Blue Bottle Coffee – The San Francisco Treat

How many of you had that old Rice-a-Roni jingle in your head as you read the subject of this post?  If so, you’re showing your age…

I was in San Francisco a couple weeks ago, and made it a point to see out a decent cuppa in the City by the Bay.  I only had two days, so I sampled two shops, Blue Bottle and Ritual.

My favorite, hands down, was Blue Bottle.  Not that Ritual was bad - they were quite good, in fact.  But those Blue Bottle guys have their act together.  The siphon bar was a bit over the top for my tastes, so I stuck with a pourover cup of their brew of the day.  The barista was underinformed as to the composition of the blend (she was quite obviously wrong about the composition of the blend, as their is no mistaking natural Ethiopia and Sumatra in the cup), but the blend was lovely, nonetheless.  They have a simple, yet elegant breakfast menu, and a small but adequate number of coffee choices.  The quality was outstanding.  Overall, Blue Bottle is highly recommended.

Ritual was a good experience, too, for the most part.  Food selection was kind of disappointing, but since I don’t go for the food it was no loss to me.  I ordered a Helsar Villa lobos on the Clover, which turned out to be… just a good cup of coffee, so safe to say it fell a little short of expectations.  Ritual is a busier production shop with roaster and warehouse all in the cafe space, so while authentic it’s a bit of sensory overload.  I recommend them, too.

If any of you have road coffee recommendations, please comment.

http://www.muddydogcoffee.com

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Flantastic!

I’m not talking about Pocket Flan, although that is a good idea (you laugh?  One word: Gogurt.)

No, I’m talking about the coffee flan at the new Tasca Brava in Raleigh.

We had some old friends from up north drop in unexpectedly yesterday.  So I called Bistro 607, one of my favorite restaurants, to see if they could squeeze us in – only to find they were no longer there!  Turns out Juan Samper bought the place to open his new Tasca Brava, a true Spanish tapas restaurant.

Those of you who know me well know that it’s nearly impossible for me to be satisfied with a restaurant.  This is usually due to the fact that whatever geography is represented, I’ve probably been to that place and ate like a local.  Kind of like Tony Bourdain, only without the camera crew, the after-dinner smoke and the foul language.  Well, OK, with the foul language.  We all have our issues.

But I do have a weakness for tapas, and I’ll give any of them a try at least once.  The problem with most tapas restaurants is either, a) they suck, b) the plates are too big, or c) both.  Red Room has been my reigning fave for the past few years, ever since the place on 9th St. in Durham closed.  Red Room has problem b).  Oliver’s Twist, Zelly & Ritz… problem a).  So my expectations were low.

But when we walked in, the first thing I saw were coffee bags for sale.  Karma was talking to me, baby.  As he seated us, I asked Juan, the owner, where he got his coffee.  Since I knew he didn’t get it from me, there was only one answer that would be acceptable.  And he gave that answer.  He roasted it himself.  BANG!  Cosmic connection.

The meal blew me (and all of us) away.  Our tapas were perfect.  Four people, nine or ten tapas, a bottle of wine (what did you pick, Myles?  It was fabulous), and still room for dessert.  Could it get any better?

Two words: Coffee Flan.  That’s right.  Rich, creamy and caffeinated.  Wow.

So I did sample Juan’s espresso.  It’s good.  I don’t feel threatened, though.  Too much like illycafe for my tastes.  I invited Juan to the shop for a little roasting, blending and brewing session.  We’ll see if he takes me up on it.

Just say no to chain restaurants.  Visit Tasca at 607 Glenwood.

http://www.muddydogcoffee.com

WWJD (What Would Jim Drink today?)  I was a bit of a coffee fiend today, which believe it or not, is unlike me.  I started the day with a pump pot of Christmas Blend, which I shared with my high-powered work team from Duke’s business school – they are helping me out with some MBA consulting.  Every one of these people is the the smartest one in the room.  If I was a little more self-aware, I would be intimidated.  Then this afternoon I had a craving, swear to God, for acidity.  So I brewed up some Kenya.  That scratched the itch – you gotta love a coffee that is unrepentingly bright.

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Wolfgang Puck – Entrepreneurial Genius, AND Coffee Wh…

Rhymes with CHORE. In fact, shares the same last four letters.

I went to Spago when it was the hottest thing going, when it met my guiding restaurant selection criteria of “there can’t be more that one”. Was that 20 years or so ago? It was spectacular then. I wondered about old Wolf when I saw the proliferation of WP Express in airports around the country. It seemed to me that the celebrity chef was probably selling out by putting his well-known likeness on substandard food offerings. All food venues in RDU airport are served by the same contractor, i.e., the sandwich you buy in WP’s is the same as Starbuck’s, is the same as Hudson News. etc.

