CoffeeGeek - Espresso: General Discussion, Restaurant Espresso Experience

Espresso: General Discussion
Restaurant Espresso Experience

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GaryH
Senior Member

Joined: 24 Oct 2003
Posts: 2,526
Location: San Jose California
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Isomac Zaffiro
Grinder: Macap M4 Doserless
Vac Pot: none
Drip: yes
Roaster: none

Posted Fri Dec 23, 2011, 4:10pm Subject: Re: Restaurant Espresso Experience

Seared scallops were a bit chewy, but overall a nice entree. (Click for larger image)

GaryH
Senior Member

Posted Fri Dec 23, 2011, 4:11pm Subject: Re: Restaurant Espresso Experience

Lunch was good, but not great. I really did enjoy eating at the Palace Hotel though. I had to try an espresso, besides it's "only" $6. Waiter told me they use pods (better be good pods). Nope. Add a sugar cube to make the espresso drinkable. Warm sugar water with coffee flavoring. Yum! The photo of the espresso looks a bit odd, but the "crema" on the espresso consisted of tiny bubbles which broke up quickly showing the black coffee underneath. (Click for larger image)

dana_leighton
Moderator

Joined: 11 Jan 2002
Posts: 1,677
Location: Scranton, PA
Expertise: I live coffee

Espresso: Isomac Relax; Caferina...
Grinder: Macap MXK; Baratza Vario-W;...
Vac Pot: Yama 5-cup
Drip: Technivorm; CCD; Melitta
Roaster: Poppery I w/PID controller

Posted Fri Dec 23, 2011, 4:16pm Subject: Re: Restaurant Espresso Experience

GaryH Said: Espresso Posted December 23, 2011 link Ummm... There is something seriously wrong with that "crema," isn't there? It looks gelatinous and gloppy.

Dana Leighton - Espresso hack and CoffeeGeek moderator

GaryH
Senior Member

Posted Sun Jan 1, 2012, 10:05am Subject: Re: Restaurant Espresso Experience

Medium-rare prime rib with creamy horseradish and a full body cabernet Sauvignon at Hillstone steakhouse in San Francisco. Happy new year to me. Yum! (Click for larger image)

GaryH
Senior Member

Posted Sun Jan 1, 2012, 10:05am Subject: Re: Restaurant Espresso Experience

Espresso is only $1! Beans are roasted by Taylor Maid Farms located in Sonoma County, located just north of San Francisco http://taylormaidfarms.com/ . Beans were ground to order. Looks like I was served about 5oz espresso. Consuming this espresso was like having a soup bowl of carbon tasting hot water. Gross! Nothing like that to top off a wonderful prime rib meal. Not! (Click for larger image)

TonyVan
Senior Member

Joined: 24 May 2010
Posts: 269
Location: Pacific Northwest
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: GS/3, La Pavoni
Grinder: Macap M7K, Rocky
Drip: Kone

Posted Sun Jan 1, 2012, 1:13pm Subject: Re: Restaurant Espresso Experience

The espresso was horrible and huge? This feels like the obverse of Woody Allen's famous complaint about the awful-tasting food at a restaurant where, to top it off, "...the portions are so small!

xdavex
Senior Member

Joined: 15 Feb 2012
Posts: 2
Location: jakarta-indonesia
Expertise: I live coffee

Espresso: Vibiemme
Grinder: Mazzer
Vac Pot: Hario
Drip: Ceramic

Posted Wed Feb 15, 2012, 7:43am Subject: Re: Restaurant Espresso Experience

I've been to several continents and always keep a critical eye on anything coffee: whether it's a coffeeshop, restaurant, roaster or simply a small shop selling coffee-related stuffs. To be on topic here, my experience varies from bad to enlightening. However they all share 1 similarities. Whether a restaurant delivers great espresso or not depends on the owner of the establishment. I'm sure we have all been to fancy places only to be disappointed with the espresso. And even more rare is the quiet restaurant at the corner which actually serve really GREAT espresso! There was this Vietnamese pho (traditional Vietnamese noodle) restaurant place in Paris, France which actually serve espresso that can rival any cafes. Sadly I don't remember the name of the restaurant… Wouldn't expect that. Instead, I was more disappointed with the espresso in Italy (despite their image of being the leader in everything espresso). Quite ironic. There is one city where you can never go wrong with any coffeeshop you enter: Amsterdam. If you know what I mean lol

