Serious but silly. Traditional yet trend-setting. Studious and a partier at the same time.

Is this the latest personal ad for your perfect match? Well, it does have a page on Myspace...but no!

It's V/rit/ Coffee and Cupcake Royale - where mild meets wild at the intersection of California and Alaska.

"It's like two sides of a personality that exist in the same place," says owner Jody Hall. "V/rit/ Coffee expresses the coffee geek side and Cupcake Royale is the crack-a-smile, fun side."

Much like the brand personality was Hall's entr/e to the business. An ex-marketing guru for Starbucks, Hall had an extensive background in coffee. She takes it very seriously, as is evident by the caf/'s name V/rit/ Coffee (meaning "truth" in coffee). But after many years as a serious brand marketer with a high-powered career, Hall was ready to ditch the corporate lifestyle and have a little fun. Enter Cupcake Royale.

After all, when a 6-year-old comes up to the counter trying to order a "Dance Party with Holly Hobby" (Vanilla cake and pink buttercream frosting with rainbow sprinkles), how could it NOT be fun?

"We built the first ever frosting belly up bar," smiles Hall. "We love the theater of frosting cupcakes-watching who we jokingly call our 'frostitutes' create our signature swirl."

Each cupcake is baked fresh daily (no preservatives), hand frosted (no frosting applicators allowed), and meant to last no more than 24 hours (not that you could resist 'em that long anyway).

Besides the Holly Hobby mentioned above, a few crowd favorite cupcakes include the Ultra Violet (made with Belgian chocolate cake batter and chocolate buttercream frosting with a violet sugar flower on top), the Lemon Drop (made with vanilla cake and real lemon buttercream frosting), and the Baby Cakes (mini cupcakes in an assortment of flavors).

But you must try every wild color and fancy flavor to find your favorite - it's fun. And again, that's the point. In fact, just watching others enjoy their cupcakes is almost as fun as savoring your own.

"Last night a little girl was celebrating her first birthday here, she had two little teeth on top and this was about to be her first sugar experience!" explains Hall. "So we brought out a cupcake with a candle and she absolutely lit up. There's a visceral reaction with little kids and cupcakes. They'll come up to the pastry case and start flapping their arms in excitement - they react to the color and beauty and always end up with more frosting on their faces than in their tummies."

And while every day seems like a birthday at Cupcake Royale, remember these tasty, frosted tidbits tell only half the story. The other part began centuries ago.

"At V/rit/ Coffee, we're enthralled with the 500-year-old history of coffee," describes Hall. "The first coffee houses in Europe were where poets, artists, philosophers and politicians came together to express themselves, to debate. They called the coffeehouse "penny university" because with a penny for a cup of coffee, you'd be exposed to the great thinkers of the day and gain knowledge. The coffeehouse was a forum, a soap box for all."

Hall and marketing partner Jason Sutherland are doing their part to bring this piece of heritage back to life.

"It's the hub, it's the place to meet, the anchor - you can see the world through the coffeehouse," says Sutherland, who lives in West Seattle. "If I sat here all day, I would see 40 people I know."

This is the reason that West Seattle is the third location for the company (starting in Madrona, then Ballard). The business flourishes in neighborhoods, communities where employees get to know their customers.

"You look around and there are great coffee shops, and bakeries here," says Sutherland. "But we felt the need for a place where people of every age can hang out - you can pop open your laptop and work, folks from the Senor Center can meet up, school kids can come with their classes - my daughter's kindergarten class was here this morning."

Besides offering the traditional coffeehouse atmosphere, V/rit/ Coffee also has the goods to back it up.

They begin with locally roasted beans from Georgetown's own Caf/ Umbria. Then comes the ultra hi-tech, high-end Synesso espresso machine, also locally made. This baby perfects, what according to Hall is the trickiest part of making espresso - a machine that uses the correct amount of atmospheric pressure to extract coffee at the perfect, consistent temperature every time. It has sensors to hit ideal temperatures and timers that self-check those temps 10 times a second. Creamy, growth hormone-free local milk from Medosweet Dairy is steamed for lattes, but only after each barista has completed a full training session. When the coffee is done (almost), the shots are pulled slightly ristretto, as they say in the biz, using the first part of the pour, which is also sweetest.

So, by the time you receive your double latte (all orders come with a double shot), you can be certain that plenty of care, research and craft has gone into that porcelain "for here" cup.

So whether your looking for the taste of a traditional European coffee caf/ or a vibrant, new take on a mini chocolate cake, V/rit/ Coffee and Cupcake Royale have teamed up to offer a little somethin' for everyone on the Westside.

(Information Box)

What:

V/rit/ Coffee & Cupcake Royale

Where:

(On the corner of California & Alaska)

4556 California Ave.

www.cupcakeroyale.com

932.2971

When:

Hours are 6am-10 p.m. daily

Price:

Prices $2 per cupcake or $22 per dozen, a double tall latte is $2.75.

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