Yo el Rey Roasting - Organic Coffee

This morning I had a seriously hankering for a shot of espresso. I considered going to the Calistoga Roastery, but there is another small, relatively new coffee place in town which I've walked past on several occasions and been somewhat curious about... and the nice thing is that it's on my walking route from the bus stop to the school, so I decided today was the day to give that one a try.

It's a small, minimalist place called Yo el Rey, tucked next to a beauty salon, which is right next door to the police station and the Sharpsteen Museum. I had assumed all along that it had a bit of a bohemian vibe (judging from the prominently displayed "Fair Trade Organic" signs), and boy was I right. The interior is sparsely decorated but consists of a few tables adorned with books about modern artists and animal rights -- the two I noticed were a Salvador Dali book and one about large-scale industrial raising of animals for food. The walls were decorated with some abstract paintings and had lines of poetry scrawled across them, all over the room, and there was some downtempo reggae/chillout music wafting from a couple of speakers tucked beneath the coffee counter.

I wouldn't say the Calistoga Roastery is "corporate", but Yo El Rey is even more bohemian; it feels more like the small hippie (and hipster) hangouts you might find dotted around Haight Street or Potrero Hill in San Francisco. If you have dredlocks and/or are a vegan, this is probably the place for you. But the atmosphere and (particularly) the organic free trade coffee comes at a price. The menu is more sparse and the prices higher here than at most coffee shops. I can normally get a shot of espresso for $1.50-$2.00, with 50 cents for an extra shot. At Yo El Rey, it's $2.50 for an espresso and $1 for an extra shot.

Considering that, I decided to go with a cappuccino, which was priced more on par with other places at $3.00. It was nicely made and I have to admit that the coffee had a good flavor (less "burnt" tasting than Starbucks and probably less so than Calistoga Roastery, as well)... it was served up with some sort of small cookie. Judging from the strange, brittle consistency of it, I can only conjecture that it was vegan and maybe even gluten-free, but I don't know.

Due to the prices, this won't be a regular hang-out for me, but I will probably be back whenever I am specifically in the mood for a cappuccino I can sip in a small, cozy setting surrounded by modern art and chilled music.

Village Bakery -- Calistoga

Apparently bakeries are the hot new trend right now. Despite the fact that there are now two coffee shops in town, both of which sell some baked goods (muffins, quiche, etc.), there recently opened the "Village Bakery" on Lincoln Ave. From what I understand, I think it's a new branch of a chain of two bakeries open in Santa Rosa and Sebastopol.

It's a small place, kind of austere in its personality and presentation, but not cold... a few small tables and chairs are there to relax and nibble on your baked goods or sip a coffee (which they also sell), and it feels warm and inviting enough (certainly better than Starbucks, which I've always found extremely cold and uninviting).

They have the requisite display case of cupcakes, brownies, etc. as well as a back shelf for loaves of bread -- in other words, it's like a plainer, less-hyped version of Bouchon Bakery. Which is why it surprises me that the prices are a bit higher here. Whereas a standard-sized loaf of bread at Bouchon Bakery would be about $3.25, here at Village Bakery they are $4.25. I can't attest to the quality. but might try the "Sebastopol Sourdough" at some point.

Usually I pop in here when I'm hungry for a serious sweet-tooth/sugar-rush fix, because I go straight for the brownies with cream cheese frosting. These are dense, fudgy brownies with a serious layer of cream cheese frosting on top. The brownies aren't cheap -- $2.95 -- but they are pretty huge. It's like a whole meal (a whole meal of carbs and sugars). I'd actually prefer if they were cut in half and charged half the price. As it is, this one would be a good one to share with a friend. One drawback to the flavor is: I can't be sure, but the frosting tastes like the artificial, packaged variety... which is disappointing. I might be wrong, but it just doesn't taste like the real cream cheese frosting I am used to.

Bouchon Bakery, V Marketplace, and Napa Style

Hopping off the southbound 10 bus in Yountville has always proven to be a pleasant experience so far (it certainly helps that I don't have to pay the >$200/night it costs to stay here as a visitor!), so I decided to do it again.

I had been to Bouchon Bistro -- the local (and now interstate chain) restaurant of local celeb chef Thomas Keller (of the Michelin-rated French Laundry just up the street)... and let me tell you, I was less than impressed. I actually felt bad that this was the restaurant I took my parents to in their first visit to Napa Valley, but I didn't know any better at the time. The food was overpriced, way oversalted, and not memorable; the space was loud and cramped and the servers were impersonal and embittered. My mother's "trumpet mushroom salad" had one (yes, one) microscopic sliver of mushroom. How does that make a mushroom salad??

