make the rules. Monthly event nights will dramatize coffee shop routines, including debate, newspaper reading, and wordplay. Even food is art with inedible fare representing temptation.

For the real edibles, On the Fly will offer a menu of snacks, like ham biscuits, charcuterie, artisanal cheese, and, of course, coffee.

So there’s a latte to love.

Available at The Phillips Collection, 1600 21st Street NW, between Q Street and Hillyer Place (202-387-2151 or phillipscollection.org). For more information, go to thisisnotthatcafe.com.

  Artsy