Author: B E R U T T O
Industrial L.A.
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Head Shots | Mexico
Thursday Night Blues | Las Vegas
The Blues is the only music I can listen to all day.
I like many other styles, yet it is only the blues that will bring me on home. Take me through a timeless ride of Happiness, Sorrow, Pain, Remembering lost love, Playing the Fool, Betrayals or just time pasted by.
Switch it on and go about my business and enjoy yet never tire of.
Slow backbeat a Searing lead and a scratchy Smokey vocal.
Even in a downtown L.A. bar you can feel that Mississippi juke joint vibe with that simple two line verse cutting into your soul.
Bluesmen don’t play for money there isn’t much, or fame.
Long Van rides, cheap food and small Clubs.
Yet, even today long after this music has pasted it still persist…. like an old beauty queen long past her prime she refuses to let go of the past.
Great Blues albums come around generationally from Eric Clapton’s “From the Cradle” back to BB Kings “Live in Japan” and “Live at the Regal” to Texas Bluesman Stevie Ray Vaughn’s “Couldn’t Stand the Weather” and all the way up north to Buddy Guy’s “Sweet Tea”
From the beginning of Albert King’s “Crosscut Saw” you can feel the emotions of a simple riff and exactly what he means to be a Crosscut Saw.
The Blues in life sometimes overwhelms you and you think all I need now is to hear songs reinforcing what I am feeling, but it has almost the exact opposite effect. By reassuring you that you’re not alone, how could they know exactly what I am feeling, yet what he was singing about , a crosscut saw explained exactly how I was feeling and I understood it all and how applied to my life.
The state of Blues today is good. Festivals pop up all summer. Great new artist arrive and old artist grow old gracefully. The British invasion may be over but the American renaissance has reemerged. When trendy music comes and disappears The Blues have remained, gotten stronger, bolder even prospered.
Best Coffee in Rosarito Beach, Baja, Mexico
Spazio.….Located a couple blocks under The Famous Rosarito Beach Hotel on the main drag is a small coffee shop which is easy to miss and has some quirky attributes.
Number one it opens early which in Mexico is a rarity, its Modern like something you would find in Downtown L.A., something like skateboard meets underground arts scene.
Serving a full range of Coffee, espresso, cappuccino etc….With good service and good prices by a polite staff.
The coffees are sourced locally and roasted locally providing a unique Mexican Favor. Hard but not bitter. The espresso was great again strong Instead of sugar it was suggested we tried local honey, which was a good change. They also carried a small assortment of Pastries although not fresh were still good. They also serve some very good Crepes and sandwiches in the afternoon.
Quite like this place .
If you need a quick coffee jump to start you down the road in Mexico, consider Spazio .
Spazio on a 1-10 gets a 8
Cafe Moto, San Diego
Café Moto in San Diego on a side street just of the 5 Freeway in lower San Diego’s Logan area is a bustling Coffee shop, Roaster, Store, Supplier and by far the best coffee in the area.
There all in one shop provides some surprising choices from Blue Sky dark Roast to Organic Ethiopian Yirgacheffe and even Papua New Guinea “Purosa A Grade” Organic Coffees. So, you can get a sense of their vast selections.
We tried there Organic Fair Trade Columbian Coffee and found it fresh, strong and a little bitter but, after a little cream it was fine.
The prices here are fair. The service friendly and prompt and the atmosphere is cool.
We bought a bag of their Triple Cert French Roast Fair Trade-Organic Guatemalan from the Huehuetango region called Super G to take home and found it a very good, strong, Vanilla hinted, sweet Coffee.
If you’re in the south end of San Diego stop by this out of the way Coffee house and enjoy a fine cup of coffee.
On a 1-10 Café Moto gets a 7
Klatch Coffee, Rancho Cucamonga, Ca.
