(image from this BlackBaroque, an Etsy seller)
time for caffeine and what better places to try a few Valentine's coffee specials...
The first of which was Hawthorn Coffee over in Normal Heights. We were here yesterday having seen Kirbie's pic that she sent me of their first visit to Hawthorn.
Bert and I had dropped off TC and her friends to see this show at the SOMA, an all ages venue near the Sports Arena:
It was her first concert without parental supervision (her first was actually two years ago, in the same venue where Bert chaperoned her for a metalcore show featuring her Bring Me the Horizon and Of Mice and Men). She had to "earn" the right to go, including paying for her own ticket raising her own money, doing chores, etc. She was so excited since it was the first leg of this tour and also because most of the bands were local. Her favorite were the headliners, the Frights, along with Oakland based SWMRS (the members were formerly members of Emily's Army, which features Joey Armstrong, son of Green Day's Billy Armstrong), and the Shady Francos.
So, Hawthorn Coffee it was...
The drinks tray was pre-fabricated just for Hawthorn Coffee. This was a duo made with "Sweetheart" vanilla, chocolate and one shot of espresso. The shot was split into two stemmed glasses and looked so pretty with the leaf design.
We actually enjoyed our mocha mocktails outside because a) there were no seats inside and b) the lighting was better outside and c) I could admire the art deco details on the building (separate post is forthcoming).
So lovely! They should have this drink all the time!
The other coffee place that featured a Valentine's special was James Coffee in Little Italy. We three went here after an early breakfast at a tiny diner in Lemon Grove...
This was a duo of Cortados which was served with two sugar cookies dipped in red, pink and white sprinkles. While it looked cute, I gave mine to TC who enjoyed it with her chai tea latte (her go-to drink whenever we are at any coffee house). This was my first time getting a hot drink at James; I've only had their cold brew and their coffee soda (whereupon I learned to make my own at home and haven't bought one out since). The cortados were so nice and smooth...
I made sure to get the Weimeraner in the photo. He was excited because he saw the other dogs in there including a Great Dane!
TC's iced chai tea latte. We all shared the blueberry old fashioned, which turned out to be from Donut Star in Mission Hills (the owner is so very nice; they also serve shave ice there).
I hadn't seen a blueberry old fashioned in San Diego. A blueberry bar, yes. Frosted, yes. Filled, yes. But not old fashioned.
Here's the first time I saw this particular variation, which was in Gilroy, the Garlic capitol of California.
(photo from my"Gilroy Donut House" post from July 2014)
Believe it or not, our day was done and it was still early in the morning! We had stuff to do this day and dammit, I was tired. We'd come back from a late day having been out of town the past day and a half, plus the concert and picking up the kids super late.
In honor of Valentine's day, here's a trio of songs featuring the word "heart" in the title:
"There Must Be An Angel (Playing With my heart) - The Eurythmics:
Astroboi, this is for you!
"Hungry Heart" - Bruce Springsteen (featuring scenes from one of TC's favorite movies, the zombie romance, "Warm Bodies"):
Whoever did the subtitles wrote "Kinsgtone" instead of "Kingstown". I still remember when this song came out; the album was "The River". It's funny that it was used in this movie because I totally don't associate Springsteen with zombie romance.
"Closer to the Heart" - Rush from 1977's "A Farewell to Kings"
Yes, Gedde Lee's voice is an acquired taste, but Rush are musical geniuses!
Previous visit to Hawthorn Coffee:
January 2016 - our second visit
Previous visit to James Coffee:
July 2015 - where TC had homemade strawberry soda and I had their coffee soda
There was also a Valentine's special at Cafe Moto in Barrio Logan which featured a hazelnut mocha drink (the other was a Honey and Cinnamon cappuccino) but we stuck to just one coffee stop today. I wanted to be able to sleep at a reasonable hour! Of the two different specials, I liked the mocha much better (Chocolate makes it so) but the cortado was also a good offering...
4 comments:
I almost sat at that outside table but I was worried it'd be too small since I ordered so many things. But I like how your photos came out with that table. I also like that they drew the same design in both glasses.
Hi Kirbie,
Yeah, that table would have been too small (and rickety) for all that you guys had. I was wondering why the designs weren't the same for your Sweetheart duo. Too bad about the not so fresh muffin. We tried one of those from Holsem and it was really delicious. I'm glad that you liked Hawthorn. The people working there are so very nice.
I love the coffee in those pretty fancy glasses. If I had gone to do this with Jake, I would have had to drink both coffees since he only like super super sweet coffee, hah! Love your photos of the pretty coffees and the little bit of doggie!
Me too Mary. I thought of your dog when I saw the cute doggie! Their menu is simple here, the way I like it.
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