(photo from my "Scenes from the OB415" post, Nov 6, 2014)
What exactly is a snowy plover you ask?
It looks like this...
(photo fromwww.tracyaviary.org)
Cute isn't it? But also endangered hence the informational sign.
The Western Snowy Plover is a "small, rare, threatened shorebird that makes its home on certain beaches on the Pacific Coast" (more info here at westernsnowyplover.org). While it does have natural predators like hawks, raccoons, and coyotes, humans have unfortunately encroached upon their breeding grounds and nesting sites on the beaches. The bird is the size of a small sparrow and declared threatened by the federal government in 1993 due to low population and decreased habitat.
Okay, nature lesson over. The snowy plover is also the name of a very interesting drink at this hipstery neighborhood coffee joint we visited that morning, Andytown Coffee Roasters. Located in the Outer Sunset, it is on the southwest east corner of where Lawon and 43rd St. intersect.
There was a line out the door and while it was packed inside, there were extra tables outside.
The space itself was deep but short on table space. The aroma of freshly roasted coffee filled the air and the loud buzz of the customers competed with folks waiting in line to place their orders.
I was digging the gals' shaggy short hairstyle! It was so cute on her! It turns it that she is the owner, Lauren Crabbe, a former Blue Bottle lead barista (and a former San Diegan, specifically from La Jolla), who cofounded Andytown with her husband, Michael McCrory. The name Andytown comes from the nickname of the workingclass Irish neighborhood where her husband grew up, Andersontown (a suburb in Belfast, Northern Ireland). The coffee shop opened in March this year and was funded by Kickstarter.
Selection of sweet and savory scones including one with goat cheese which I made sure to avoid. We chose the plum with mint and chocolate.
Their menu also features soda bread, with the recipe handed down over the generations courtesy of co-owner Michael's Irish grandmother. After reading the articles for research for this post, I kind of wished we had tried some. We were trying to pace ourselves since we would be attending a wedding later that afternoon.
Our drinks - TC's hot chocolate, Bert's latte with almond milk , and my awesome Snowy Plover along with our scone and the de rigeur hipster succulent centerpiece.
The Snowy Plover is a shot of espresso poured over brown sugar syrup in iced sparkling water and topped with a dollop of whipped cream. I normally am not a fan of whipped cream, but this helped sweeten the drink and gave it a nice creamy look after I mixed it.
I may have also added some sugar to it. Basically, this is iced carbonated coffee and I loved it. I wonder if any San Diego coffee houses do this already or will do it if requested...
We ended up buying a bag of their coffee at a local market the next day. We still have some at home and I've been enjoying it iced. Bert enjoyed his latte, finding it smooth and easy to drink (no bitterness). He regretted not getting a larger cup that morning because this was so good.
While our scone's ingredients may sound strange, the combination of mint, fresh plums and chocolate was one of the best I've tasted. It was not dry at all and had crunchy sugar crystals on top. I loved seeing the fresh plum pieces in this scone.
One last look from our table outside before we headed out to the park...
Was this a hipster joint? Yes, it was, but it was not pretentious and unfriendly. I liked that there were locals there (along with their canine friends); the workers were also quite cheerful.
I don't remember seeing any snowy plovers the day of our visit, but here is someone else's video of them in action in OB SF.
They sure can scamper!
Reviews & blurbs:
tripadvisor
www.coffeeratings.com
theshot.coffeeratings.com, June 2014
avitaltours.com, July 2014
zagatSF
Articles:
"First look at Andytown Coffe Roasters" SFWeekly, March 17, 2014
"Andytown Coffee Roasters opens in Outer Sunset" Ocean Beach Bulleti, March 22, 2014.
Andytown Coffee Roasters
3655 Lawton St. (corner of 43rd and Lawton)
San Francisco, CA 94122
(415) 753-9775
www.andytownsf.com + their fb page
plus the reviews from you know where
Our next stop, sightseeing at Golden Gate Park...
2 comments:
That scone sounds amazing. That drink you had sounds good, too! Too bad it's so far from SD otherwise I'd go haha
Yeah, both items were surprisingly good. I was a but leery of carbonated coffee but I ended up liking it.
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