Restaurant Review | 3.5 out of 5 stars

Are you sick of studying at Tisch Library between countless bookshelves and under grim neon lights? Do you want to avoid being seen at the campus center and making contact with people you don't like? Do you need to get out of your room? If you want to escape campus life for a little while, check out True Grounds Coffee House.

This charming little cafe is situated in Ball Square, just 10 minutes from campus. Entering the cafe, any visitor can smell the freshly brewed coffee, hear the gentle groove of jazz music and decide whether to sit at the little tables or lounge on the couches in the back of the room. True Grounds is as cozy as a private living room and visitors feel as though they are at home in the welcoming atmosphere.

It can be crowded during the afternoon, but there are plenty of small tables in the cafe so it is relatively easy to find a free spot. In the process of finding a seat, visitors will meet a variety of people here. After all, coffee shops are notorious for being places where nobody speaks, everybody is occupied with a laptop and social interaction is rarely the top priority. True Grounds rejects this stereotype, and seems to be a nice place to hang out and meet other people.

A lot of customers sit and work there, several read books and sometimes one can find a group of people playing card games. It is like an oasis from the busy life on campus where students have to hurry from one place to another. Having coffee here allows anyone to forget the rhythm of daily life. It doesn't hurt that the coffee is some of the best in the area, too.

The prices are hardly higher than those at the campus center's cafes and cheaper than most coffee chains in the area, making True Grounds a good deal. Try a medium chai latte for $3, take a seat at the window front and enjoy just watching the people passing by. Even the cups seem to come right out of one's own kitchen shelf, emphasizing the cozy familiarity that permeates the restaurant.

True Grounds also makes a good study spot because there are outlets around the room to charge your laptop, although the tables are a bit too small to offer space for more than two people studying. It is worth mentioning that wireless internet is not free at True Grounds; you can purchase it for $5 for three hours or $8 for the day. While this might count as a big disadvantage for some visitors, True Grounds' lack of free Wi-Fi helps makes it a break from the day-to-day grind with which so many Jumbos are familiar.

True Grounds is a refuge from reality and gives any visitor time to read a book or talk to a friend without being distracted. However, the volume is low enough to study comfortably, even on crowded days. The background music is a good mix of jazz and lounge genres. 

If a customer gets hungry, he will benefit from True Grounds' variety of baked goods like muffins, scones or different types of bagels. The muffins are delicious and will cheer customers up even on bad days. They also offer breakfast and a huge variety of salads, wraps and sandwiches, all priced between $7 and $9. 

In short, True Grounds is a small, cozy cafe that makes any customer feel at home. The coffee is a welcome change, as is the food. The staff is friendly and contributes greatly to the chummy, welcoming atmosphere of the space. True Grounds is the perfect place for a study break, or to relax and forget campus life for a bit. And you can always be back in 10 minutes if you decide not to stay forever.