Best Café Hangout

Maybe it was Brecht who coined the phrase "Cinema for the Ear." He would have if he'd stepped into this café-a crossroads of scruffy and exposed butt dimples and Tucson casual. What wafts through the air are more than just the deafening wheeze of the espresso machine and the baristas screaming, "short soy latte!" There's the overheard conversations, the eavesdropped lives, the clickety-clackety of fingers on laptops, the whoosh of air as you get up from green vinyl couches. Epic is a microcosm of visuals, too: chartreuse-hued hairdos, piercings and tattoos, hippie, anarchist and professorial types-readers, thinkers, scribblers, talkers, sippers and gazers of all persuasions. There's rotating wall art, open-mic nights and one of the best darn loose tea selections in town. Leave the earplugs at home.

Runners up:

2. Le Buzz Caffe and News, 9095 E. Tanque Verde Road, 749-3903

3. TIE

• Coffee Xchange, Various locations
• Raging Sage, 2458 N. Campbell Ave., 320-5203