I came to Commonplace because I love lavender, to the point that whenever I go to a new place I search \""lavender\"" on yelp and go to any place that comes up. In this case, it was the lavender vanilla latte, and it was on point. I've had a few disappointing experiences with lavender lattes, but my theory is that lavender with something else (so lavender vanilla, lavender white mocha) makes for an awesome latte. Their lavender vanilla syrup was homemade, according to the very friendly guy at the counter, and it is delicious. This won't change your mind about lavender if you don't like it to begin with, but it may change your mind about lavender coffee. For $3.50, or $4 for a large iced, the latte seemed a little steep for Pittsburgh, but then I came back to New York and remembered the true meaning of steep.\n\nSpeaking of New York, growing up there left me very tolerant of sharing cramped benches with strangers, but the communal wooden bench they have against the east wall is one of the most uncomfortable seating arrangements I've ever experienced. It's a little rickety, and what that meant for me was that I could feel the guy next to me wiggling his ass for several minutes at a time. I don't know why he was doing this, but bottom line is I SHOULDN'T KNOW THAT HE WAS DOING IT. If you want to dance to the music in your head or do kegels at a coffee shop that's your business. Nobody else should be able to feel it, but with this bench everyone could feel when I so much as scratched my leg. Other than that bench, the space was fine--a little generic looking, but spacious and open.\n\nOne other bizarre thing about this place is that they have little card holders saying things like \""Table share, go!\"" for people to put at their tables. The idea makes sense, but it's just sort of sad to think that people can't even be bothered to talk to each other about sharing a table. I go to a school known for socially awkward students, and even I can ask someone \""hey, mind if I sit here?\""