updated 6.17When I was growing up, on hot summer days dad used to get everyone into the car and head out to Lancaster California to pick fat juicy cherries and sweet peaches from the old orchards. We'd make a day of it, hiking in "The Devil's Punchbowl", stopping for a burger at A&W Rootbeer, and driving home tired and happy, the smell of ripe fruit playing harmony with … [Read more...] about Review: Salt & Straw
Coffee
Review: Spella Caffe
By guest writer Axel BenjaminCoffee Roaster Andrea Spella tells me over my morning cappuccino that he developed his love for coffee when he was just a kid. [Updated: Spella Caffe now has a brick and mortar location at 520 SW 5TH Ave. You'll find a new review of Spella here.]Growing up in a second-story apartment above a bakery in Chicago, Spella's Italian-American … [Read more...] about Review: Spella Caffe
Coffee Guide: Coffehouse NW
That Coffeehouse NW is a destination for coffee fans citywide is a miracle. The pedestrian-hostile, auto-drenched corridor of Burnside Street is anything but cute—not so much resembling the two-lane, café-lined Eastside connectors like Belmont and Mississippi. And while Coffeehouse NW was trying to build its customer base, Gerding Edlen's was building a condo tower right across … [Read more...] about Coffee Guide: Coffehouse NW
Review: Random Order Coffeehouse
(Random Order has now closed)There is a really good bakery just down the street from my house. The thing is, you’d never know it was there unless you were to go inside. You see, it’s not a bakery. It’s a coffee shop. But aside from croissants and scones brought in from Pearl Bakery, all of the items are made on-site, daily. A far as I’m concerned, that amounts to a bakery, … [Read more...] about Review: Random Order Coffeehouse
Review: Fleur de Lis French Bakery & Cafe
Refreshed: 6/12 - hours, text A few weeks ago I was enjoying a quiet cup of coffee at Fleur de Lis Bakery when I overheard two women at the next table talking about “Food Dude”. This has happened to me several times, and I always enjoy hearing what people have to say. “You know his secret”, said one woman. “He is really a she; it is all part of the disguise!” She said it with … [Read more...] about Review: Fleur de Lis French Bakery & Cafe