Here at Blogging.LA, we’ve always got an eye out for a good cafe to #occupy while we bang out our freelance writing, novels, screenplays, and even an occasional blog entry. We Valley-dwellers don’t have much to choose from, and the list gets even shorter when you knock off the places that lock up for the night when it’s still early evening. Sure, there’s the mandatory minimum 1.0 Starbucks/square mile ratio, but we all know that doesn’t really count. Studio City’s Coffee Fix, on the other hand, does qualify. Read the rest of this entry →

Intelligentsia Coffee in Venice

Although I work mostly from home, a large residential construction project next door this summer has pile-driven me out of the house. Therefore, I’ve been searching for the perfect West Side coffee shop in which to work. While this subject has been picked before, and others have their own considerations, I have a challenging qualification to add to the  basic requirements of tasty coffee and free WiFi: the place has to be kind of quiet.

Before you ask, I’ll answer: (1) Yes, I’ve tried local libraries. Have you  been to one lately? Loud talking and even cell phone chatting is now standard practice. (2) Yes, I own noise-cancelling headphones, and use them frequently. (3) Yes, I realize that coffee houses have a long history as places of lively conversation. (4) A real office or shared workspace? Yes, I’ve thought about it. But how’s their coffee?

Here’s what I’ve tried so far:
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Joker Beethoven, Jesus, and Justin Bieber all showed up

How awesome was yesterday’s Blogging.la 2nd Annual Donut Summit? A picture is worth a thousand words, so you can look at the pics after the jump and judge for yourself.

We had enthusiastic attendees (I estimate at least 100). We had the creative Blogging.la crew, especially Alexandra and Lucinda whose production and organization were off the charts. We had expert celebrity judges. And we washed it all down with stellar Intelligentsia Coffee. Yeah, it was something special.
More pics after the jump

We are very, very excited to let you know that the fine folks at Intelligentsia Coffee are sponsoring the 2011 Donut Summit, and are providing us with delicious coffee!  If more tasty donuts than you could ever hope to eat wasn’t enough of an incentive for you, then, surely, the best coffee in the city should be enough to convince you to come!

We’re also changing locations this year – so come join us on July 31, at 2pm in Elysian Park.  We’ll be in picnic area 6, which you can find on this park map.

More details to follow!  Mark your calendars for the Donutocalypse on the 31st!

Click to make larger and more drool-worthy

There are so many reasons why I need to let you know about Shaky Alibi. Perhaps most signficantly, they have perfected the sweet/savory balance. I always have this brunch dilemma at restaurants. I often think this, above all other unmet needs, will drive me back into a serious romantic relationship: if I had a boyfriend, I could order the cinnamon apple French toast and he could order the Greek omelet and we could go halvsies. Sigh. But now, Shaky Alibi has saved me from propelling myself into yet another ill advised coupling just to avoid making up my mind about what to order for breakfast. They specialize in Belgian waffles, and by “Belgian waffles,” I mean that Mr. Shaky Alibi’s German great grandmother used to make an authentic Liege recipe that has inspired the opening of this coffee/waffle haven on Beverly Boulevard’s.

I read about the place on Urban Daddy a while back but only recently got a chance to go there. What hooked me in the review was the fact that the espresso is infused with tobacco and chocolate notes. I should have gotten a photo of the machine when I was there but I didn’t (I was too overwhelmed with the waffle), so you’ll have to trust me when I say it’s a thing of beauty–orange with lots of chrome. The espresso is delicious, so much so that I couldn’t even bring myself to try the shots of liquid chocolate. Let me say that again in case you weren’t paying attention: shots of liquid chocolate. Fuck yeah. [An aside: with all due respect to Urban Daddy, here are two differences between a blogging.la review and an Urban Daddy review. First, we say "fuck yeah" when we really like something (well, at least some of us do). And second, while Urban Daddy says you can meet up here "before catching Inception at the Grove," I'd suggest it's equally well located for a pre-Tapeheads screening at the New Beverly get together, except that Shaky Alibi closes too early--5pm Sunday and Monday, 7pm Tuesday through Thursday, 11pm Friday and Saturday.]

Yes, I came for the espresso, but I stayed for the waffle. Just cast your eyes on that beauty. It was delicious–a funnel cake-beignet-ish waffle sliced in half and filled with black forest ham and fontina cheese. This is what happens to a Monte Cristo when it grows up and goes to finishing school. Plus the place itself is well appointed and has cute and friendly servers. What more could you want? So now, in a three block stretch of Beverly, there is Susina Bakery, Milk, and Shaky Alibi. I’m calling it LA’s newest dessert row. Next time I’m committed to getting at least one shot of drinking chocolate.

