Extreme Coffee Freak

It’s Friday night and we are off checking out some local entertainment and cuisine. We are down in Inglewood at their Night Market. This market has been going on since 2013.

There is a ton of local vendors down here peddling their wears, ranging from jewelry, baked goods, hand made crafts, artwork, and some bands were performing on the stage.

They had a ground level stage set up in the yard at Crown Army Surplus where you could go to grab a beer and watch a variety of bands performing there.

There was also a variety of Calgary’s Food Trucks there and they were extremely busy.

Of course there were a couple of coffee vendors. I stopped by Calgary Heritage Roasting Company and talked with one of the guys. They are a local vendor roasting coffee beans in Bridgeland. In talking with these guys, they were very knowledgeable about what they were doing. I did purchase some beans that were roasted today. I can’t wait to start grinding these up, the beans smell amazing.

We decided to go back to Gravity Café for some food and of course a beverage. Tonight they were serving a couple of dishes, one was pork meatballs in a tomato dill sauce with naan bread and the other was a chicken and mushroom balti curry with rice and naan bread. Both dishes were excellent. The drinks we ordered were the Chai Tea Latte and a Dolce. They too were excellent as usual.

We enjoyed sitting on their patio, eating, drinking and people watching. It was crazy to see how many people have dogs. While people watching we seen multiple generations enjoying this event. Funniest thing I saw this evening and I wish I had taken a picture. It was a woman with 2 dogs strapped to here. I mean in strapped to her, one on her back and one on her chest. Funny thing is that the dogs looked like they were actually enjoying the ride.

Sunday morning and we are off again searching out cool coffee shops. Today we decided to head downtown to check out Bumpy’s Café. It’s located just off 11th Ave & 8th Street SW.

When we entered Bumpy’s we were greeted by one of the staff members, who asked if we had any questions, she obviously knew we new to their shop. The shop has a cool vibe to it and very eclectic. There was lots of interesting stuff on the walls. I did like that the patio was located on the side of the building and not right on 8th Street, you could actually sit there and have a conversation with friends.

After checking out their menu, we decided to go with the London Fog and the Café Mocha (something new for me). The drinks were excellent.

We also decided to have breakfast, we ordered the BLT bagel and the breakfast Panini, we had to wait a few minutes only because we also ordered the Rhubarb Crisp Muffin, which was just getting ready to come out of the oven, and believe me was worth the wait. Later while we were eating, the same girl that met us inside came outside to check up on us to see how things were, she told us that the Rhubarb Crisp Muffin is called the Crack muffin by the regulars and I can see why. I debated buying another. Just so you know, when these fresh baked muffins are gone, they are gone for the day. So sad. Also, you should know that everything is made in house and is very reasonably priced and all the food was outstanding.

They also sell an assortment of syrups and different coffee beans for your grinding pleasure.

While we were there, the place got very busy and then I think a whole shift of firemen arrived for coffee and invaded the place.

I would strongly suggest this place to everyone. You got to go eat and drink here! Hopefully I won’t get in trouble for using that line.

On June 4 2016 we decided to go on a little road trip to Red Deer to meet up with some friends from St. Albert. So we thought we would meet half way and take in some lunch and of course, hit up a coffee shop while we were there. While doing some research on the shops in Red Deer, we came across a few and Dose was one of them.

 

A colleague from work ,who now lives in Red Deer, told me to check this place out, so we thought why not. There is a bunch of cool shops downtown nearby Dose to check out. If you are in the market for a tattoo, this is where you want to be as there is a ton of tattoo shops all over the area. We arrived at Dose and from the outside it look like a quaint little place with a few tables and umbrellas out on the sidewalk for you to sit down and enjoy your drink.

We order cold drinks, as it was about 26 degrees outside. We ordered a Dulce and an Orange Cordial. The Orange Cordial was basically an Italian soda that had some flowers on top, presentation was quite nice, but could have used a bit more orange flavoring in it. This was the same for the Dulce, could have used a bit more caramel in it. What is strange about this is that the friend that recommended this place said that his Mocha was the same, lacking flavor, could have used another shot of chocolate. I also bought some coffee beans from them, they were roasted in Barcelona. The flavor was what intrigued me, Raspberry, Honey and Spices. It was a bit expensive at $25 for the bag.

The guys working here were a bit quirky and were a bit difficult to understand at times.

The inside of Dose had some cool artwork and this funky hanging orchid on the wall.

 

At the end of the day and if I was in Red Deer again, I would check out other shops I read about and probably would not go back to Dose Coffee Company, sorry guys.

 

 

 

 

It was a beautiful day to be out on a patio again enjoying a caffeinated beverage. So we went down to Higher Ground Café down in Kensington right next to a Starbucks. I would like to make a suggestion and that would be to walk past the Starbucks and go here instead. There was a very eclectic bunch of people there today that all had the same idea, and for your entertainment today, we were also able to watch the runners cruise by that were involved in the Calgary Marathon.

The outside of Higher Ground is deceiving because it looks like a small place but when you go inside to order you drinks is another story. The place is quite trendy with lots of seating. There was lots of cool artwork on the walls. If you are lucky enough to get a window seat, it is a great place for people watching, we chose the patio today.

Lets talk about the menu, it’s huge and I mean huge. There was lots of selection of regular drinks along with a good selection of specialty drinks.

