Taking the "scenic route" from the 94 to Euclid during this cloudy morning...
Opened one month ago, Scrimshaw Coffee is on El Cajon Blvd. and 56th St. It's owned by two very friendly young men, Roger and Will (he used to be a barista at Holsem, which is why he looked familiar). Although they procured this spot more than a year ago, it took awhile to do the build out, obtain the permits, etc.
"Scrimshaw" is the name given to scrollwork, engravings, and carvings done on bone or ivory. It typically refers to the handiwork by whalers made from the byproducts from harvesting them from marine mammals" (wikipedia).
However, urban dictionary has another meaning which I won't even repeat here since it's kind of nasty. But I know you'll look it up out of curiosity...
On Scrimshaw's website, they say that the verb form of scrimshaw is to "waste time" (which explains the painted "Waste Time Together" on the side of their coffee bar. I couldn't find anything online to back that up though but whatever floats their boat! That also explains the cute whale graphic that graces one wall (it's name is Verne! As in Jules Verne!).
For those of us that are visual learners, Here are some examples of scrimshaw (made from the bones and teeth of sperm whales) as well as walrus tusks:
Interesting!
This particular morning we three were here before having our eventual brunch at Dunedin...
Their handpainted menu is pretty simple. They had an assortment of pastries (forgot to ask where they were from).
Accent wall at the end is a greyish blue. I like it.
Our drinks:
The design on my cortado had already dissipated by the time I took this photo. It arrived first but I waited 'til we got everything.
Chocolate almond scone:
We liked the scone which was chock full of slivered almonds and chocolate chips. It had a nice crumb to it and wasn't overly dry.
TC's Earl Grey latte, Bert's mocha latte with almond milk and my cortado (not on the menu):
My cortado was very smooth...
This was a nice intro to Scrimshaw. Beans are from Dark Horse, one of my favorite local roasters. Both of the owners were really friendly and welcoming.
TC's leftover tea in here:
On a more recent visit earlier this morning, we were here once again...
We'd just had breakfast in La Mesa (that post is forthcoming) and we were just now having our caffeine...
Chocolate chip sea salt cookie:
My macchiato (not on the menu):
Bert's cappuccino (with animal crackers; one was beheaded though):
My macchiato was pretty strong but smooth. Bert's cappuccino was quite nice. He hardly ever orders those (the last time being Cro Cafe in Oakland) but wanted something different today. The good thing is that cappuccinos don't have as much milk as lattes do and since the milk was almond, he felt okay ordering this without worrying about the uh, "side effects".
TC surprised us by ordered iced coffee. I thought she would try tea once again. This was her drink before she added A LOT of milk and sugar.
Despite her attempt at sweetening her drink, it was still too bitter for her so I ended up finishing it later, ha ha. I was glad she didn't like it. I don't want her growth to be stunted (I know, not scientifically proven) or totally wired.
The owners remembered us from last time and thanked us for coming again. They are both super nice and welcoming. Not pretentious at all. I noticed their Verne enamel pins were also relatively affordable, $7 a pin; most places charge $10-$12 each. I liked that they were able to execute the drinks I asked for even though they weren't on their menu (I knew they did them since they posted those drinks on IG).
Scrimshaw Coffee
5542 El Cajon Blvd.
San Diego CA 92115
(619) 501-2355
www.scrimshawcoffee.com/fb page + reviews from you know where
It was pretty crowded in here by the time we left. I was glad to see their business doing well. This stretch of the College District didn't have a decent coffee option previously, although farther east there is Duet Coffee and Clockwork Coffee Shoppe.
2 comments:
heehee, it's good she isn't a big coffee drinker yet. She's still young!
Yes, I'm glad she isn't taking to coffee. I was surprised she wanted to try this to be honest. She told me some of her friends actually drink coffee; a few since middle school! That's too young!
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