Jean and Mel

At the back of Canter’s, on the far left side, there is a wall of photos with stars, personalities, regular customers, family and friends. This is one of those pictures (Taken by Kev-O). That’s Jeanie with Mel Brooks.

Jeanie has worked here for 54 years.

I’ll give you a minute to comprehend that.

54 years.

(Quick interruption here: it is now 7:19 and there are 3 patrons, not including me.)

Jeanie moved here with her husband and kids from Chicago a long time back. Her parents had already moved out here and they lived on Robertson and Cadillac which she called “West LA.” She had two babies at the time and needed to work so she started at Canter’s. Her husband (who passed away 13 years ago) had been a taxi driver in Chicago but got a job as a mail man here on LA. Both her kids and grandkids live in other states now.

Jeanie says the secret to her success is that she’s very friendly. “It takes a lot to make me angry.” She’s built quite a following and loves to kibitz around with her customers. She’s become good friends with many people you may have heard of, Michael Mann and Shotgun Kelly, as a couple of for-examples.

Her birthday was last Thursday and she worked on Wednesday night, which is when Shotgun (she calls him Shotgun) usually comes in. The Canter’s family got a big cake for her and Shotgun got up, grabbed a ketchup bottle and serenaded her with a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday.

Everybody loves Jeanie. She’s famous and she says that everything she’s done, tv shows, documentaries, movies, newspaper and magazine articles, it’s all because she’s been here at Canter’s.

I hope some day I can say I’ve done something I love for 54 years.

If you want to meet Jeanie, she’ll be here until about 1pm today. We’ll be here until noon, blogging and collecting canned food and cash for the LA Foodbank.

Breakfast is my favorite meal. I’ve been here almost an hour and still can’t decide what I want to eat. I love pancakes. I love bacon. I love french toast. I love eggs. I love toast. I love biscuits. I love bagels. I love almond croissants.

What to do, what to do!

This just in: Mr. Canter has arrived!

"TK-421, Why aren't you at your post?" "I needed a Latte."

So, this caught my eye, but it caught it on Facebook. My friend Melinda snapped this from her cell and posted it there with the title, “Storm Troopers need coffee breaks too.”  She was kind enough to let me share it with you. (I have agents in the field!)

Where else but Los Angeles can you happen across a Stormtrooper making a call on his cell from a coffee shop? Well, where else on Earth. I imagine it’s fairly common on the Death Star.

This does, in fact, appear to be a Coffee Bean and not the Death Star Canteen, as described by Eddie Izzard. (Be Advised, that link leads to hilarity, but there is also liberal use of the “F-Bomb.” So, its NSFW rating depends largely on your work place’s attitude toward the word, “Fuck.”

So, I’m wondering if this is who he’s calling.

Pictured is Courtney Cruz, taken by Shannon Cottrell for the LA Weekly’s coverage of Star Wars Burlesque. Click the lovely photo to go to the article. That photo, incidentally, has been immortalized in Tattoo Ink. Click here to see the Ink, and LA Weekly’s article about that. (I don’t blame ‘em, I’d be proud, too.)

<Darth Vader Voice>Impressive.</Vader>

Hey Westsiders:  tomorrow (Tuesday, February 23) The Open Daily is celebrating its launch by giving you free coffee and pastries!  The Open Daily is a new daily newsletter and blog informing you about all things Westside: Restaurants, politics, family fun, events, history, art, you name it! They want to get to know you so come by Venice Grind tomorrow morning from 8:30 to 9:00 am.

To get your free cuppa joe, go to their Facebook event page and RSVP then come by for your morning rev-up. There will also be gluten-free pastries to nosh provided by Yvonne’s Gluten Free Goodies.

If you can’t make the launch party, sign up for their free newsletter and start getting your daily helping of Westside action. You can also submit your event listing to be included in their newsletter.

See you tomorrow at Venice Grind to celebrate The Open Daily!

Venice Grind
12224 Venice Blvd.
Mar Vista
310-397-2227

So, I’m in one of my favorite coffee haunts — Silverlake Coffee — doing some work and hanging out, as I often do. I’m a cheap bastard so I tend to get an iced tea (lots of caffeine, and among the least expensive drinks on the menu), do my work, and grab a dollar refill on the way out. They also have free wi-fi and don’t quibble about the fact that I spend three to five hours there and spend a grand total of three dollars and fifty cents. I try to tip well. I often fail. I’m sorry, Silverlake Coffee.

