Results tagged “coffee”

Coffee connoisseurs love searching for the most delicious way to get their caffeine fix. The Nespresso company has been known to make even the snootiest coffee snob happy with their high end espresso blends and machines. Nespresso's new CitiZ espresso machine debuted at Sur La Table this week. Adding to their existing line of products, this new smaller espresso machine features a sleek, architectural design that fits well on small countertops. To celebrate they are offering demos and free samples at a special pop-up tent cafe by the Santa Monica Sur La Table store.

Making the rounds in the news today is this freshly-brewed story of a new drive-through coffeehouse where the servers shun the more typical apron and khakis in favor of two very different pieces altogether: The bikini.

Brentwood chocolate boutique Compartes sells some amazing cocoa confections, and now they're adding coffee to the works. They tell us that they will "will serve coffee daily along with our handcrafted aritsan chocolates (specials for summer include passionfruit, wild strawberry, lychee and more), handmade sorbets and gelatos and a brand new thick european-stlye hot chocolate drink with a kick (that is served in shot glasses)."

       

After throwing a well-attended and swingin' party a couple of weeks ago, Intelligentsia's second Los Angeles location is opening their doors to the public today. Intelligentsia--smart enough to be on Twitter--will debut their Venice Coffeebar at Noon.

We were excited when Chicago-based Intelligentsia invaded the Eastside, now Westsiders can grab one hell of a fine cuppa closer to home thanks to their brand new and eagerly anticipated Venice digs. Last night they got things started with a heavily-attended opening fete, where the crowd ate, drank, and were very, very merry in honor of the new coffee mecca. We found this video online from the festivities so you can see what you missed last night. Just don't miss out on their killer espresso and brewed coffee drinks and beans. Be smart: Get thee to Intelligentsia!

LA has a diverse cast of characters. Whether it's the characters with stirring stories or interesting occupations or the people who are just simply characters, this town has them all. In an effort to get to know some of those characters a little better, we've created "Seven Questions with..."

Put down that Krispy Kreme and that plain old cup of joe. One of the craziest--and tastiest--coffee beverages can be had at Silver Lake's Lamill coffee boutique: Coffee and a Jelly Donut.

       

There's nothing fancy about Nat's Early Bite at first look. It's another hole in a the wall, tucked in a small strip mall off Hazeltine on Burbank Ave. Look closer, especially on a weekend, and you'll see a line out the door. And that's the first good sign.

Tonight the series “Torn Curtain: Two Germanys on Film” kicks off at LACMA. These are 16 films that were made between the end of World War II and the fall of the Berlin Wall. “The opening weekend presents four Trummerfilme or ‘rubble films’—one West German, one East German, and two American—shot immediately after the war amid the ruins of German cities.” At 7:30 pm is The Murderers are Among Us (Die Mörder sind unter uns) followed by In Those Days (In jenen Tagen) at 9:15 pm. The film series is being held in conjunction with the exhibition “Art of Two Germanys/Cold War Cultures” showing through April 19, 2009 at BCAM.

If you are a decaf coffee drinker* and you like to grab your jitter-free java at Starbucks, get ready to cut your consumer hours...or up your wait time. The world's largest coffee chain has announced plans to save some bucks--"$400 million by September," according to USA Today--by having brewed decaf sitting ready only until noon. After noon, customers who want a cup of decaf will have to request it and sit tight; a 'bucks spokesperson said "it takes about four minutes to brew up a fresh cup." The stores wind up wasting product by brewing pots of decaf continually since the demand decreases in the afternoon, and these days, even for the coffee maven, saving a few bucks can go a long way. (*Seriously, what's the point?)

What recession? Of all places, the little village that could is getting a little more useful and livable. Trader Joe's at Weyburn and Glendon already had its grand opening last month, but wait, the kids were preoccupied with finals/undie run/winter break meaning no matter how much you love the joe, it's just wasn't not good timing. Solutions? Ahem. Have another grand opening, reports the Daily Bruin. Next door It’s a Grind Coffee House should open mid January and New Jersey based sandwich shop Jersey Mike’s is expected to open tomorrow.

As you head out to get that cup of joe this morning, think about this:

Blogdowntown has begun to profile coffeeshops that carry wireless internet in the downtown area. This is especially good for those of us who don't live downtown, but still need the occasional hook up to get some work done. Other than the obvious Starbucks option, Ed Fuentes visits Lot 44 Coffee, a secret hideaway to him, but also one of his top spots to go get some work done with a cup of joe. The WiFi is consistent and there are a handful of outlets to plug in. And the organic fair trade coffee is good too, even if a little more expensive than other shops.

    

When you think weekend brunch you probably imagine vanilla French toast, cheddar cheese and bacon scramble and a stack of blueberry pancakes. We do, too, so we were intrigued when we heard about the "Dim Sum and Then Some" Brunch at Equator in Pasadena. You get to choose from a menu of dim sum created by Chef Zhang, who learned a thing or two about the cuisine from his mother. She has worked at acclaimed Monterey Park and Chinatown restaurants for years.

Starbucks is not doing so well, but McDonalds is (hey, cheap coffee!). And what is better than cheap? Free. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is doing an "open hours" of some sort which basically means complimentary 12 oz. holiday themed coffees, teas, lattes and expressos at all their California storefronts. If you plan taking them up, the offer is only good beween 5 and 8 p.m. tonight (but some stores are doing their own thang).

