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: Caffe Umbria
Caffé Umbria appeared on the scene a few months ago, with all the flash and glamour you'd expect for a major restaurant opening. Getting through the door and fighting my way through the mob, it was hard to believe all of this fuss was for yet another coffeehouse.This new cafe is in the Casey Building, at the corner of NW 12th and Everett St (Across from Everett St. Bistro). … [Read more...] about Coffee Guide: Caffe Umbria
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
(updated 6.2012)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, whether it … [Read more...] about Review: Random Order Coffeehouse