No Foam Please
All Things CoffeeLa Hacienda
One of our last meals in Costa Rica was at La Hacienda, an elegant Italian restaurant on the hilltop. Accompanying the Italian food was a classic guitarist, a great ambiance, and on this night, just a handful of customers as the end of the holiday season was upon us and the next wave of tourists had yet to arrive.
Of course, I followed the meal with coffee… It wasn’t as good as Cafe Milagro but it definitely hit the spot.
Walton’s Fancy and Staple
I had a coffee meeting with a business associate in downtown Austin, and he suggested Walton’s Fancy and Staple – which is right next door to Bess Bistro. Both of which have the celebrity of Sandra Bullock behind them, but also have rave reviews in magazines and on yelp.
What I like most about Walton’s, besides the excellent coffee and coffee presentation, is the layout of the store – with it’s galley seating area, you feel like you’re outside though you’re perfectly comfortable inside. The brick walls and wooden slatted tables are a nice touch (and, after all, the walls pre-date the store).
If you’re on West 6th in Austin, this is a great stop for coffee, and a nice environment for a business meeting or catching up with friends.
JP’s Java
I had been meaning to try coffee out of a clover machine for ages. I finally had my chance at JP’s Java in Austin. But I have to say the experience was disappointing.
It starts with the decor. It just isn’t that inviting, or comfortable. Tables and counter tops were in need of cleaning, some of the chairs were also dirty. It felt like what it basically is – a college-oriented coffee dive.
But it also has a clover machine. So we braved the ambiance (or lack thereof) and tried it. But it was disappointing. I didn’t think it tasted any better than a french press would have. Reviews on yelp seem to indicate that coffee is not this coffee house’s strong suit, even when it gets 4 stars – but clearly other people like the atmosphere better than I do.
I can’t recommend JP’s unless you’re sorely in need of coffee. My favorite quote from yelp:
“Come here fodr the atmosphere. It’s everything you want in a coffeehouse – except for good coffee.” Wow. To me the atmosphere doesn’t work in the daytime – too much harsh light through the windows and too much road noise.
I Should Have Written This
A friend sent me this link with the note “you should have written this article” – it’s an article about the best independent coffee shops in Austin. And she was right. I should have written it, but I’d have picked different places to point out. In a way, I will be writing this article, over the course of several blog posts rather than trying to put it all in one post.
They do hit on some good spots, including Spider House, Jo’s, and Ruta Maya. But how you write about independent Austin coffee shops without talking about Cafe Medici or Thunderbird or Houndstooth or Lolah Savannah… I’m not sure. Let’s just say that there are a lot of great independent shops in Austin, and what makes them good isn’t their proximity to AA meetings or the Barton Springs train. It’s all about the coffee and the atmosphere.
I’ll just keep plugging away one post at a time though… maybe when I’ve temporarily run out of new places to try I’ll put a compilation or ranking together…
Hobee’s – Can’t Go Wrong with Blueberry Coffee Cake
This was my favorite place for breakfast when I was a student at Stanford. In years since, I try to make a trip to Hobee‘s on every trip back to the Bay Area. The main attraction, of course, is the coffee cake. It is phenomenal. Every time I come home I wish I had brought some more home with me.
It also claims to be the home of the smoothie – the originator as it were. Far be it from me to argue with them on that front. Their smoothies are perfection.
But this post is about their coffee. The straight up coffee is just okay – about what you’d expect at a diner with good food. But they also server a good latte and a good mocha… and a Mexican mocha (a bit spicier than the original, but just as good). Some of the Hobee’s locations further south have been famously used for business meetings and deals of all sorts – it isn’t uncommon to see Land Rovers and Porsches next to Hondas in the parking lots.
I wouldn’t give Hobee’s points for coffee purists, but if you like your coffee paired with a great slice of blueberry coffee cake, you are in the right place.
Mulberry
This isn’t a coffee shop. It is a wine bar that happens to serve great food. It is tidy – one might say tiny. Most of the seating is at three sides of a square-shaped bar. Many of the customers are regulars, presumably living in the condo building Mulberry resides in.
After having appetizers and cheese at he bar, I ordered a cappuccino. Presentation was perfect, right down to the sugar cubes.