However, I had never stopped into the popular Bouchon Bakery next door to the restaurant. I had seen some of their (pricey but tasty-looking) baked goods in Las Vegas -- which is also home to a Bouchon Bistro -- but I was craving some good bread today and figured, why not from here?

It was doing a brisk business... not packed, but there was a line. I'm sure the 70-something-and-sunny weather we've been having didn't hurt. The bakery is small, with a variety of tempting-looking baked goods; my eye was first drawn to the colorful macarons, but quickly distracted by the nearby bread pudding cups (I love bread pudding), but I ended up getting a pistachio and citrus brioche. Which was good, but perhaps a little stale from sitting out for a while. Should've gone with the moist and glistening bread pudding. These items (the specialty baked snacks) are all about $3 each.

Meanwhile, the prices of coffee and bread loaves are a lot more reasonable -- coffee is about the same you'd pay at Peet's or Starbucks or elsewhere, and the loaves of bread are about $3.25 for a normal-sized loaf. I debated between the hearth-style "pain rustico" and the nearby loaf of sourdough; both looked good, and Sarah and I love sourdough, but it's also one that is very hit or miss. Some people don't make it sour enough (in true Boudain/San Francisco style) and other times it is just not dense or moist enough. I went with the pain rustico and when I got home and tore off some pieces to dip in olive oil and herbs, I knew that I had made the right choice: the outside was firm and tasted like a wood oven, the inside was soft and spongy and a little bit moist; overall the bread was very good for the price (which is just about the same -- or possibly even less -- than you'd pay for artisan bread like this at most grocery store bakeries)

I still had time left before the next bus arrived, so I wandered across the street to check out the "V Marketplace" which I had never seen. This place is a strange duck. You walk inside, and it's an eclectic (and sparsely populated) shopping mall of sorts, done up in a pseudo-villa style. The shops seem nearly unanimous in their decision to appeal to older wome. Some have names like "Sisters, the Ultimate Girly-Girl Boutique" and "i*elle" and "Tay & Grace: Playclothes for Women"; others are art galleries featuring plenty of colorful, flower-and-vine-filled rustic scenes.
I explored the whole place but so few people were there that I didn't want to wander into any shops for fear that the shopkeeps would either swoop on me like vampires or sigh in disappointment that I'm not a wealthy menopausal lady.

Popping out the back door, I emerged by Michael Chiarello's "Napa Style" storefront, and went inside to check out the assortment of cookery goods and gourmet foodstuffs -- olive oil and vinegar "caviar", Himalayan sea salt, extra virgin olive oils -- many of which had samples available. Some of the goods are certainly tasty (for the mouth and sometimes for the eyes) but the prices match the decadent indulgence of the goods. For things like sauces, spices, and vinegars and olive oils, a better bet would be to stop in St. Helena up the road where you can try plenty of wonderful oils, vinegars, dressings, sauces, and rubs at St. Helena Olive Oil Co. (These gourmet shops are also pricey, but still about 30% less expensive than Napa Style)

Time was about up for my hour in town... I went to the bus stop (right outside the V Marketplace) and sure enough the next southbound 10 arrived within about 5 minutes.

Calistoga Roastery Coffee

If you're ever in Calistoga and you drink coffee, there is a good chance you will end up at Calistoga Roastery. This is the local spot for coffee. There is no Starbucks or Peets in town (neither is there in nearby St. Helena). There are a couple other places that serve coffee: San Marco up the street is a small ice cream shop that also serves coffee, and Yo El Rey is a newer establishment across the street which has a more "indie" feel to it, with a focus on free trade organic coffee. But Calistoga Roastery is the biggest, the best known, and the most popular one. In fact, it was even featured in the TV show "Weeds"

It's a larger coffee shop than most, with plenty of space, seating, and tables inside. Unlike Starbucks, this place actually has some character and some warm, comfortable liveliness to it. It's truly a place that "wakes you up" when you come inside, both because of the lighting and layout but also because of the lively nature of the workers and the locals who will invariably be there reading newspapers, chatting, and sipping a cup. Unlike the chain coffee shops, this doesn't feel like fast food, it's not about a rush and a fix. It's about taking a break, easing into the morning, and feeling a sense of community.

Like other gourmet coffee shops, the prices are high... and I sometimes prefer Starbucks simply because of some of the drinks and flavors I can get there (namely green tea matcha lattes or house coffee with cinnamon dolce or raspberry syrup) which aren't available at Calistoga Roastery. The espresso drinks are good enough, but for the standard house/drip coffee, I actually prefer Starbucks (and I'm not a big fan of Starbucks. If you want to know where the BEST coffee is, it's at Cherry St. Coffee in Seattle. But that's not so local, is it?)

Still, I do like to patronize this establishment for the other things I mentioned -- comraderie or sometimes just a slow, relaxing way to start or end the day.