IenBell
Senior Member

Joined: 17 Feb 2012
Posts: 25
Location: Uk
Expertise: I like coffee

Posted Tue Feb 21, 2012, 9:16pm Subject: Re: Restaurant Espresso Experience

I have no uncertainty there are dining establishments who cure their java as they do their wine beverage beverages record. Let's wish you are right and this grabs on; it would be a amazing merger!

tina_daniels
Senior Member

Joined: 8 Feb 2012
Posts: 66
Location: Oklahoma
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Vibiemme Domobar Jr, HX
Grinder: Lelit PL53
Drip: Bodum French Press

Posted Wed Feb 22, 2012, 6:32am
Subject: Re: Restaurant Espresso Experience

GaryH Said:

Next I asked the waitress if they served espresso. Now here comes the twist. Both the waitress, and the boyfriend (Jose) of another waitress, also work at a third wave coffee house, Red Berry Coffee Bar, located in San Jose, so they knew all about great espresso.

Click Here (coffeegeek.com)

The waitress at Bon Vivant advised me not order the espresso because the espresso machine wasn’t very good, and they were not allowed to change the grind setting on the grinder. The espresso, made with roasted coffee beans from Mr Espresso, was pretty decent actually. The waitress was so embarrassed serving the espresso that she didn’t charge me for it. I also had a cappuccino with latte art, but the barista told me that she didn’t like the steam wand of the espresso machine, so getting quality steamed milk was a problem. So the unusual thing is that the waitress actually discouraged me from ordering espresso drinks because they actually knew what quality espresso is supposed to taste like and they warned me that I would be disappointed with it.

Posted October 16, 2011 link

i LIKE this. A lot. You don't usually see people doing that at their jobs. Good for her!

It's kinda sad for the restaurant. But, I'm sure the waitress doesn't have enough pull to do anything about it.

Interesting thread all around - I love it.

I have yet to have any good espresso really, at any restaurant. I had high hopes for an Italian place here, amazing food - but the cappuccino I ordered had a terrible taste.

There was a small, family owned place about 5 minutes from me that used to be here... they had amazing coffee from a Moka pot. Not quite the same, but it was killer with the tiramisu.

jwsnyder919
Senior Member

Joined: 28 Jun 2011
Posts: 87
Location: All over
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: QM Andreja Premium
Grinder: Baratza Vario

Posted Wed Feb 22, 2012, 8:11pm Subject: Re: Restaurant Espresso Experience

For all the horror stories, here's a good one. if you ever find yourself in Lansing, Michigan, make your way to Fork in the Road. Locally sourced ingredients done right. Coffee service by Artie's Filling Station, another local joint -- apparently, Artie's supplies coffee service to Fork and Fork supplies Artie's with sandwiches to serve at its stand alone location. First, the coffee. I had a really nice shot (Picture below -- I'm not going to mess with pixel size for this site). Artie's owner John (who was serving tonight) sources beans from Grand Rapids' MADCAP coffee. Shot had a great fruit to it. Smooth and expertly pulled. He watched it intently through a bottomless PF. Served with some sparkling water to cleanse the palate. Lots of win. http://imgur.com/PbTcf Then, as good as the shot was, was the cap. He told me he uses local whole milk from a local dairy (I forget the name). Wonderful texture, perfectly made, and a nice bit of art. http://imgur.com/OPG2t Setup looked to be a Nuova Simonelli 3-group and a Mazzer SJ (might have been major -- I don't know the Mazzers well enough to differentiate between anything other than the Robur and the Mini and it wasn't either of those). Looking forward to checking out his stand alone location tomorrow. As for the food, I forgot to snap a picture. Fork likes to do their high-end take on diner foods. I had one of the two daily specials and it was outrageous. Smoked pork belly over risotto with smoked cheddar and honey. The honey made the dish -- added a wonderful texture and sweetness. They either use a flat top or a quick fry to the belly to give it a good crisp. My friend had some of the other special. House made tagliatelle with smoked duck and goats milk gouda. I preferred the belly, but both were outstanding. The rest of the menu looked really interesting. Another of our friends had the hot ham and cheese which looked amazing. Smoked meatloaf sandwich looked amazing (glanced at it at another table). As did the fried chicken with greek yogurt, organic hot sauce, honey, and sea salt. I think I may go for lunch tomorrow! I went for the food but man was the coffee wonderful. I had a second shot after I finished eating with dessert which was similarly ridiculous ("The Elvis": Challah toast with toasted fluff on top, tempura fried banana and PB&J Gelato). Unbelievably full and wonderfully content. The coffee was near perfection and the food was as well. I hope we get to read some more similarly good stories and not as many horror.

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