Monday, March 29, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Tasting Italian Ice Cream in Niagara Falls (Ontario)
After a sort of late night out in Niagara Falls, the morning rejuvenation desperately needed to include a coffee shop. After our GPS guiding us to a long closed establishment, we wound up at Italian Ice Cream on Victoria Avenue.
This place is but a hundred feet or so from the sign which reads "Clifton Hill, Tourist Area," but the change to a main street like hometown feel from the Disney World like Clifton Hill is noticeable.
Italian Ice Cream offers gelato, ice cream, coffee (including the obligatory Italian favorites: espressos cappuccinos lattes etc) and a bar (which, unlike Italian coffee "bars", serves alcohol).
I order an espresso macchiato, which comes out to the highly reasonable total of $1.90 Canadian. It is excellent (pictured). My friend orders a regular coffee at the also reasonable cost of $1.65. That coffee comes out disappointing, a Folgers like mediocrity, despite being from a fresh brew. Being served in a glass coffee mug is always a plus, though.
Italian Ice Cream has a sort of main street family diner feel. Pop radio plays quietly. Its not an atmosphere for sitting and working on a macbook, if you know what I mean. Its more so a family friendly ice cream shoppe with drinks and espressos for the weary and stressed parents.
An original aspect of Italian Ice Cream is the interesting cross promotion of a wedding photography business/showcase. Apparently the Italian family who owns the coffee shop has a knack for photography in their genes. For those of you interesting in perusing sample photography over some Italian gelato, meet your insanely specific match.
What's nice about italian ice cream, though nothing makes it fantastic or outstanding, is the vestiges of Italian hospitality. It is a welcome respite from the gimmicky and overpriced tourist contraptions but a few minutes walk down the road. If you want a decent espresso, with ice cream for your kids at a reasonable price, Italian Ice Cream isn't a bad bet. Just don't expect a hipster hangout a la the coffee shops of NY or Boston.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
The Daily Grind In Albany
Well today was not a successful day in the world of coffee consumption for d2tg. After an unsatisfyingly watery Mcdonalds coffee on route 90 on the way to Albany, the afternoon brought yet another underwhelming coffee experience.
The Daily Grind, near the empire plaza in Albany, NY, had the sign of the kind of pretentious coffee snob coffee shop from which I thought I could satisfy my desire for a fancy and delicious micro batch roasted cup of goodness, but I got my hopes far too high.
Please don't misunderstand, the Daily Grind has some major positives. The store has retail coffees upstairs in a retail setting, with the coffee cafe downstairs. The atmosphere is pleasant, if perhaps crowded as one may expect of a basement coffee shop. The servers came across as really nice and friendly. The visual design was pleasing. Until you see the "Paul de Lima" brand coffee pots. While paul de lima is not in and of itself a bad coffee company (it has many fair trade options and some great blends), I guess I was hoping for some custom blend coffee shop roast. I had the Kenyan Coffee (the best coffee, according to the server) with turbinado sugar and non-organic half and half. It was a reasonable enough cup of coffee, not excellent, not folgers, but somewhere in between. $2.25 for a medium cup of coffee. Sandwiches, cookies and food were available and decently priced but not reviewed.
Personally, the next time I'm in Albany, I'm going to check out some of the many coffee houses near the state capital buildings, if I were to guess, the competition is a win for the consumer, controlling prices and producing better coffees, but the Daily Grind is no indication of this, and I have not been to enough to tell for sure. I may have been too busy enjoying a free ice cream cone from Ben and Jerrys.
The Daily Grind, near the empire plaza in Albany, NY, had the sign of the kind of pretentious coffee snob coffee shop from which I thought I could satisfy my desire for a fancy and delicious micro batch roasted cup of goodness, but I got my hopes far too high.
Please don't misunderstand, the Daily Grind has some major positives. The store has retail coffees upstairs in a retail setting, with the coffee cafe downstairs. The atmosphere is pleasant, if perhaps crowded as one may expect of a basement coffee shop. The servers came across as really nice and friendly. The visual design was pleasing. Until you see the "Paul de Lima" brand coffee pots. While paul de lima is not in and of itself a bad coffee company (it has many fair trade options and some great blends), I guess I was hoping for some custom blend coffee shop roast. I had the Kenyan Coffee (the best coffee, according to the server) with turbinado sugar and non-organic half and half. It was a reasonable enough cup of coffee, not excellent, not folgers, but somewhere in between. $2.25 for a medium cup of coffee. Sandwiches, cookies and food were available and decently priced but not reviewed.
