Coffee

A few other notable small food stops in Chicago that I’d recommend based on this past weekend: Heritage Coffee and Bicycle Shop-- just a great atmosphere, good people, excellent espresso shots and sour cherry lemonade, some bike accessories to browse (and a full repair shop). Do-Rite Donuts -- the meyer lemon / pistachio cake donut was delicious, and perfectly cooked (moist fully-cooked cake center, slightly crispy outside). There were also many people in line for their next batch of gluten-free donuts. ...

Quick summary: If you’re in Tokyo and you like coffee, you should really go to Be A Good Neighbor in Sendagaya near Harajuku. A cozy little kiosk with just a window counter, several different varieties of beans you can smell, moderately lightly roasted, and very friendly people. He asked what kind of flavors I like in my coffee and I said “citrus”, and he made me a great drip. I noted the Dandelion Chocolate from San Francisco and then we talked about Four Barrel, they gave me a free pin, and suggested which other coffeehouses (third-wave and traditional Japanese) to visit. ...

Another food-inspired trip to Portland (Oregon) with friends. We ate well. In a few quick cell phone photos: Highlights: Evoe: This place still blows me away. I wish I could cook this effortlessly, casually well. Two chefs at a counter with a simple stove, fresh ingredients, and simple delicious plates prepared to order. Charred greens with egg and anchovy. Piperade (a Basque dish of peppers and onions topped with a soft egg yolks). A salad made from translucently-sliced thin raw squash, soft cheese, and good olive oil. Peach-speck-purslane. Two types of peppers, sauteed with salt. ...

I was tired of the bland-coffee-plus-lots-of-sweetened-condensed-milk I’d had in Asia so far, so I looked up a more interesting cafe when in Hong Kong. Via a google search to this coffeegeek.com thread, I heard about Rabbithole Coffee & Roasters… and what a successful morning that was. It’s part coffee equipment showroom, part roastery, part place to drink a coffee (with just a few seats along a shared table and a few more on a back patio). ...

I suddenly had to go to Istanbul for a few days (long story). So, of course, I have to fit in some eating: People were drinking Turkish tea in small clear glasses with a lump of sugar everywhere I went. In the Grand Bazaar, I’d see delivery people running around with trays of 5 or 6 glasses of it. I finally happened on a tiny tea stand in the market where the runners were picking it up: ...