Sunday morning, we headed down to Eau Claire to check out a place called Cafe Blanca.

Cool place with a very modern flair and yet is very laid back. There is a small stage with a piano on it. On part of this stage there is a bunch of cushions for you to sit or lay out on. The whole environment is very relaxing. They also have a bunch of inspirational quotes on the walls.

The have open mike nights, comedy nights as well as they have guitars just sitting there just in case you feel like doing some jamming while enjoying a beverage.

The menu is not overwhelming, very easy to read.

Today we had the London Fog, my wife said it was best one she has ever had. Cafe Blanca is known for its Siphon Coffee, so I decided to try one. They are not cheap but well worth the money. If you are indeed a lover of coffee, try this, you won’t regret it.

The girl serving us suggested the Ethiopian blend, again don’t be in a hurry, the process takes about 5 – 6 minutes to get your coffee. The girl making our drinks was excellent, she explained what she was doing through the whole process. Everything is very precise, she weighed the water, and she weighed the coffee. She let me smell the ground coffee before she started. At the end she had me smell the grounds and the pot of coffee. Last thing she did was give me a small cup of the same coffee the was brewed the traditional way. The siphon coffee is so much smoother and had a lot more flavour and not bitter. This was an excellent choice and I would strongly suggest you have one when you come here. This method is from the 1800’s seen a lot in Japan. After enjoying this coffee, I immediately called my son to talk to him about this as he is a huge black coffee guy. The next time he is in Calgary, I will be bringing him here.

We didn’t try any of the food today, but we will next time.

The staff here were excellent to deal with and extremely friendly. Even after I was done my drink, the girl came over to our table to follow up with me on how everything was and what I thought about the siphon coffee.

On July 11, we are going back for the comedy night they are having. Should be fun. I look forward to our next visit.

On Saturday we were out for a drive and thought, let’s take a drive down through the East Village on our way to Bridgeland. We came across Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters as we drove by the old Simmons Mattress Building. It’s amazing this building is over 100 years old.

The Simmons Building is right on the river walk in the East Village. This whole area has been revitalized and looks amazing. There were a ton of people on bikes, people walking all over, I even seen a guy sleeping in one of the chaise lounge chairs on one of the patios along the river.

Decor is outstanding, exposed brick every where, all exposed beams, industrial vibe with a great ambience. At the back of the store was an old safe that was being used as a storage room. Across from the sales counter there is a place where they roast coffee beans. Again it is all open with huge garage door like windows.

It was an extremely busy place, everyone coming in looked pretty happy today but why wouldn’t you be happy, they were getting a caffeinated beverage.

 

There is two other restaurants in this building as well, Charbar is right beside P&S and Sidewalk Citizen Bakery is located on the back side of the building over looking the Bow River. All three business seem to work well in this great old building.

Once I walked outside the back of the building I seen there was a really cool roof top patio, but unfortunately it was closed for a private function. After leaving the building we did walk down the river walk and came across some cool artwork along the walk.

We didn’t sample any of the food today but we did enjoy a couple of beverages. we ordered the Dolce and their version of the London Fog. It had a different taste as it was sweetened with caramel instead of vanilla.

For those of you in a hurry, you may want to try out the Phil & Sebastian Express. It is a quick service cart that they put outside on the river walk on nice days. On the not so nice days it is upstairs in the Simmons Building.

Sorso Coffee Social is located in Airdrie on the corner of Yankee Valley Blvd and 8 Street SW.

This is a very cool place. The interior has a rustic charm to it, the front counter looks like it was made with some repurposed wood. There are several tables and pretty comfy chairs, which is a bonus.

I thought the kids area was a good idea, it even has a table there for parents to sit at. Great idea.

They also have an area at the back of the shop that can be closed off with a huge barn door if you wanted to have a meeting or for a larger group. The table looks like it would seat 8-10 people. Another good idea.

Sorso has a huge patio with lots of tables and a variety of seating arrangements. Again with comfy chairs. They also have a few picnic tables on the patio. Another cool idea that these have thought of is they have a dog run attached to the patio.

This is a place I could see sitting at for hours just relaxing while enjoy my beverage with my family/friends. The staff doesn’t make you feel rushed like some of the other places I have been. Speaking of the staff, the girls that were there this morning were very friendly and patient. Great Job!!

I think I have talked enough about the shop, I should tell you that we ordered the London fog and a Local Honey Latte. Both drinks were excellent and hot. We did have to request they be served in glass mugs. The drinks seem be taste better in glass mugs vs. paper cups.
They use Rosso Roasters has their House Blend and I read that they have guest blends as well which rotates through. Next time I will be checking out the Guest Blend. The Oprah picture was our number so they knew where to bring our breakfast.

The also serve a huge assortment of teas and serve an assortment of Kombucha.

 

We also order the Egg Mac Daddy breakfast sandwich. It is similar to a egg mcmuffin style sandwich but a million times better. Our sandwich’s has candied pepper bacon, an egg which was perfectly cooked and a tomayo sauce, which was excellent and paired well with the sandwich. I am not sure what tomayo sauce was but it was really good.

I noticed over in the corner that Sorso also sponsors a child.

If you were looking for a cool place to check out at night, Sorso has an assortment of wines and beers.

It is only 15 minutes from Calgary and well worth the drive.

Tonight we were sitting around after dinner and decided to head out for a beverage. Euphoria Cafe is tucked away in a little strip mall in Varsity Estates in NW Calgary just in case you aren’t sure where this place is.

It’s not a huge place but a great place to go for a coffee or whatever else you are into. Their menu has a wide assortment of hot drinks such as specialty coffees as well as juices, smoothies, gelato and bake goodies. They are also known for their waffles as mentioned in one of my previous blogs. Staff are always great to talk to, and very helpful.