Here’s the odd thing about Silverlake Coffee, though, and I in no way mean this as a slight: The music. Right now I’m listening to Van Morrison. Earlier it was Rod Stewart. Rod Stewart! “Forever Young!” Before I moved to LA, I assumed all the coffeeshops would be blaring the hippest new music that you never heard of. Hey, that’s how it was when I lived in Boston. It was also freezing cold all the time, which is why I left.

But yeah, here I am listening to soft rock. It’s kinda cool in a weird dadaesque, juxtapositionish way, like wearing a tailored suit in a homeless shelter, or washing your hair with dish soap, or eating a vegetarian hot dog.

So: Do you care about the music your favorite coffeeshop plays? Or do you just stick headphones in your ears and turn up your own music, like the guy at the next table I’m silently making fun of? Hey! Hipster at the next table! Trim your damn beard! You look like Osama bin Amish!

As you can see, it’s a slow week for me.

PS: While I was writing this they played Rod Stewart again. “Maggie May” this time, which you gotta admit is a pretty good song.

Coffee geeks know that the Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama is one bad ass cup of coffee. So bad ass that if you are lucky enough to find it for sale, you can expect to pay upwards of $100 a pound for the beans. A single cup is over $10. If you’ve tasted it, you know it’s totally worth it. If you haven’t, well tomorrow if your lucky day! Both Intelligentsia locations (Silver Lake and Venice) will be doing a free tasting that if you like coffee, you really really don’t want to miss. Swing through Venice between 4-6pm, or Silver Lake anytime after 1pm to have a cup and talk to Devin or Chris, resident experts who can tell you all about this super rare coffee. More details on the Intelligentsia blog.

Coffee shops have long been a kind of alternative exhibition space for various forms of creativity. From the design of the space itself, to the words scribbled down by people amped on the caffeine, to what is hanging on the walls or playing through the speakers. And in almost a reflective relationship, it’s a pretty safe bet that the worse those orbiting extras are, the worse the coffee itself will be. And justly the better one is, the better the others are. That’s why when the folks at Intellivenice (that would be the Intelligentsia in Venice) say they are bringing in some DJs to provide the soundtrack of an evening it’s a pretty safe bet this will only turn an outstanding environment into something even better.

This Friday (coupled with the monthly first Friday Venice events) they are hosting DJ Nitedog, and then following that up Saturday morning with DJ Mayer Hawthorne. The crowds on Friday might make parking a bit rough so I’d recommend walking or riding a bike if you have the option, and Hawthorne Saturday will be just the thing to help you relax for the weekend. And if you like a little education with your entertainment, apparently there are still spots in this weekends home coffee making classes.

Venice Coffeebar, 1331 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291
Sun-Thurs: 6am-10pm / Fri: 6am-11pm / Sat: 7am-11pm

Ex nihilo LA fit

Ever since I moved to Los Angeles, and to my dear Fairfax District, I’ve been meaning to eat at the historical Johnie’s Coffee Shop on Wilshire and Fairfax.  Of course, as with most things LA, the shop is a familiar combination of wide repute and complete unreality.  During a week of fiction, simulacrum, and frenzied media creation of a whole lot of expensive something out of almost nothing, it seemed like a fine time for a meal and a photograph: A garish pop star with a history of strange behaviors and legal troubles had died, thereby disrupting all Los Angeles streets, costing the city millions, and turning all national TV news into tawdry melodramatic fiction. Like the city that hosts it, Johnie’s is a movie prop.

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It’s official. Monday at noon. Doors open. Officially. For reals.

This came to my inbox.

If anyone knows who took this photo, please let me know in the comments

John Leech, the founder of the Onyx Cafe in Silverlake/Los Feliz/Echo Park and beloved patron of the arts and truth in general has passed away.

It apparently happened around Monday or Tuesday March 17th or 18th and has been confirmed by the County Coroner. He apparently has no family but he has a trust and its executors have been notified. There is a votive memorial in front of the former location of the Onyx on Vermont Avenue (now Cafe Figaro) in Los Feliz. Initial planning for a fitting memorial to John has begun. More on that soon.

John was one of the rarest things in this world: a genuine philosophical Bohemian in the very best sense of the word who created an austere unpretentious Cafe which was, by his design, a magical safe zone for artists, musicians, poets, scientists, intellectuals and outsiders of all stripes…

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