Accompanying me this particular morning was a former co-worker and friend...
She was down for exploring a new place and she didn't mind leaving super early in the morning. Since it was a holiday week, there was NO TRAFFIC at all on the freeways, which was great.
The Grounds Bean Bar opened last Fall and serves coffee, various pastries and the now ubiquitous toast. It's also quite lovely inside (and even outside with the spray painted scattered hearts wall). The wall paper reminded me of the botanical/jungle theme featured inside Holy Matcha. The bar tiles were a black and white geometric design. The gold accents and vintage looking bar ware added to the visual appeal.
Their menu changes with the seasons. The toast my friend originally wanted was no longer offered (peaches were no longer in season) so she chose something else.
Cafe Bonbom - served in a ceramic cup with no handles. A mini bowl really. No clear glass as shown on their IG which featured the espresso and milk layers beautifully, but no worries this time.
Her Dirty chai latte - also served in the same type of vessel.
I usually roll with two drinks, so my second was a Macchiato, served with a dollop of foamed milk ("macchiato" is Italian for "marked").
We enjoyed our drinks here plus the servers were really friendly as well.
The spread:
Strawberries + fig with lemon honey ricotta and balsamic reduction:
Avocado toast with sprouts, watermelon radish and edible flowers (the chopped mint was given to us later because the server forgot to put it on; the mint didn't look as fresh as it could have to be honest)
Frankentoast! It was fun sharing these lovely and actually decent tasting toasts.
I liked my friend's toast better than mine since the strawberries and figs went well together. My avocado toast was pretty but missing some meat, ha ha. Bacon please.
I loved the groovy shell lamp in the corner. I think a lot of Filipino families in the 70's had one of these.
Cool wall but bad lighting this early in the morning.
The very next day, I went again to the Grounds Bean Bar. Isn't vacation great? This time, I went with my good friend D as well as Bert (we went after our morning coffee + pre-breakfast snack at the newly opened West Bean Coffee in Bankers Hill). D had recently hurt her knee and asked if Bert could drive her new car, which was a hybrid Lexus. Of course, he didn't mind and I have to say, it was a pretty damn smooth ride inside and out.
So here I was again, with the ulterior motive of trying even more toasts on their menu, heh heh.
Our morning drinks + toasts:
Grounds avocado toast with prosciutto (D's choice):
Bert's Lox toast with pickled onion, tomatoes and cream cheese with capers:
My toast with chick pea mash, whole chickpeas, edible flowers and roasted red pepper. This was one huge slice of bread cut into fourths.
Of the toasts, I liked the prosciutto the best, followed by the lox. My chickpea toast with flowers was okay. I could do without the flowers and the pubey sprouts on my food too.
Our drinks - white mocha, turmeric ginger latte and regular mocha:
They like using these bowls. I would have preferred a cup with a handle. Since these were lattes, there was a lot of milk (or milk subs in our cases) in here. Bert's mocha and D's white variation were pretty good and much much better tasting than mine.
Sucker that I was, I wanted to get something that looked "different"; the coconut milk ginger turmeric latte was a bright saffron yellow color. There are touted health benefits to drinking this concoction. Turmeric has "anti-inflammatory" properties but health benefits or not, I couldn't get past the super strong ginger presence. It seemed too savory to be in a drink. The turmeric, while adding brilliant color to the drink, had a wierd taste I can't really pinpoint. For folks who like "warming" drinks, they would like this, but for me, despite saving it and trying it as a cold drink the next day, that would be a big old "NO".
Sorry, golden latte = gross. But wow, look at that lovely stamp design on the cup! Cute place serving a variety of drinks (tea too!).
Articles
"A new coffee spot to celebrate National Coffee Day" Coffee in San Diego, Sept. 28, 2017
"The Grounds Bean Bar is Baside's go to sport for coffee, toast and more" Fitt, Sept. 2017
The Grounds Bean Bar
1571 La Playa Ave
San Diego, CA 92109
(858) 230-7188
There is no website but here is their fb page + reviews from you know where
Maybe in the spring they will change up their toast choices with something seasonal but I think I've had enough of bougie toast for now. For those that know me and my breakfast habits, this is pretty much an anomaly. This was "research" I tell you! Seriousy, I am so predictable. It's either Chicken Fried Steak (CFS) if I'm feeling decadent, or my old standby, eggs/potatoes/meat in some shape or form + toast (the normal kind).
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