This is the third or fourth time we’ve been here now and have not been disappointed with our choices. The first time we were here was during the YYC Hot Chocolate Festival, my wife wanted to try the Blue-Beary Hot Chocolate. My wife absolutely loved it.

Last couple of times I was here I had the Hedgehog Machiatto, and this time I had the Spanish Latte. My wife has stayed true to the London Fog. All of our drinks have been excellent. On one of my previous visits I tried the Bulletproff coffee which was suggested to me by a customer that was ordering one for himself. It to was a good drink.

Tonight the Cafe was extremely busy, lots of people and varying age groups. We seen a few people with their laptops out doing stuff. They do have WiFi. Tonight we sat outside to enjoy our drinks.

So if you are in the neighbourhood or even if you are not, take a few minutes and make the drive to check this place out. It is worth the drive or a ride on the LRT.

Baya Rica Cafe is located in Bridgeland in a converted old house with a Costa Rican flair. They had some cool Costa Rican masks on the walls. I remembered seeing masks like these we were in Costa Rica. There is very little parking near by, we had to park a couple of blocks away and walk. We were there fairly early so we couldn’t imagine going there later in the day. The girl that helped us was very friendly and patient with us.

Today we ordered the London Fog and a Caramel Latte. The London Fog tasted pretty good, but my Caramel Latte was lacking caramel flavour. My other issue with the drinks was that they were served in to-go cups, which seemed strange because we were having breakfast there. I am thinking the barista messed up as I seen other drink orders being served in glass mugs.

As mentioned above we ordered breakfast, we ordered the daily special which was Sweet Potato Waffles with fresh fruit. The waffles were really good, they had an interesting but good taste because of the sweet potatoes. The fruit on the waffles was an assortment of fresh berries. So good.

I also noticed that roast and sell coffee beans.

Overall we had a pretty good experience at Baya Rica Cafe. I would suggest trying this place out. There is also lots to see and do down in Bridgeland, so definitely worth the trip.

Rosso is located in the very trendy neighbourhood of Inglewood. This place has a very modern flair both inside and outside. The place was very busy. We ended up sitting way in the back of the coffee shop. There was lots of people sitting in the back with us but none of them were drinking anything. A group of students beside us discussing a project, but again no drinks. There was also a huge sectional couch at the front of the shop that seats about 8 people.

We ordered the Chai Latte and a Sweet Latte, a sweet latte is a regular latte and is sweetened with honey. Then the barista told me they couldn’t make it for me because they had ran out of honey. So i decided to go with the regular latte. No wait says the barista, our shipment of honey just showed up. So guess what, I was getting the Sweet Latte. When the drinks arrived, instead of a saucer under the cup, the drinks were served on little planks of wood. Very cool.

I think their drink menu is a little limited compared to what I seen at other shops. They do sell pastries, juices and beans as well.

Overall, I really like the place. Beverages were great tasting. Could have been a little hotter. Staff were very friendly and helpful. Would like to go back and try some food at a later date.

Just finished work and in need of a beverage. So we decided to check out London Fog Cafe, it’s located at the corner of Heritage Drive and Macleod Trail. It’s kind of tucked away in a strip mall there. It is a little Mom & Pop place and the pride of ownership shows. The staff were very friendly and helpful. It has a very casual atmosphere.

 

Today we ordered the London Fog of course and we also ordered a Vanilla Latte. The drinks were brought out to us very quickly and within a few minutes later we received the food that we ordered. Drinks were very good.

The food we ordered was the “special of the day”, which was a Turkey Cheddar sandwich and a bowl of Chunky Chicken Potato soup. All food was made right in front of you. The food was reasonably priced, and was excellent.

They had a ton of fresh baked goods in the display case and looked really good.

While we were eating our lunch, we had 2 different staff members stop by to ensure everything was good and to see if we needed anything. Then as soon as I was finished my meal, they came by and picked up the dirty dishes, and looking around any open tables were clean and ready for customers.

This place is what you think a Mom & Pop small cafe should be like, with Mom & Pop working behind the counter. Cool little place.

If you want a relaxing place to go and sit back and enjoy a beverage, come here. You won’t be disappointed. I will coming back and try “The Famous Eggy Bagel”.

We are at Yew Street and West 4th at the corner location of Forty Ninth Parallel. This location has public parking, which was very nice since we are driving a F150. There was rules to follow before entering the cafe.

This location also sells Lucky Donuts, which I hear are very good. The cool thing about this location is in their “greenhouse” seating area there is garage style window doors. It is nice open on a hot day like today.

 

They have a wide variety of different types of coffee and teas. This is a cafe that definitely will appeal to any level of coffee/tea connoisseur.

We ordered an Americano, a London Fog, a Venezuelan, and a Vanilla Latte.

If you are feeling like you would like some Forty-Ninth Parallel swag they sell t-shirts and hats.  As a nice souvenir I purchased one of their Large Mugs.

This morning we listened to my daughters friend Nicolas and go to Kafka’s. It is located on Main and Broadway in Mount Pleasant.

The cafe is not that big, 12 tables, they have a good selection of beverages and food. This morning we ordered a Spanish Latte and two London Fogs.

As for the food we got a White Chocolate Raspberry Oatmeal muffin and a Chocolate Chip Sea Salt Cookie. Both are delicious. The cookie had a nice hint of salt in every bite and the muffin has a very strong raspberry taste to it, but still very yummy.

The best part about this little cafe is that the whole front area has sliding windows, so they can completely open the front of the cafe to the street. This would be nice on a very hot day.

All the art on the walls were for sale and very beautiful. One of my favourites was by Bill Wilkinson called Together. You could rent it for $60 a month or buy it for $1,950.