Well, Wolf has sunk to a new low. Seems he’s now in the coffee business (click HERE then look at coffee) – yeah, right. At a hotel I stayed in this week, my room was graced by a shitty ten-dollar pod coffee maker,

WP Coffee Maker - You Gotta Be Kidding

bearing the likeness of none other that the photogenic chef himself. The hermetically sealed pod claimed to contain a “Sumatra Estate Coffee”. The accompanying blurb was priceless, “Wolfgang’s own recipe…” Since when is there a “recipe” for an Estate coffee?? What shameless pandering to underinformed audiences. How does he sleep at night?

I couldn’t bring myself to actually try it – no need. Pathetic.

http://www.muddydogcoffee.com

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To Pod, Or Not To Pod, That Is The Question

Traveling in Boston this week… stayed at a nice hotel near the water… room was equipped with a Melitta All-In-One pod coffee maker.  So I thought, what the heck, may as well give it a try.

So I warmed up the machine and apprehensively opened the hermetically sealed pod.  Smells like coffee.  Kind of.  But what do I know about pods?

Placed the pod in the basket… so far, so good.  Closed it up, pushed the button – squirt!  Looks like a little pre-infusion.  A few seconds later it pulled about 6 ounces in ten seconds.

I brought the cup to my nose… not much aroma to speak of.  Now a taste… verdict is….  YUCK!  This stuff is pure swill.

So it’s settled.  Pods really are just stale coffee.  The Melitta really is a POS home appliance.  Not worth your time or money.

http://www.muddydogcoffee.com

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Muddy Dog Coffee now at Neomonde Bakery & Deli

All those late evening vegetable moussakas finally did the trick… Muddy Dog coffee is now being served at Neomonde Bakery & Deli, at least at the Morrisville Station location. We are neighbors of Neomonde, our shop being about half a mile around the corner from them, and I have been a regular customer for a long time. Their previous supply relationship ended recently, and they were happy to have a local supplier – REALLY local, in this case. They will start serving our coffee in the cafe sometime this week, and we will have some retail packages there by next week, including a traditional turkish coffee.

In case you don’t know about Neomonde, you should – they have fantastic middle eastern cuisine and baked goods. Check out their web site to see the menus. Here’s the address info for the Morrisville location:

Morrisville Café
At Morrisville Station
10235 Chapel Hill Road (Hwy. 54)
Morrisville, NC 27560
(919) 466-8100 Phone
(919) 466-0860 Fax

Hours
Monday-Saturday: 9am – 9pm
Sunday: 9am – 7pm
View Map

http://www.muddydogcoffee.com

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Notes from the Road

This weekend I made a delivery to GreenLife Grocery in Asheville (note to western Carolinians – you can now buy our coffee at Greenlife!!). I could have done a backhaul with Appalachian Harvest, but I wanted to see Greenlife first hand, and figured I could accomplish a few things on the trip (like some sales calls!).

When I got there, I met Richie at receiving and he made my day – hell, he made my week – with one simple comment… “man, I loved that Old North State Blend“. Indeed, Richie, it is a fine blend, but looking around Greenlife I know that you are a man who tastes some fine food and fine coffees, so that was high prasie, indeed. I must say that Greenlife is a fine little grocer, and I wish we had one in the Triangle.  I picked up some organic lettuce from Mackey farms in Mars Hill, NC, some leeks, a little herb-wine finishing butter, a Pinot Gris from King Estate (sadly Greenlife had no Yadkin Valley wines, my favorite of which is Rag Apple Lassie), and a caeser dressing in anticipation of dinner with friends on top of nearby Young’s Mountain.

I had a very pleasant dinner with my friends, who just that day had caught several fine, large white bass in Lake Lure. We prepped the fish by rubbing in some olive oil, salt and peppering liberally, stuffing the cavities with herb butter and shredded leeks, then wrapping in foil packets and grilling. Accompanied with that Mars Hill lettuce caesar salad and glass or three of Pinot, looking out at the mountains, it easily ranked among the best meals ever. We watched Duke basketball (too painful to talk about) and The Last of the Mohicans, which is a great movie but really difficult for us because the movie is supposedly set in 1757 New York State, but it is so obviously North Carolina (it was filmed in and around Chimney Rock).

So speaking of Chimney Rock, I wound through there and Bat Cave, NC. If you’re in that neighborhood, be sure to stop at Coffee Crumbs at 438 Main Street, just beyond Chimney Rock Park – Joyce and Angel make a great espresso.

After nearly 600 miles, I came to really appreciate a couple things.  First XM radio, specifically X Country, channel 12 – it’s the kind of station that requires listening time, it’s not just simple ear candy – and the South by Southwest coverage, which just happened to be this weekend.  Second, my Chevy Silverado 4×4, which is strong and comfortable, climbs steep, rutted mountain dirt roads like a billy goat, and will pass anything on the road except a gas station. After all that driving I am pretty sure we will have more news to report in the near future from western Carolina and eastern Tennessee – stay tuned.

http://www.muddydogcoffee.com

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