Silver Lake's Pazzo Gelato is promoting its newly expanded hours (they used to open at 11 a.m.) with 2-for-1 coffee and tea items from 7-11 a.m. While you're there, sample the homemade treats -- it's never too early for gelato. Pazzo Gelato / Sunset & Hyperion / 90026 | photo by e-ta-i via flickr.

      

I have so many fond memories of this place. I came to Pho So 1 at least once a week while studying at UCLA. The food is cheap, it came out fast, and right next door is Ranch 99 where you can pick up most anything you'd want to cook for the week. Pho So 1 is also probably one of the best Pho places even remotely close to West LA, and I'm very happy to revisit my old feeding grounds for a meal.

       

You walk in and it's like the end of result of a time machine. It's the San Fernando Valley, 1960s, 1970s, maybe. Families and friends are gathered around tables while the three main staff--two mainstay waitresses and the cook, Rudy--rush around serving everyone's bellies to a greasy satisfaction. It's breakfast. It's America's suburb.

Ready for your morning cup of irony? There's a list and map of all the Starbucks closures on the website of a newspaper making quite a few cutbacks of its own.

Earlier this month, Starbucks announced the closure of approximately 600 U.S. stores. On Friday, they released the list, which included eight California locations. If you wanted your local 'bucks to stay so you can buy music coffee, then you're in luck. Here are the eight cities in California where they will be closing: San Diego, Rancho Mirage, Hemet, Riverside, Monclair, Victorville, Hollister, Laguna Beach. There are hundreds of Starbucks in the Los Angeles area.

    

When it opened back in January, Silver Lake's boutique coffeehouse LA Mill had LAist wondering if the food was really worth the cash (let alone the hype). Now that the buzz has thankfully died down, it was time for another trip to the coffee brewing mecca to sit down and have a proper breakfast.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz's not-just-a-coffee-but-a-lifestyle plans for global domination continue to crumble. Best known for making coffee really expensive, Starbucks will close 600 "underperforming" stores and lay off 12,000 employees in the U.S. The company that over-franchised to the point of putting your favorite ma and pa coffeeshops out of business since 1971 is swimming in a hot brown sea of bad news. Recently Starbucks backed off its short-lived promise deliver good music and then proceeded to introduce a new coffee blend that was described as "reminiscent of a taste from the dentist's office." Check this map to see if your Starbucks has disappeared.

Boing Boing co-founder and Make editor in chief Mark Frauenfelder got a tour of Silver Lake's Intelligentsia with the company's head of research and development. The Chicago-based coffee brand opened a Los Angeles storefront last summer and debuted during the Sunset Junction Music Festival.

       

Alain Giraud is a charismatic guy. He is the picture of a merry chef, walking through his restaurant in his whites, with a warm smile, raking his fingers through a pristine silver hairdo that only a Frenchman can pull off. And even when he whispered (politely) to me, “Madame, please don’t take pictures of the restaurant”, I could not help but smile and say, alright then. He is just that, how do you say… geniale.

Russian Hot Chocolate | Photo by Snack Behrens/LAist

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Coffee giant Starbucks is in a fight for its financial and physical dominance of the American coffee landscape. While they've been focusing on pushing music, videos and green tea frozen lattes in recent years, they kinda sorta forgot about coffee. Real coffee. The drip kind that grabs you by the collar and wishes you a perky "hello" in the morning.

• A 16-year-old boy who shot at a police car in Boyle Heights last night remains at large today.
• Details are clearing things up about what was first reported as a drive-by shooting that took place on Ventura Blvd. last night; turns out it was two employees of a smoke shop who were shot. The assailants entered the store through the back entrance.
• The body of 62-year-old Dean Gordon Christy was found yesterday in the Green Valley Lake are a. Christy, a North Hollywood resident and beloved Glendale teacher, was an avid outdoorsman who was first reported missing three months ago.
• George Russell Weller, the elderly man behind the wheel for a horrific accident at the Santa Monica Farmer's Market in 2003, has paid only $500 of the tens of thousands of dollars in fines and restitution he owes. The 91-year-old is appealing his 2006 conviction.
• After a 45-day shut down for sediment removal, water facility Pyramid Lake reopened today.
• Myrna who? Alumni of Venice High have begun a campaign to bring a decades-old statue of actress Myrna Loy out of storage and back on display on the campus. Loy was popular in the 30s on the screen, and her statue became popular in recent years as the object of pranks.
• EaterLA has their weekly roundup of celeb spottings up, and normally we wouldn't care, but their first report is about rocker Dave Grohl spotted dining at Mozza on Wednesday... LAist, however, spotted him just a few hours earlier than his dinner at our favorite East Valley cafe. Dave, my how you get around!

One thing I love about L.A. are all the little shops and cafes that let us poor starving artists leave flyers or put up posters for our many different events. Here is a list of just a few such kind souls, to help my fellow independents, and also just to say a heartfelt thanks! (I hope you don't hate me.)

Just in time for St Paddy's Day, we check out some of the Irish coffees around town. Screw green beer. That stuff will kill you. After drinking many Irish Coffees in the name of serious scientific research, I have discovered a good Irish coffee relies on two relatively simple elements: the freshness of the coffee and use of real heavy cream