Personally, the next time I'm in Albany, I'm going to check out some of the many coffee houses near the state capital buildings, if I were to guess, the competition is a win for the consumer, controlling prices and producing better coffees, but the Daily Grind is no indication of this, and I have not been to enough to tell for sure. I may have been too busy enjoying a free ice cream cone from Ben and Jerrys.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
The Sentient Bean in Savannah
On our way down to Florida, we spent a Saturday night exploring the festive streets of downtown Savannah. We stopped in a Starbucks, and the $1.50 tall (small) pike place roast is satisfying enough. We expended our caffeine buzz rocking our heads to a cover band street party of the ac dc highway to hell genre. Little did we know what delightful surprises daytime Savannah had in store.
The Sentient Bean comes across like something you would encounter in Woodstock or Ithaca. A hippie-like, designed for college age liberals feel permeates the atmosphere.
The Sentient Bean is all things fair trade, organic, and served in ecotainers. The crowd probably does their grocery shopping at whole foods market. Even the soap in the bathroom is some unlabeled herbal smelling "triclosan free" kind of product. In short, I felt right at home.
The shot in the dark is a triple espresso cut with the coffee of your choice, and comes to $2.85 for a medium. It is eye opening and excellent. The coffee selection leans toward stronger, darker brews (hooray!), and they have a wide selection of (fair trade) coffee beans by the pound.
The atmosphere is pleasant, young, and inviting. The shop caters no doubt to the students from the neighboring Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). The music emphasis pop chill and lounge tracks.
We didn't have any food but they offered panini style lunch and dinner options which sounded appetizing enough (let us know what you thought if you go).
Also, check out some of their almost nightly entertainment, whether its an indie band or an indie film, this is certainly a great coffee shop to check out.
Pros:
-eco friendly
-fair trade
-reasonably priced coffee
Cons:
-perhaps should also have a lighter roast available to appeal to a wider range of people.
-sandwiches are a little bit pricey.
Overall, an excellent find on the road in Savannah.
The Sentient Bean comes across like something you would encounter in Woodstock or Ithaca. A hippie-like, designed for college age liberals feel permeates the atmosphere.
The Sentient Bean is all things fair trade, organic, and served in ecotainers. The crowd probably does their grocery shopping at whole foods market. Even the soap in the bathroom is some unlabeled herbal smelling "triclosan free" kind of product. In short, I felt right at home.
The shot in the dark is a triple espresso cut with the coffee of your choice, and comes to $2.85 for a medium. It is eye opening and excellent. The coffee selection leans toward stronger, darker brews (hooray!), and they have a wide selection of (fair trade) coffee beans by the pound.
The atmosphere is pleasant, young, and inviting. The shop caters no doubt to the students from the neighboring Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). The music emphasis pop chill and lounge tracks.
We didn't have any food but they offered panini style lunch and dinner options which sounded appetizing enough (let us know what you thought if you go).
Also, check out some of their almost nightly entertainment, whether its an indie band or an indie film, this is certainly a great coffee shop to check out.
Pros:
-eco friendly
-fair trade
-reasonably priced coffee
Cons:
-perhaps should also have a lighter roast available to appeal to a wider range of people.
-sandwiches are a little bit pricey.
Overall, an excellent find on the road in Savannah.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Cool Coffee in Jacksonville.
We arrived in Jacksonville Florida around 430 a.m.- and logic should have led us to immediately fall asleep, yet your d2tg team decides to stay awake until 6 for the free breakfast which accompanies our 40 dollar hotel room.
So, falling asleep at 645 and waking at 1040 to some loud noise outside our door, we are in desperate need of a cup of coffee. Having eaten breakfast before going to sleep, we wake too late for the free coffee of the hotel, so we head off into town.
We come across a quiet coffee shop (Sunday mornings are slow, they told us) in a wealthy suburb like area a few miles outside of the business district of Jacksonville. Pulp, its called, and its selling regular cups of coffee at $2.50 a cup (quite steep). But this $2.50 isn't simply for a cup of a gallon pot of joe. Rather, it is for a coffee brewed only for you, one cup at a time.
What we really liked about Pulp was the ways you could have
Your coffee made (french press, turkish (or "ibrik"), manual drip, moka pot) and the love of organic ingredients. The barista at Pulp was tremendously friendly and took time to patiently explain each brewing method to the customer. With every type of coffee we ordered was an offer of steamed organic milk (which we all declined). A classy coffee indeed.
