Alternative Fuel Coffee House — Restaurant in Rapid City

This place is a godsend. In a desolate coffee landscape interrupted only by the oasis of Rapid City, the darkness of Starbucks looms on every other street corner. Yet... there is hope! In an otherwise unassuming indoor/outdoor strip mall on Main Street, a tiny coffee house lies quietly humming with glorious, delicious coffee. This place is the reason to come to Rapid City. From the moment you enter and inhale through your nose, you KNOW that THIS is a COFFEE. HOUSE. Not a cafe that serves coffee; not a junk shop with an espresso machine, and not a restaurant claiming to serve coffee. If you ever spent long nights studying for an exam or ignoring a curfew at any of the legit coffee houses of the late 90's, the you know precisely the glorious smell of which I speak. The aroma of perfectly roasted beans brewed to absolute perfection whisper a love story to your nostrils... and this story is truth. Toasty cocoa notes and hints of almond and caramel mark a flawlessly brewed espresso shot.. of which there are SIX on a THIRTY TWO OUNCE iced Americano.

Yeah. A 32. ounce. americano. It's like Jesus in a cup.

I was concerned when I asked about simple syrup or classic cane syrup and they volunteered (in lieu of) to melt some sugar into some hot water to make some first. I've heard this ruse... and like communism, no matter how good an idea it SOUNDS like, humans always screw it up.

Evidently... these are not humans; it was PERFECT. They made. Cane syrup. Expertly.

My beverage was a dream I never dared to dream. And now I will. Forever.

My wife had a Peaceful Paradise smoothie with Bee Pollen and a dash of honey added. It was ALSO magical and life changingly delightful, blended to the ideal rich, thick, and supple-soft texture with equally ideally balanced flavors.

Unreal.

Even the caramel sweet roll that was hastily reheated was apparently reheated in a time machine that brought it back to the moment it left the oven. Of the Gods. The oven of the Gods.

If you've ever had a beverage anywhere but Alternative Fuel, then you already have a frame of reference that will easily tell you just how not as good ANYTHING. ELSE. IS.

Ps, We're from STL, MO.. we have no affiliation with this place, so I literally sacrificed 20 minutes writing this for no reason other than the raw gratitude that having wasted 12 bucks (at Starbucks earlier that day) forced me to feel for this beyond refreshing experience. All is right with the world again and I return to my homeland heartbroken to say goodbye.

I might literally drive back there under the guise of going to the Black Hills JUST to taste this sweet ambrosia once more.

Go. Drink....

I’ll try to be constructive instead of just complaining. The biscuits and gravy were swimming in gravy, not enough biscuit to gravy ratio-flavor was not great. The breakfast burrito-id scratch that from the menu, it’s just not good. We were told the burrito wasn’t spicy, and it was. A lot of mushy aspects going on there. The oatmeal came with nothing, just plain. Which okay, would have been nice to be told it didn’t come with anything else. The ham croissant sandwich (which you guys forgot one from the order I ordered two)-not sure what kind of egg you are using? was watery, mushy, scrambled egg type from a box), piece of ham thrown on top. Soggy. The breve was sickly sweet though I’d asked for half flavor, which apparently we were reassured there was. I do admit, I should have asked the gal to repeat the order back to me since it was a larger order to go. But that is also something a professional place should do, without the customer prompting them. I’m glad to see others are enjoying their experience here, we however were very...

The iced caramel macchiato that I ordered was the worst macchiato I’ve ever had in my life.

Edited since I’m being “hostile”.

It truly was the worst one I’ve ever had. I’ve been to many coffee shops in the area and I’ve always been pleasant to the workers and staff. I loved your store and aesthetic. The food looked great but the coffee I’ve had on two separate occasions was not for me. Everyone is allowed to have an opinion and just because it’s not positive for your business does not make it hostile.

I didn’t enjoy the drink because the flavor of your drink was off. I couldn’t taste the caramel because it was overwhelmed by the vanilla. I asked for no whip topping and also asked for your in house made oat milk, which I did think was very neat so I tried it, which in turn I feel like I did enjoy it but the drink was still not to my liking.

I love supporting small businesses and maybe I’ll be back to try other things on your menu but the coffee just simply...