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Coffeehouse and Cafe Reviews


phaelon56

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Coffee - love it lots, drink tons, hot , cold , lukewarm , not too fussy, cream and sugar please.

This is the morning coffee ritual in my house. ( and if you have read my other posts re: pancakes seven days a week , you know this is a true ritual ! )

We grind fresh beans everyday. When I say we , I mean the kids. They get the grinder out , fill it and take turns pressing the button. I have no illusions who is in charge of this. I tried once, when I had to get up very early, to grind my own beans. I am not an idiot ( Ok, sometimes I am ) , so I grabbed a bunch of towels and a pillow and placed this over the grinder to muffle the sound. I thought to myself " you are clever " ( hey , it was 6:00 in the morning , not the Mensa Club ) only to have my silenced shattered by a screaming 4 year old about

"that's not your job , you don't do that , I do ". ( again and again )

Everybody was up now! even the neighbours.

6:00 A.M. did not make Joan happy when the kids normally sleep until 8:30 and I was out the door like a shot !

What have I learned from this ?

A couple of packages of ground coffee from the restaurant in the cupboard for the days when I have meet the plumber at the restaurant at an ungodly hour.

Everybody wins.

Neil Wyles

Hamilton Street Grill

www.hamiltonstreetgrill.com

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Ohhhh..Montrachet your're right...that coffee made with the syphon thingy (can't remember the actual name), was so good. How I've missed that. I was going to buy one of those and when his sister took over the business I think she stopped bringing them in from Italy. They were all gone.

I remember the evening I had that coffee for the very first time. It was the co-owner (for the life of me I can't remember his name) who made it for me. It was a cool winters' night about 6 years ago now and I think that was my coffee epiphany. I never went back to Starbucks after that. It became a ritual, coffee made with the syphon thingy and his mom's tiramisu. Did that once a month while I lived there.

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This is probably a stupid question, but does one add cream and sugar to an espresso? My coffee-drinking experience is sadly limited to Americano's from *gasp* Starbucks (I can always find a location!) and I've been to Caffe Artigiano a handful of times.

Not at all a stupid question. In Italy, where the morning shot of straight espresso is sort of a national drink, many consume it with sugar. I personally prefer a tiny bit of sugar mixed with my espresso unless it's that rare instance where the beans/blend are so good and the quality of the shot so transcendent that sugar is superfluous (or worse yet masks the most subtle flavors).

I also happen to have a personal preference for adding the sugar to the cup first so that the shot is pulled into the cup directly on the sugar - it seems to dissolve better that way.

Cream is not added to espresso but you might try a machiatto with a bit of sugar added. The term is correctly interpreted to mean espresso "marked" or "stained" with a small bit of foamed milk (I do mean a small bit). Don't be steered wrong by the Starbucks "Machiatto"... it consists of a latte with lotso lotso milk, a tiny bit of espresso and caramel or some other such flavor. And whipped cream. Pretty much everything but rainbow sprinkles and a maraschino cherry :laugh:

Cafe Artigiano or JJ Bean should be able to whip you up a good authentic machiatto. See if you can get into the former cafe when Sammy Piccolo is manning the machine - he's so adept he can pour killer latte art even on a machiatto with that tiny bit of milk foam

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I grabbed a bunch of towels and a pillow and placed this over the grinder to muffle the sound. I thought to myself " you are clever " ( hey , it was 6:00 in the morning , not the Mensa Club ) only to have my silenced shattered by a screaming 4 year old about

"that's not your job , you don't do that , I do ".  ( again and again )

Maybe it's because I don't have kids yet, but I think what your kid said was too cute! :laugh:

Thanks Daddy-A and phaelon56 for the help! I think I'll have to try my espresso with sugar and the milk, because I don't like black coffee, or coffee with just sugar.

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Ling do you like strong coffee; do you like it sweet or that bitter roasted coffee like the way Starbucks does theirs. A good espresso can make a great cup of coffee, add your cream and sugar and enjoy a great cup of coffee, I believe the same way most Europeans did, an Americano came about right from the American soldiers during world war two, they were used to coffee being done the way they had it at home, Europeans from what I gather, used a new way to make coffee and called it an Americano??

steve

Cook To Live; Live To Cook
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(Is Americano merely a watered-down espresso?) I add cream and sugar to my Americano and drink it like coffee (or is it already considered coffee, I'm not too sure). I like a full, deep flavour that isn't very bitter (maybe this is why I add so much sugar and cream to my Americanos?) I'm not a huge fan of Starbuck's drip coffee, or Seattle's Best, which I also find very bitter.

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Go to Commercial Street and have a Joe’s Espresso it might help you out, it is sweet and not biter, at least it was when I work at Havana’s, I used to have my Kitchen meetings at Joes.

steve

Cook To Live; Live To Cook
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only to have my silenced shattered by a screaming 4 year old

"that's not your job , you don't do that , I do ".  ( again and again )

Cute story Neil. :smile:

What coffee do you use at home? Is it available only to the restaurant, or can it be bought commercially? I can never seem to duplicate at home, coffee nearly as good as at higher-end restaurants.

And no, I don't mean I want you to provide us coffee, as well as steak! :raz:

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only to have my silenced shattered by a screaming 4 year old

"that's not your job , you don't do that , I do ".  ( again and again )

Cute story Neil. :smile:

What coffee do you use at home? Is it available only to the restaurant, or can it be bought commercially? I can never seem to duplicate at home, coffee nearly as good as at higher-end restaurants.

And no, I don't mean I want you to provide us coffee, as well as steak! :raz:

I hate to say after all of the posts about fine Italian Coffee etc. but usually Seattle's Best , sometimes Starbucks.