Just don’t forget to order the “Devils on Horseback” as well. Trust me. Yelp doesn’t lie.
Baltimore’s Pitango Gelato
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The Fell’s Point location of Pitango Gelato has it all – location, history, brick sidewalks, amazing gelato… and coffee.
The feel of this place was so good we came back for a second visit – on a 4 day trip. I had to take a picture of the gelato as well – but trust me, the lattes and mochas are also top-notch.
Monkey Nest in Austin
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Monkey Nest is located along a revitalized Burnett Road corridor in Austin, TX. This area has been a tough-luck area for retailers in the past, but over the last 10 years, it has been gradually getting spruced up. New shopping centers, mixed-use development, and refurbished store fronts have made a big difference. This section of town, in my mind, is anchored by an Amy’s Ice Cream and Phil’s Ice House to the north, and Torchy’s Tacos and Blue Star Cafeteria to the south.
Monkey Nest, inbetween, looks to be trying to be a “third place” – seating is plentiful. The coffee is good too. However, I did make the mistake of trying the Monkey Spicey Mocha. A sip or two is great, but this is a bridge to far, spice-wise, for a full drink. I wanted to drink a gallon of water by the time I was halfway done. A bit too heavy on the cayenne!
The straight up mocha is a better choice. Yelp reviews are generally positive, which is a good sign this far into their tenure on Burnett.
Barefoot Coffee
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A cousin took us to Barefoot Coffee on a recent visit to the Bay Area. It is hidden in a nondescript shopping center in Santa Clara, like so many good coffee shops and restaurants in California. But as soon as you step up to the sidewalk you see good signs – people sitting at round tables outside, sipping coffee and talking, relaxing in the cool weather. Inside, it is clearly a coffee aficionado’s dream come true. There are bags of coffee beans along one wall, and a bar for ordering specialty drinks.
I tried the Cubano – the sugar is caramelized in the shot itself. I still had to sweeten it a bit for my taste, but it was damn good. Comes complete with coffee art.
Two of our party ordered the Caramel Brulee – a drink with caramelized sugar on top (blow torch and all). Two thumbs up.
Finally, I had to buy a bag of the Honey Edlyna. I didn’t know what a honey process is, but I wanted to find out. Thanks to Google, I found this video that explains it a bit, but this article on barista exchange does it one better. There’s a lighter color mixed in with the normal color of the roasted beans, and it sticks a bit to the scoop once you grind it up. I’m assuming this is a byproduct of the honey processing. I didn’t realize it was going to be $18 when I picked it up. A bit pricey. But the smell of this coffee is nearly worth the price. I ground it this morning, filling the kitchen with the smell, and made it with a french press. Worth every penny. But if you’re on a budget, check the prices first.
Barefoot gets my recommendation. Ratings are high on yelp – especially considering it is in California.
Update: Since the first french press, I also tried this as Vietnamese drip with condensed milk (just a little), and french press with condensed milk, and french press with a little skim milk and sugar. I can’t decide which is my favorite but it is hard to go wrong with a strong french press brew.
Handsome Coffee at Houndstooth
Who doesn’t want the barista to call out “Handsome Latte for Scott!” as they set the drink on the bar? Why yes, that handsome latte is for me. On my last trip to Houndstooth Coffee, I noticed they had a new espresso bean option (there are usually at least two options)- the “Handsome Roast”.
I ordered a latte and, because I need to cut down the bitterness of coffee a bit more than that, added two brown sugar packets. And that latte was perfect, espresso art and all.
But it turns out that’s not all. After my colleague and I each raved about our Handsome coffee, I got back to the office and not long after, saw this tweet from Phil Gilbert:
RT @1shot4theroad: first @handsomeroaster is on dieline and now @dinnerpartydnld ! my nerd life goals are complete... publicradio.org/columns/dinner…
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Phil Gilbert (@philgilbertsr) January 07, 2012And so it turns out Phil is involved in the Handsome Coffee Roasters project. Kudos to these guys for serving up great product, and for Houndstooth for consistently impressing me with their coffee (no matter what I order). If they aren’t serving it as one of the espresso options when you get there, you can always buy a bag of the Handsome Coffee beans to take with you.
