Euro Crepe Cafe on the Danforth

Thought about going to Tim H's this morning, but instead I decided to try out a random cafe on the Danforth (582 near Pape).

When I lived on this street I must have walked by this place many times, but never went in. It's a cool little Mom & Pop place. The friendly owner was sitting on the patio in front when I approached the shop.

I ordered a double espresso and grabbed a seat - they have table service. It was cool, the owner was running the place solo. He brought me my espresso, a variety of sugars and a glass of ice water. You just pay before you leave. The espresso was pretty good and I'm wired now, so double plus.

Besides the neat euro-inspired decor, this place has a unique Coca-Cola fridge by the cash register. It's really tall and narrow - stocked with Coke products that are all in glass bottles. I was thinking imported, but I bought a Coke and it said on the bottle it's made here - go figure! Love it.

Well, this place is known for it's crepes, I didn't try one though as I am still stuffed from breakfast. Next time I visit I'll be sure to order a nutella one... yum yum.

Van Houtte - French Roast

In Quebec Van Houtte is a well-known name and I recall seeing their cafes dotting the downtown core of Montreal.

If you work in an office that has self serve coffee you may have heard of these guys too because they supply many an office with their caffeine fix.
Usually, I found that drinking Van Houtte office coffee black wasn't all that great compared to the real Van Houtte coffee I experienced in Montreal.

However, the grocery store offering of Van Houtte French Dark Roast lives up to the cafe brew. It's 100% Arabica beans and price wise is a deal - 750g (1.65lb) at around $14.

This coffee is hearty and robust. It's well balanced though out and doesn't leave an overwhelming after taste. I detect some slight spicy-ness and the flavour is equally rounded on the pallet. I give this one 4 out of 5 stars.

I paired it up with a tasty bran spice muffin compliments of Mom - a great match!

Red Rocket Coffee

I was wandering around the Church/Wellesley neighbourhood today and noticed that I new cafe will be opening shortly in the Tridel VERVE condo (Wood and Wellesley).

This is location #2 for these guys as they have a shop over on Queen St East.

Sounds like it will be a cool little place, I only wish they were locating on Church St. proper because there are no indie cafes in that area (except Bull Dog which is south of Carlton).

http://www.redrocketcoffee.com/

Cafe Mania on Yonge

Cafe Mania @ 605 Yonge Street opened last fall and I have been meaning to get to it since.

Overall impression: really good.

We were impressed with the decor and the americanos were delicious. The staff was friendly and pleasant even though it was after 10pm as well. I must say I really like what they have done with the space - it feels very modern and chic - classy. They have table service which was nice.

Another great alternative to the chains - check this one out!

Soy in my coffee?

I am a strong believer in drinking coffee black so that it's possible to gauge the quality and taste profile of the blend. But, obviously many people add things to their coffee or order this concoction called a 'double-double' so their coffee resembles more of a mix drink.

Sometimes we can get impatient and don't want to wait for our black coffee to cool down to a drinkable temperature. Many times this has happened to me and I add milk to my coffee simply for the purpose of getting my much needed caffeine hit faster!

Well, last week I discovered a great (and less expensive) lactose free alternative to cream/half and half.... Silk for Coffee! I got the French Vanilla flavour, but it's also available in 'Regular'. This is a great product, it's very creamy and yummy! I have added regular soy milk to my coffee before and it really doesn't do my drink any justice. Haha this sounds like a paid plug for Silk, but seriously I just like this stuff, so go BUY it now!

Bull Dog Coffee

A great thing about living in a city is that many people run on coffee, so here in Toronto we have no shortage of cafes. Each neighbourhood seems to have their collection of great independently operated shops and of course all of the chains try to get in as well. The Church/Wellesley village where I call home is in dire need of some fresh, new cafes.

Thankfully, one indy has held on, even when the area's Letieri recently closed up. Back in 2007, Bull Dog Coffee (Granby/Church Sts) was made over when it was featured on the food network's Restaurant Makeover program. It's a quant (crammed) cafe, that is absolutely devoted to the coffee. Typically, the place is jammed with people, though the patio offers some great additional seating. This place has won countless awards for its employees' participation in latte art competitions and the last time I was in I noticed a framed recognition certificate from KRUPS on the wall - not too shabby!

The house specialty is the the Bull Dog drink - it's like a latte, with a twist. I don't know what the twist is, but I like the mystery behind it. This place creates the real cafe experience to me, check it out sometime!

Dark Horse Espresso Bar

Hands down, this is my favourite coffee place in the city!

I have yet to visit store no. 1 (Queen East), however this location at Spadina hits the nail on the head in many ways - a great combination of atmosphere, coffee aroma, and friendly staff. And the espresso is really good too.

Dark Horse offers the best of both worlds - quick 'to go' service for people in a rush and a nice space for those that want to hang out.

I really like how they have the upper seating space that allows guests to observe the staff working their coffee magic. And the large work tables at the front make a lot of sense for lap top users. No computer charger cords to trip over here.

I'm all about ordering black americano coffee ($3) these days and I really enjoy the espresso from Dark Horse - it's caramelly-sweet and has awesome aroma - perfect. I give this one a 5/5!

Now, I need to visit the original store.