I feel so dirty.

Forgive me.

Neil Wyles

Hamilton Street Grill

www.hamiltonstreetgrill.com

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Yeah, that reminds me...nicer restaurants DO serve delicious coffee! I remember really enjoying the coffee from Parkside and West. I asked the server at Parkside for the brand of coffee they use, but I lost the slip of paper she wrote it on. Too bad! She said she thought they only supplied their beans to restaurants though.

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I've never heard of a cheesy creme brulee! Sounds interesting...must try that (and the coffee too!)

edit: I was going to go for Greek food tomorrow night, but the idea of blue cheese creme brulee is too inticing. Must try it after yoga tomorrow. :smile:

Edited by Ling (log)
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Well, seeing as I live directly above a Starbucks, I also have to admit I end up there quite often. It's the convenience thing. (Sorta like Urban Fare. If I didn't live on the same block as the darn store, I'd never shop there. Every time I go in I get peeved, but I keep going back because it's so...darn...convenient)

But if I'm out of my Yaletown live/work cocoon (I know how awful that sounds, btw), I'd get my nonfat latte at Cafe Artigiano.

Food Lover -- nothing more, nothing less
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Until December 7, the fine folk at JJ Bean are having their annual Customer Appreciation Sale. Buy 2lbs of beans, get 1 free. And as usuall you get a free coffee when you buy their beans ... I was at the Granville Island location, so of course I had to scoot over to Lee's for a glazed old-fashioned :biggrin:

I picked up a 1lb Nero Forte (nice & dark ... what I use for espresso most mornings), 1lb Palomino Espresso (something new to try tomorrow morning) and 1lb of their Christmas Blend which I will be serving on Sunday.

Neil, you're close enough to JJ ... no excuse for buying bad coffee. Incidently, Starbucks owns SBC. It's just wrong on so many levels :unsure: (sorry, it's the Naomi Klein in me ...)

A.

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Please read first line of my post in coffee.

Coffee - love it lots, drink tons, hot , cold , lukewarm , not too fussy, cream and sugar please.

When you drink as much as I do, it is just a delivery vehicle for caffine.

Edited by nwyles (log)

Neil Wyles

Hamilton Street Grill

www.hamiltonstreetgrill.com

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Please read first line of my post in coffee.
Coffee - love it lots, drink tons, hot , cold , lukewarm , not too fussy, cream and sugar please.

When you drink as much as I do, it is just a delivery vehicle for caffine.

Chef, your post got this long time lurker to finally post. I absolutely share your sentiment and philosophy regarding caffine. You guys think Starbucks and Seattle's Best is bad? At our college office, we pour Costco!!! beans into our Saeco just for the convenience. And I add cold water to it to make my lukewarm black Americano so I can down it in one go. I have to keep this a secret or our students will riot.

Forgive me God.

And Chef thanks very much for the hanger's beef, my wife cooked it with a nice peppercorn sauce last week it was lovely. And she had the cut my way as well. I personally prefer a nice thick cut over the now very common sliced cut (whatever you call it, same thing at Lumiere's Bar, Le Crocodile, etc.).

And you're right, lots of blood indeed. Which reminds me I have to get some cooking brandy today. Everyone be forewarned, do expect lots of meaningless and silly posts from this food addict.

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Welcome Mangez. Meaningless and silly posts will fit right in with the rest of us.

Every other office I've been in, I have been able to get everyone to switch over to my kind of coffee. Now, at the University, there's absolutely no way, so it's down to the cafeteria every morning to get a palatble second cup of coffee, which is usually.....starbucks or Cafe Ami...neither of which are real coffee.

I've been meaning to buy a French Press for my office, but everyone thinks I'm nuts in here already, that would just make it worse.

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Chef, your post got this long time lurker to finally post.

<SNIP>

Everyone be forewarned, do expect lots of meaningless and silly posts from this food addict.

Welcome to you new addiction mangez! I'm just wondering how we'll be able to distinguish you meaningless & silly posts from everybody else's meaningless & silly posts? :laugh:

peppyre ... you should ask for one of those new "pod" coffee makers for Christmas. I'm assuming they'll use the Illy pods, which in my experience make pretty damn fine coffee.

Dear Santa,

I've been a very good girl this year, but suffer from bad coffee jitters.

Please bring me a new coffee maker so I can stop shaking.

Love, peppyre

ps. Can I get hanger steaks from a reindeer?

A.

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I'm pre-disposed to Melriches on Davie.

It's busy, fun, eclectic music, the staff are hip and border on rude and , hey! It's located in the middle of Homo-Slavia! ... this prairie gal didn't mind looking at the hot guys whist enjoying her hot latté! :wub:

Minou ~ Kitchen Widow

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Thanks peppre and Daddy-A for the warm welcome. So back to the topic, have you guys tried those Vietnamese dripped coffee?

My favourite one is at this Vietnamese joint on Fraser and 17th. Pho something, it has a huge yellow canopy and a big TV inside. Best Vietnamese coffee I have ever had, nice and strong.

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My favourite one is at this Vietnamese joint on Fraser and 17th.  Pho something, it has a huge yellow canopy and a big TV inside.  Best Vietnamese coffee I have ever had, nice and strong.

Pho something ... yeah. That oughta narrow it down! :laugh:

I love Vietnamese coffee ... but I'm never sure how to drink it. There's the glass with the condensed milk and the coffee dripping into it, and then there's the glass of ice.

So, do you add the ice to the coffee or vice versa? I'm guessing it's adding the ice to the coffee because I did it the other way the first time I tried it and made a hell of a mess!

A.

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