Encinitas with Superman - Iron Smith Roasters, breakfast at Honey's Bistro & Bakery + drinks from Philz Coffee

Earlier today I hung out with my good friend Superman.

A drive up North was in order...

Coffee revisits: Cafe Virtuoso, Hawthorn, Moniker and Butler's

Just a consolidationm post of recent revisits to various coffee places...

Cafe Virtuoso in Barrio Logan is one of our favorites.

You may want to try this place in the near future especially since it is literally a few steps away from the new (and not yet built or opened) Roscoe's Chicken and Waffle...

Ironsmith Coffee Roasters

Our quick jaunt to Moonlight Beach came to a close...

as we admire this vibrant hibiscus bloom somewhere along D Street.

Around the corner from the Encinitas arch was yet another coffee shop we wanted to try...

Return to Moonlight Beach

At the very end of D Street in Encinitas is this flight of stairs...

which is the D Street entrance to the poetically named beach below...

Moonlight Yogurt & Ice

Down the hill from the Lofty Coffee Roasting Works was the Encinitas arch...

and right next to it, on the north western corner near the arch was this small yogurt shop named after the beach a few blocks away...

Lofty Encinitas Roasting Works

Next door to the Rhino Art Co. was the roasting facility for Lofty Coffee,

Lofty Encinitas Roasting Works...

Rhino Art Co

They sure like the Surfing Madonna here in Encinitas...

This rendition was on a banner, just a few few steps aware from the actual mosaic piece at the Leucadia Pizza Company...

Last time we were here, we noticed this art store across the street from Lofty Coffee...

and figured today was as good as any to check it out...

Leucadia Pizza Company

While our pastries from the Carlsbad Danish Baking Co. weren't so great this time around (with the exception of the chocolate almond pretzel), we were hoping to have better luck later that day...

In this case lunch down in Encinitas. Here's a tip, try to find free parking at the train station lot on the conrer of Vulcan and Encinitas Blvd....

Lofty Coffee Co.

Right on the N. Coast Hwy, just a few blocks away from the infamous Surfing Madonna mosaic was this rather newish live/work complex...

which houses the Lofty Coffee Co. on the bottom floor...

I hadn't had any coffee yet that day and wanted to try this place out in our quest to try many of San Diego's coffee joints...

The Red Velvet Cupcake Taste-Off!

After having carbs with those pizza slices, we had...uh...more carbs and sugar to boot! Yikes!

This past weekend was the Epic Red Velvet Cupcake tasting organized by Mary of This Tasty Life...
We were instructed to buy two cupcakes from assigned bakeries and then bring 'em to our meetup spot...

Sub Zero Ice Cream

Our day was not complete until we tried some dessert...

which was still in Encinitas, but just a few minutes more inland, to a place the serves ice cream in a unique way...

The Surfing Madonna

A pleasant surprise that day was coming across the infamous Surfing Madonna...

which was actually on our itinerary (yes, I had one, cough cough)...

ROCQ Macarons from Whole Foods, Encinitas

Supe was nice enough to go with me to get some macs from Whole Foods across the street...

Whole Foods is a place I hardly ever go to. It's pricey and the stores are out of my way. But holy $#@&, they had macs from ROCQ, which was like a siren call to me...

Moonlight Beach

Before going to our next destination. we took a short stroll along S. Coast HWY 101 with Supe...

I wanted to check out some of the shops and window displays...

The walk was also an excuse to walk off our lunch! Supe also wanted to show us his favorite beach...

Solace & the Moonlight Lounge

From Vista, we headed back down the 5 to get to this beach side community...

We were going to meet our good friend Superman for lunch at a venue of his choice...