Located in a strip mall on a crowded blvd. going to the airport. Klatch Coffee is good coffee, delivered by friendly people. They say their coffee is top 1% of the best. There Coffee is very good but, the best I don’t know…
There blends are good. Well formulated from mild to bold. I think there African coffees are there best. I purchased a bag of there Crazy Goat Blend which they say is a full bodied blend dating back to the beginning of coffee….Very Good, light yet full bodied with no after taste at a reasonable price.
Klatch pays attention to detail. They were voted Micro Roaster of the year a couple years back. They even received coffee of the year from Coffee Review. Bang for you buck, Klatch is the best coffee shop by far in the Inland Empire. Constantly rotating there inventory and dating all there coffee. I have never received a bad cup of coffee here.
Klatch has several Coffee Shops around the Inland Empire and even one at LAX
On a 1 to 10 Rating …..Klatch Coffee gets an 8
La Colombe, Frogtown, Los Angeles
2828 Newell St Suite 4. Los Angeles, CA 90039
I Like Todd Carmichael, ever since I became addicted to his TV show Dangerous Grounds years ago. What lengths this man went to and where he went to get the planets best coffee is amazing. To this day I still watch the now canceled show reruns religiously on Pluto. I honestly believe this man wants to serve the best coffee on the planet to his customers and clientele.
I am here today in the downtown Los Angeles Frogtown area to go to his recently opened Coffee Roastery called La Colombe Frogtown. Small trendy glass box shaped building located in a residential neighborhood that you would never find without GPS. It sits at the end of a residential street on a cul de sac where there is absolutely no parking, what little parking is on the street is takin by the residents. It took me 45 minutes of waiting for someone to leave in order to park.
Once inside its a pretty millennial yuppie little modern glass structure with seating inside and out. It has a glass view of their roaster and production area. They have several of there coffees for sale of which I bought there Ethiopia Yirgachefe Medium Roast, we’ll get back to that in a second.
The reason I’am here is to taste what I have been longing for a long time,Todd Carmichael’s La Colombe coffees. To start with I ordered a Medium drip of a San Salvador Medium Roast, as I was handed the coffee I looked down and was reminded I would have to pay on one of those swivel mounted registers created to shame you into a tip.
Now in my opinion I purchased a coffee at an already high price and was handed that which I was about to pay when the man behind the counter turns the screen, where upon is my coffee price along with how much I would like to tip. Would I rather 20-30-50 or 100% for my gratuity…..Man this pisses me off, and I used to fall for it …until recently when saw that at the bottom you can select ..other…. Which I now do….I left a $2.00 tip, which is fair, don’t you think?. When the man behind the register turned the screen back around and saw what he must have thought was a punny tip I got a snicker half laugh and a here’s your coffee buddy comment. Todd Carmichael is starting to lose his shine.
Calm down, Back to the coffee.
The San Salvador Drip I was served was burnt. You know when it has that taste of being overcooked or left on the warmer to long it arrived extremely hot. I had to let it sit for five minutes so I could take a second sip. When I did right off the bat I could tell it was way over burnt. So much so I could not distinguish any exceptional favor. It was no better than a bad blend at Dunkin Donut. Things seem to be really going down hill now.
As I mentioned before I bought a 8 oz. bag of Ethiopia Yirgachefe Medium Roast at $15.00 and did not even think of complaining because I had anticipated this for a long time. I took it home and the next morning we prepared it just right. I added a little cream which I always do and sat down in the living room for a taste.
After the first taste I knew something was wrong, it was terrible. I retraced all my steps again and the same, terrible. What could it be… I tried again and this time took out the cream and it was Better. Still not great but good with a light flavor and exotic taste.
Did this new Frogtown La Colombe live up to what I thought a Todd Carmichael owned coffee shop would be….No it did not…Not this time. Maybe next time at a different La Colombe my experience will live up to my expectation.
Atmosphere = 7
Service = 3
Coffee = 4
Hussong’s…Is it the Best Dive Bar in Ensenada, Mexico
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