The cup of coffee itself was excellent, though our team didn't universally have excellent coffee. I had the house blend, french press brewed, with organic half and half and turbinado sugar.
Pulp Jacksonville has a new chic feel with a particularly unique (but not coffee related) custom self serve ice cream sundae station in the back of the store. As its in Florida, we recommend you take your coffee to go and enjoy the outdoor seating in the sun.
So, falling asleep at 645 and waking at 1040 to some loud noise outside our door, we are in desperate need of a cup of coffee. Having eaten breakfast before going to sleep, we wake too late for the free coffee of the hotel, so we head off into town.
We come across a quiet coffee shop (Sunday mornings are slow, they told us) in a wealthy suburb like area a few miles outside of the business district of Jacksonville. Pulp, its called, and its selling regular cups of coffee at $2.50 a cup (quite steep). But this $2.50 isn't simply for a cup of a gallon pot of joe. Rather, it is for a coffee brewed only for you, one cup at a time.
What we really liked about Pulp was the ways you could have
Your coffee made (french press, turkish (or "ibrik"), manual drip, moka pot) and the love of organic ingredients. The barista at Pulp was tremendously friendly and took time to patiently explain each brewing method to the customer. With every type of coffee we ordered was an offer of steamed organic milk (which we all declined). A classy coffee indeed.
The cup of coffee itself was excellent, though our team didn't universally have excellent coffee. I had the house blend, french press brewed, with organic half and half and turbinado sugar.
Pulp Jacksonville has a new chic feel with a particularly unique (but not coffee related) custom self serve ice cream sundae station in the back of the store. As its in Florida, we recommend you take your coffee to go and enjoy the outdoor seating in the sun.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
The First Night
We arrive, tired and poor, at the Motel 6, Fredericksburg, Virginia. It seems your d2tg team is saving our funds for web design and pretentious and overpriced lattes (which are oh so worth it).
The paper thin walls heighten our appreciation of the prison cell like college dorms from which we just escapes. To keep this P.G., I'll just leave it the description as something which brings "too much information" to a new extreme.
To our total indifference, we discover that this particular Motel 6 lacks coffee makers. As a general rule, unless the hotel is the intercontinental and the in room coffee maker is a keurig coffee machine, avoid it. The coffee is rarely fresh, the machine often dispensing a light brown liquid...when you are trying to make hot water for tea.
Oh the life of a low budget college student. So we're off to grab some waffle house coffee, wish us luck!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
On the Road! (Courtesy of Coffee)
Alas, Downtotheground is taking two members of our blog team to Florida to umm "research" or "take a tax deductible work trip to explore coffee." We plan to conduct a case study in doing a 20 hour road trip thanks to the magic of coffee and the liver destroying beauty of energy drinks. Followed by 8 hard working days of experimenting with the concept of "blogging from a pool raft." If it seems dangerous, its because it is.
Anyway, thanks to the wallet sucking wonder of Verizon Wireless, we can blog while on the road, real time, with all too many personal details and overexposure. Learn what we had for dinner! Discover what we thought of the audio-book reading of Asimov!
Most importantly, and the reason, no doubt, that you are here, is our exploration of coffee culture in the land of Waffle Houses and Chick-Fil-a's! Its possible that we may deviate somewhat from a focus on independent coffee houses for the chain brands ala Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, and Krispy Kreme, yet we review and explore all things coffee, from the individuality of Ninth Street Espresso to the corporate, faux parisian coffeehouse au bon pain.
What wonders will we encounter? What sights will we see? Join your Downtotheground team on route I 95 as we make sure you can get from NYC to Kissimmee on a full charge of d2tg approved coffee.
Anyway, thanks to the wallet sucking wonder of Verizon Wireless, we can blog while on the road, real time, with all too many personal details and overexposure. Learn what we had for dinner! Discover what we thought of the audio-book reading of Asimov!
Most importantly, and the reason, no doubt, that you are here, is our exploration of coffee culture in the land of Waffle Houses and Chick-Fil-a's! Its possible that we may deviate somewhat from a focus on independent coffee houses for the chain brands ala Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, and Krispy Kreme, yet we review and explore all things coffee, from the individuality of Ninth Street Espresso to the corporate, faux parisian coffeehouse au bon pain.
What wonders will we encounter? What sights will we see? Join your Downtotheground team on route I 95 as we make sure you can get from NYC to Kissimmee on a full charge of d2tg approved coffee.
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