The French Press

Within walking distance of Cajun Kitchen was our coffee stop...

We'd seen it the other day...

and wanted to give this place a try, as is our custom whenever we are on vacation...

Their concise menu. I like the term "tasty bevs" (I wonder if they got that from Samuel L. Jackson's character in "Pulp Fiction".

The "tasty beverage" reference clocks in at the 1:45 mark, but hell, watch the whole two minute clip for completeness. This is actually one of our favorite scenes from "Pulp Fiction".

Many of the tables were occupied but we grabbed a seat at an outside table. Decor is not hipster; it seemed, almost traditional.


Cool skateboard decks as decor:

Yes, the Virgin of Guadalupe (VoG):

Our drinks:

TC's Arnold Palmer, Bert's mocha with soy and my Shakerato.

I didn't expect my shakerato to have ice in it (other versions I've had were icy cold and strained so that there was no ice).  It was pretty smooth and delicious and I would have this again.  Below, Bert's lovely mocha.

Our pastries were a French canele (which the receipt spelled 'caneles'; hmm,  plural?) and a S'mores Rocher (seen below).  Rocher is the French word for "rock" or "boulder".  They serve them at Eclipse Chocolate in South Park  (it's like a meringue pattie covering sweet stuff like chips, marshmallows, etc). In French Press's case, the rocher had a nice crunch and had bits of marshmallow and chocolate within. I don't recall any graham cracker crust or anything to complete the s'mores flavor profile (ha ha, flavor profile, how pretentious sounding is that).

This canele was on the dry and dense side. Not so great.


We enjoyed our drinks here and it was fun to people (and dog) watch outside.

The French Press (one of three locations; two in SB and one in Goleta)
1101 State St.
Santa Barbara, CA 931012
(805) 963-2721

www.thefrenchpress.com, fb page + reviews from you know where and tripadvisor

Next on our agenda was a place chosen by TC herself, a museum just a few blocks away...