(H Street offramp to the 805)
Bert had the day off and we set off with our good friend Tatonka...
(805 off ramp to University Ave)
This time we had company on this cold and rainy morning...
Tatonka was also off this week. He was up for trying a new place. Our original plan was to go to Modern Times Cafe, but I mistakenly thought they were closed for the holidays. Although their hours state a 7 am open time, when I tried calling "to make sure", no one answered and I assumed the cafe was closed. Instead, we went to a neighborhood diner and planned to have coffee in the same neighborhood as well.
The name of the liquor store, Happy Daze never fails to amuse me. Pretty convenient location though, right off the freeway.
I sat in the back while Bert and Tatonka chatted away...But wait, do guys "chat"?
Our first stop was breakfast at the Old Mill Cafe. We knew it wouldn't be crowded and best of all, we we knew parking wouldn't be an issue.
Random holiday decals on the windows. The server we've seen in our past visits wasn't here for this visit, instead, we had a female server.
I already knew what I wanted and you can probably guess what it was because I am predictable like that.
Corner booth view.
Their specials and lovely Christmas tree. One of these days we'll eat in that section with the Old Mill painting. It's always closed off. Poo.
Our hearty breakfast trio:
Tatonka's corned beef combo.
Bert's Meat Lover's Combo (bacon, sausage and ham that is hiding). Because he ordered hash browns, I ended up ordered the house potatoes.
My combo, the Chicken Fried Steak combo. My bread (no shown) was rye since Bert ordered sourdough.
Great way to start the day...
We saw this painted van in their parking lot...
Now we could have been a-holes and just left our cars in the lot while we got our coffee elsewhere, but we were nice and reparked behind the North Park Theater.
I noticed that the old building that once housed Claire de Lune Coffee Lounge was repainted. I wonder what will replace that space? It opened in the mid-90's; I remember going to an open mic there in '98. The owner was Filipina from what I recall. It was a nice place to relax and enjoy a coffee and pastry.
Since we didn't go to Modern Times Cafe, we went to one of our favorites, Holsem Coffee which was Tatonka's first time.
We were able to snag a table. It was pretty full in here and I noticed they changed a few things around and added more seating. Alcoholic beverages were also now being offered.
Our coffee trio:
Tatonka's Macchiato:
My Cubano, served in a cup this time rather than a shot glasswhich I had last year. At least both methods of presentation utilized clear glass. I think it's prettier seeing the coffee and cream layers that way.
Bert's selection from their holiday menu, the Peppermint Mocha (photo taken after he drank some of it):
Compared to the peppermint mocha we had from Copa Vida in Sorrento Valley a few days ago, this one was weak.
Tatonka hadn't been to Nomad Donuts either so this was also our third and last stop to complete the trifecta. By his time, the rain had stopped. We did sit under the covered portion where the chairs were at least dry.
Yesssss....Rogue One Friday.
I liked this multi-lingual sign.
The languages include: Hmong, Chinese, French, Somali, Korean, Arabic, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Hindi. I recognized all but two of the language; I had to look up some of the phrases on google which is how I figured out which was Hmong ("Peb tos txais txhua tus") and Somali ("Waan soo dhaweyneynaa dadka oo dhan"). I'm sure this sign also came about as a reaction to the recent Presidential election results and the ensuing hate-mongering incidents that followed not just county wide, but nation wide.
Our donut quad selection:
Three donuts has beer as an ingredient: Mocha chip with Dos Desperados Sultry Stout (my pick), The Eppig Brewing Co's Sinister Path coffee brown butter (Bert's choice; Eppig is a local brewery), and the Spiced banana Dos Desperados Heifeweizen caramel candied pecan (Tatonka's choice). The most normal donut was the vanilla old fashioned, also Tataonka's.
I liked mine the best but the banana custard filled donuts was also quite delicious. I love that there were chips not only on the glaze but within the donut. Nomad does donuts right. None of this bullshit where the only discernable flavor is some perfunctory topping but the base is the same. No. They execute the flavors throughout (glaze, donut and/or filling).
As we took El Cajon Blvd to the freeway, I glanced left and happened to see Eppig Brewing Co's storefront. We hadn't heard of them before until today. The rapid proliferation of the craft beer scene has really changed the landscape of North Park. There are so many new businesses opening up and also quite a few older businesses closing shop.
Previous visit to The Old Mill Cafe:
January 2016
Previous visit to Holsem Coffee:
Septeber 2016
Previous visit to Nomad Donuts:
April 2016
It was different for Bert and I to spend a morning with someone other than TC, who has been doing sports practice every day during the break (except weekends of course). Tatonka is a very good friend of ours and it was nice spending some time with him this morning...
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