Today I went off that beaten path ordering the Mt. Everest specialty coffee, which contained espresso, steamed milk, Irish cream and whipped cream, very tasty. We also ordered a London Fog. All their coffee and tea is organic and free trade. They also sell whole beans there for you to take home and grind yourself. Again with trying something new, we ordered the Toasted Banana Walnut Bread, that’s right toasted banana bread, I would say more grilled as it had grill marks on it, which gave it a little crunch, this was excellent and would suggest you try this when you go here. The banana bread came with a cinnamon brown sugar spread that added to the flavor of the banana bread. We also order a Lemon, cranberry muffin, which was also good.

Higher Ground Café also has their own version of a customer card called coffee cash, for you to load up. Excellent idea.

If you are looking for more of a breakfast, there is a great little restaurant downstairs called The Daily. The barista recommended it to us. They serve breakfast all day. Everyone loves breakfast for lunch and dinner.

Bottom line the service and selection were outstanding and I will be going back to this place and so should you. You won’t be disappointed.

Hi Everyone, what a great way to start my day, going to Purple Perk Coffee Market down in the Mission area on 4th Street SW. I thought Purple Perk was a stylish café with a mix of old and new decor and I thought it was an excellent place to just hang out with a friend/spouse or even by yourself.

Delicious drinks today, had the London Fog and a Vanilla Latte. We also decided to have breakfast while we were there.

We both ordered the Eggs Benedict. Purple Perk is very generous with the food; our Benedict came with 3 eggs instead of the standard 2. It came with chunky hash brown potatoes that were cooked in a BBQ type sauce that had a little kick to it. The food was excellent and was reasonable priced. The service was great as well.

The baked goods in the display case looked good, but breakfast was the food of choice this morning. There was lots of people coming by and getting food to go as well.

As it was a gorgeous morning we sat out on the patio and people/car watched. While looking down 4^th in either direction, it appeared all patios were loaded up as well.

I did get a chuckle with Purple Perk’s front door that had a couple of guidelines on it for entry into the market.

Just wanted to throw this little gem at all of you out there, not a coffee place but we have this restaurant/pub out in northwest Calgary in the community of Evanston. It has been open for a few months now and is getting more and more popular with the locals. Its great to have a place so close to home that serves great food with lots of beer and wine on tap.

There has to be at least 20 TV’s in the place and not a bad seat in the house. This includes the patio where they are just in the process of installing 2 TV’s.

Tonight was wing night at the Pour. Cheap wings always a fan favorite (40 cent wings). We have been to the Pour several times and have not been let down with the quality and taste of the food. The have food and drink specials every night of the week. Honestly I think we have been there for most of them. I would check out their website at www.pourbeer.ca for the daily specials.

 

 

Hello everyone, today we visited Vendome Café in historic Sunnyside. The building they are located in was built back in 1912 and has been completely restored back to its original appearance.

The inside of Vendome has a rustic feel with lots of mirrors on the walls with 3 distinct rooms with tables in them. When you walk in the door, you stand in line to order your food and beverages. The kitchen is wide open for all to see while they are preparing your food. Once you get to the till, you order and then the challenge lies in finding yourself a table, no hostess here. Once we found our table, within 5 minutes are drinks arrived.

Today we ordered a vanilla latte, a matcha latte and a hot chocolate. All drinks were hot and tasted great. Within 10 minutes or so our food arrived, we ordered the classic eggs benedict, the French toast bread pudding (spin on French toast) and the buttermilk waffles. All food was excellent.

 

A few other things to mention is they do have a patio, it was a bit to cool outside today but there was a couple of brave souls sitting outside enjoying a coffee and a square. They offer live music on Thursday nights in May and also have free Wi-Fi.

 

Hello Coffee Fans, we are at Cadence Cafe in Bowness which is in NW Calgary.

This afternoon we ordered a Vanilla latte, a London Fog, and a hot chocolate as well as a few pastries. Beverages were extremely hot which is a change from the some of the other places I have been lately. Was slightly disappointed with the hot chocolate as it didn’t have a lot of flavor. The rest of the drinks were delicious.

 

The décor here is very retro diner-ish and is like stepping back in time. Tables and chairs look like they are from the fifties. Very cool. Staff were very friendly. Lots of people here including people with kids enjoying coffee and having breakfast which it appears they serve all day. I will be definitely coming back for breakfast since the food I have seen come out from the kitchen looks outstanding.

We seen on one of the walls, I seen they have a board where you can choose a drink for free if you are down on your luck or short a couple of bucks. The only stipulation is that you pay it forward at some other time.

Lastly, just want to let you know that there is no WI-FI.

Good Morning to all of you out there. We thought we would start our day at Gravity Espresso & Wine Bar in Inglewood. This is quite a cool place, rustic with an industrial flair.

Gravity also offers live music on the weekends. On May 26^th they are having a singer/songwriter showcase and on June 9^th and 30^th. I think it would be really cool to come down here and enjoy the nightlife at Gravity and support the local talent while enjoying a glass of wine/coffee and a cheese plate.

Our drinks and food just arrived at our table. We ordered the following: a Hot Chocolate, a Dolce and a Chia Tea Latte. All drinks were excellent, I originally ordered the Vanilla Latte but unfortunately they had run out of vanilla syrup, no biggie. No big deal, I went with the Dolce and it is excellent.

Now on to the food, we ordered a cheese bun, a back bacon & apple panni and a yogurt parfait. The panni is a great choice. The parfait was also really good and served in a mason jar, cool touch.

On a side note I Gravity also offers a loyalty program, buy 9 drinks and get the tenth free.