While on the 5, the plan became trying a new'ish coffee place in Mission Hills...
which entailed going to the Hawthorn exit...
and turning on to State Street...
and on to Reynard Way at this restored vintage building. The Bean Counter is actually two entities in one building, L'Atelier ("workshop" in French, owned by artist Ms. Valentine Vianney) on one side and the coffee bar on the other side (owned by Brian Richter, the artist's husband).
View from up the hill.
(charming vintage mail box on one of the houses on this street)
The stop sign pole was "yarnbombed" and yes, that is a moccasin at the bottom of the pole.
As you walk in, the artist workshop//gallery/store is on the left, in the middle is an art wall and to your right, the coffee shop. There is an outdoor patio with bright yellow umbrellas. This is also new, as well as the planter boxes (one with a lemon tree and the other waiting to be filled).
Beans are from Revolution Roasters (local to Oceanide); teas are imported from Paris.
We shared the oatmeal sea salt chocolate chip cookie and the leek tart (made by Chef Yves Fouurnier, a friend of the owner). The tart was served cold (they had no toaster oven or microwave on site); it still tasted good. Loved the crust and the leek filling. Valentine came over to ask us what we thought of the tart; her chef friend only made tarts on the weekend, as well as croissants, which they had already run out of. She even suggested ordering croissants in advance for the future and they would be saved for pickup!
Our drinks - Cortado for me, Mocha for Bert and the Fujiyama tea for TC.
I wished that paper cups weren't the norm here (I didn't see any other cups either, so be it). My cortado was not as smooth as other versions I've had. It tasted a bit on the, shall I say, burnt side. Maybe my taste buds are shot or something, but that's what I encountered. Both of our coffees were drinkable but not fantastic. However, the conversation with the owners was delightful as well as our peek into her workshop. TC really enjoyed seeing the many varieties of art displayed there.
The music playing in the background was my kind of music...80's Resurrection Sunday on 91X. Among one of the songs we heard:
Article:
"The appeal of a neighborhood coffee shop" SD Reader, April 15, 2017
Bean Counter (coffee on the right, Art with L'Atelier on the left)
2655A Reynard Way
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 892-7900
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+ valentineviannay.com
The workshop next door had many unique art pieces as well as cute hand printed dish towels, handmade jewelry (featuring insects!) and toiletries. As mentioned earlier, the owner was so very nice and welcoming. We'll have to try to croissants next time and maybe another kind of coffee drink or two.
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