I wanted us to try this place I read about prior to our trip...
ToV Coffee, which is located near a food pod (which includes the cleverly named food cart, "Fried Egg I'm in Love"; TC didn't quite get the Cure reference at first) which has a food themed graffiti wall near their seating area.
ToV Coffee Bar is Portland's only Egyptian coffee bar in a double decker bus (which according to the article linked at the end of the post, was a former tour bus from San Diego!). Due to the rainy nature of the Pacific Northwest, the owner covered the PVC pipe frame with plastic tarp.
Let's go in shall we?
And when you do walk in, your senses are completely enveloped by the authentic decor, which has all been imported from the owner's home country, Egypt. The interior of the bus is a Princely purple as well, which I really loved seeing.
The owner was a very nice guy who was running the espresso machine and going up and down the narrow staircase to serve his customers. All without spilling a drop.
He served traditional espresso drinks as well as those with a cultural twist.
We ordered a few of ToV's specialties. One the tray, Turkish coffee for Bert, and hidde, a small piece of Turkish delight. In the blue cup, a spicy mocha for us to share. I ordered the Sahlep, a milky rice based drink topped with coconut and crushed pistachios. Originally sahlep is made from ground orchid roots but he uses rice for this drink. We also ordered the falafel croissant which he said, the filling was made by his mother.
Sahlep - More milky than what I'm used to. This is a popular drink in Turkey. I don't think any places down in San Diego make this, so I definitely wanted to try it. I also enjoyed the eye shaped saucer and the Egyptian cup.
The mocha had a kick to it due to the spice powder in there. TC chose to sketch in her art book while we enjoyed the ambiance at ToV. The Turkish coffee was presented served in a "cevze", the handled container with a small spout. The Turkish delight was nice but I was wishing there was more than one piece, ha ha. If you haven't had Turkish coffee before, it's very strong and very silty due to the finely ground coffee. You are not supposed to drink it down to the last drop because you will end up drinking the grounds sludge. So don't do it, ha ha.
Not our drinks, but a photo I quickly snapped when the owner placed these on the front counter. Such cool ceramic ware!
As for the falafel croissant,...Bert liked it more than I did. The croissant itself was nice and flaky and was drizzled with what I think was a hummus cream. I didn't really like the filling. I wanted to like it since the owner's mother made it, but it was not a flavor combination I care for. I'm still glad I gave it a try since it was a unique offering.
Here's a short video I found which gives a nice overview of the coffee place and the owner.
Articles/mentions:
"ToV Coffee & Tea" by KristiDoesPDX, JUne 2017
"Best coffee I've ever had..." MercyCorpsNW (no date given but the first comment to the article was dated Jan. 2016)
"Portland's most innovative new coffee shops" OregonLive, March 2017. (There are five listed; we went to three. I've already posted on Never Coffee Lab; Deadstock is still to come)
and the most recent blurb:
"Joe Nazir - Owner of Tov Coffee, Portland, Oregon" PDX People, Feb. 2018
ToV Coffee House
3207 SE Hawthorne (SE 32nd St & Hawthorne)
Portland OR 97214
(514) 908-2555
www.tovcoffee.com + reviews from you know where
As seen on the same street, but blocks away..., the Bagdad Theater
"Black Panther" was still going strong...
and this eatery, Nick's Famous Coney Island?
We would be eating there in a day or two!
Next up, comics and coffee!
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