We also saw this market with many signs advertising their products (Oaxaca cheese, fresh salsa, and more)...
We made a mental note to stop by after our coffee break...
which would be here at Caffe Calabria, a coffee place located on 30th, just steps away from the 30th and University Ave intersection.
As you walk in, you can see their woodburning oven; they serve Napolitan style pizza here but only at night.
Their coffee menu:
It's a long space that is very cute and picturesque.
The view of the bar from our table:
We sat by the coffee roasting room, which wasn't in use at the moment, but we still wanted to see the huge machines. Caffe Calabria sells their coffee at various local establishments. I remember Bert really enjoying their coffee during our visit to Cake and Ritual Tavern. It was about time to go to the source.
It would have been cool to see (and smell) this in action!
My iced cafe mocha and Cathy's
Her drink looked so rich and thick. It smelled so good too!
No hot drinks for me. I wanted an iced coffee. Cafe mochas are usually my "go to" drink, while Bert likes anything with caramel or hazelnut. My drink was refreshing and smooth tasting. I was pretty much wired the rest of the day and evening. I'm a lightweight when it comes to coffee.
The next day, Bert and I had a "rare" date night. TC was at my sister's hanging out with the boy cousins. We were originally going to go to the Pearl but instead, went to one of our faves, 25 Forty Bistro (that post is forthcoming). For dessert, we actually wanted chocolate at Moonstruck (a chocolatier based int he Pacific Northwest). Little did Bert know that they'd gone out of business. So, again, Plan B was utilized. To Caffe Calabria we went!
For those of you that live in San Diego, you know it's the holiday season when you see all the bridges over 805 festooned with electrical lights. I love seeing it. this was the one on Adams. We were heading South to University Ave.
We were luck to find a parking spot right in front of Caffe Calabria, so score! I wanted to try something different tonight.
We sat at the far end of the bar. Beyond the glass jar filled with Italian hard candies is their industrial looking meat slicer (hard to see here since the photo is dark, but Cathy and I had a great view of it the other day).
Bert's lovely Cafe Mocha with a pretty leaf pattern on top and my Affogato.
His cafe mocha did not disappoint. It was smooth, rich, and chocolatey. The foam wasn't overly thick like that one drink we had at Cafe Barbera.
Although I've always seen this on menus at various places, I've never ordered it since I'm usually not a fan of mixing hot with cold.
This was quite a unique taste sensation for me. The espresso was pooled at the bottom of the cup and was rich, thick, and bitter in a pleasant way. The vanilla gelato scoop sat in the middle and was dusted with cocoa powder and garnished with a rolled wafer (which I ate first!). The spoons were like mini shovels. Contrary to what I thought would happen, the gelato melted quite slowly. It was not a liquid mess, thank goodness. The scoop retained its shape for a while.. I really enjoyed the contrast of the warmed espresso with the coldness of the gelato.
I also liked the colors change as the gelato began to melt into the espresso. This turned out to be one of my favorite desserts this year.
So yeah, I went twice in two days! I'd love to come back and try other items on their menu like their panini's and salads.
Caffe Calabria
3933 30th St.
San Diego, CA 92104
(619) 291-1759
www.caffecalabria.com
Reviews:
SD Reader (August 2011)
Cafe Hound
SanDiegoFood.net
plus an article about the owner, Arne Holt from Ineedcoffee.com. I liked how the article explained the coffee bean roasting process at Caffe Calabria.
and lastly, the mostly positive reviewes from yelp.
And hot off the press, here is Cathy's write up! Unknown until now, we both went two days in a row, the second time with our husbands! Cathy's post has more interior shots and they had food!
We'll have to have dinner there one night because I am curious to try their Napolitan style pizza. Now about that market around the corner...
2 comments:
Mine was a double macchiato- two shots of espresso with a "kiss" of milk foam (A cappuccino would be in a larger cup, but still espresso on the bottom and a large 'cap' of foam on top). You were wired from yours? Must be the sugar... Yes, I want to go back and smell the roasting coffee!
thanks for the clarification. i'll make sure to change that.
yes, i was 'wired'. i don't drink caffeine too much but when i do, it does a number on me.
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