Espresso for what ails you...

Yes, espresso drinks do help when you have a cold. Here I am at Angry Catfish trying this theory out on a Gibraltar...

A Quixoticatingly Rainy Day!

Screw the weather and bring on the fine espresso. I dripped into Quixotic today for some 2 espresso. Gordon pulled one long and one short and they were both long on taste and that's not the short and long of it. Fabulous taste, coating the tongue, creamy, thick and delicious they stayed with me long after the rains quit. Wait! They haven't quit yet... Wow...

The espresso was so fine I had to do justice to this place with my photos!

A Return to Sources - Kopplin's

After all my trips to ACF, Quixotic and Bull Run it was time I returned to the first place I ever had great espresso in the Twin Cities. And I was not disappointed. There was a sign on the door stating that Kopplin's would be closed on the 25th so Andrew could get married. Good for him! He pulled two awesome shots and I settled in for my ritual back where it all began... Ahhhhh

espresso con crap

Hey, if the espresso tastes like crap (see my latest posts on state of Twin Cities coffee houses) then try espresso con leche, wasn't that bad. But man I wish North Minneapolis and St. Paul had just one decent espresso bar. I mean c'mon, I can't drive south every time!

Purple Onion in Dinkytown

Friends don't let friends drink bad espresso!

That's why I took Terry to Quixotic to have 2 espressos and 2 Gibraltars. Excellent and first rate as always!

Gaze into it long enough and you'll get lost in it's perfection...

Time for other coffee houses to start catching up!

There was a time I was fairly satisfied with many coffee houses and their espresso, but that time is long gone. It was all brought home yesterday when I stopped into one of my regular espressos stops and said "no way!" The problem (or problems) is that though they have the best of intentions they're still dreadfully behind the espresso times. The Cimbali machine? The Elektra? Equipment is old or out of date. And longo shots? Make it ristretto unless I ask for a longo. These espressos are too watery, with not enough oils, viscosity or flavor. I keep likening it to Turkish coffee (which can be good, don't get me wrong). But if I want Turkish coffee I'll order it. Also, stop buying the run of the mill Alakef espresso or the B and W Del Sol crap. It's so ordinary. Yes, it's fair trade and organic and whatever. I could go on, but I already feel harsh (like most of the espresso I get in these houses). We have excellent places like Bull Run, Kopplin's, Angry Catfish and the newly opened Quixotic making the rest of these places look out of date. I appreciate the fact coffee has come a long way in the Twin Cities, but when places like Kopplin's and the like are raising the bar so high eventually you can't go back to ordinary, antiquated equipment, beans and skills. It's time for the other coffee houses to catch up...

Anodyne and 2 Turkish coffee espressos... hmmm, what to do? Well, enjoy the rest of the place. The ambiance, the food are fantastic!

I'm on a Gibraltar kick

Derek at Bull Run found out what a Gibraltar was today. And on the first try he nailed it! Nicely done dude... Check out his technique...

Feeling the pulse at Angry Catfish

Sinatra, espresso, bikes, chillin on a beautiful day. Met Gordon manager at Quixotic, a swell transplant from Chicago. Really enjoy the people I meet while making my espresso rounds...

Janine's in the Warehouse District - "You won't like me..."

Stopped in to Janine's on 1st Street North in the Warehouse District of Minneapolis. They use the usual B and W Cafe Del Sol espresso which I've never been impressed with and an Electra espresso machine and the results are far less than extraordinary, or ordinary for that matter... More like a strong black Turkish coffee, but not espresso. Bitter but no pleasant aftertaste, no crema to speak of. Ouch people ouch...

They say a picture tells a thousand words, well... check out the machiatto...

My expression says it all

Specialty Ground Coffee House in La Crosse, WI. Alekev dirt in your mouth...

The Week of Gibraltars!

This week I started branching out ordering one regular espresso (ristretto of course) and one espresso based drink, this time a Gibraltar. I started at Quixotic and loved it so much I thought I'd have Adam try his hand at Angry Catfish. Both times a smashing success! A Gibraltar is really just a tiny latte -- espresso, milk, and a bit of foam, brilliant...

Here Adam serves up his creation...

The finished artwork...

I was also impressed at the difference between the Madcap and Intelligentsia espressos. Madcap at Quixotic was dark and dense, with an amazing deep red crema and the Intelligentsia at Catfish was bright, lively and intense. Loved them both. The quality of coffeehouses is really starting to climb in the Twin Cities. I even heard from Adam that Bull Run was opening a new coffeehouse in Calhoun Square in October. Keep pushing the envelope guys!