from mi moleskine.

7:52AM
Monday Nov. 4th. San Francisco, California.
I began to wonder if I was going to break a sweat as soon as I set foot in the coffee shop.
My black wool sweater has been cleaned over the weekend and has no sign of floating lint patterns or Velcro cat hair. Black patent boots. And that black wool dress that has been to date my favorite consignment find.

The windows are as steamy as that one scene in Titanic, and I can’t help to think of that puberty-soft skin Leonardo must have had.
“The usual, Meli?” she asks.

I have moved on from the steamy adolescent lingering thoughts and started observing fellow patrons as I make my way to the espresso machine to pick up my drink which will be ready in a few minutes.

The vulnerability of people waiting for their morning fix is unique.
The wet hair. The occasional lack of planning which becomes everybody’s emergency.
The spills.
And the grinder goes off again.
This will be my second cup after the one brewed at home. It is a few minutes before 8am.

I usually run into this guy who wears all-Giants gear, all the time.
When I’m not looking, he stares at my Athletics pin on the left collar tip of my summer jean jacket as if he is disappointed or something. Or maybe stares at my chest, I couldn’t give a fuck. He is harmless and has no idea the espresso machine is shiny, like a rearview mirror. I’ve watched my share of surveillance movies and television shows.
He’s not once talked to anyone other than the people who work behind the counter.
I was not wearing my jean jacket, and neither was this dude there today.

As I waited for my drink I walked towards the southeast corner of the shop.
I continue to observe and randomly exchange looks with whoever is making my coffee. I don’t have an urgency to look at my phone at all. I have a fond of appreciation of moments that some might otherwise consider insignificant.

“Your look – Your colors” he said as he figured-8 his right hand over his face while shifting his New York Times section away from him. “You ARE like a planetarium” slowly bringing his right hand back to his coffee cup.
I was unintentionally wearing all black today and all the color that accompanied me was my purple (lavender, as my barista crush at this same location likes to call them) sunglasses, earrings and lipstick. I was a bit confused but mostly flattered. Did I hear that right? I thought, a rather peculiar and playful choice for an adjective.

“Why, thank you” I responded. I complimented him on his coat, his poise and I asked what article he had enjoyed the most this morning. We exchanged a few words about Julie Taymor and shortly after he handed me his business card.
He looked at me with a pensive vibe, and kindly asked if I cared to join him for coffee and further NYT talk. I said I had to go to work and couldn’t stay.

I reached over the counter for my drink, and saw the barista –we’ll call him Nick–.
In my mind I blow him a kiss as I reach over the counter, and wish I had met him when I was 21, but in real life I can hardly manage to say thanks and grab my drink without spilling it all over myself trying to take the first sip.

“Did you get a haricut? –ohwaitttt, oh OK I know– I don’t think I’ve seen you without a hat in months” Nick said.

8:02AM
Left the planetarium.


—
on an unrelated note:
✕ | Patti Smith Mourning Lou Reed (New Yorker) –via fellow bookclub friend SSK
✕ | Lou Reed’s 71st bday post

Buen viaje, Lou.
xxom

Instead of doing one big Portland blog post, I’ve share some short dispatches of moments y fotos.
There are now a few in the past two months – you can check them out here: PDX | past posts
Hope you enjoy them.
xxom
—

This week we turn the stumptown spotlight to my love, COFFEE.
My favorite aspect of coffee shops is mostly the company, people watching, chatting, not chatting, and being in Portland was all of the above, y rain.
Overall a very pleasant experience.
Some simple details below – here we go:

✚  |  Maglia Rosa at West End Bikes
1111 SW Stark St


Went to Maglia at least 3 times, the first time I got to talk for sometime with Phuong Tran (a teeny peek of her in the first picture behind the cart) She is a former barsita champ and an absolute pleasure to talk to.

La Ratta found this place from the internets, me thinks.
We walked there a very early morning and it was great seeing some of the early birds around town.


I love this trio, very much so. Stories in the making, like it’s our full time job. Really.

 ✚  |  Stumptown at the Ace Hotel
1026 SW Stark Street
After enjoying lunch at Lardo with Patricio, we were due to walk over to this famous spot.

Of course a couple of the baristas knew him, such a rockstar 🙂

Don’t you love it when you run into your friends without planning to, in a visiting city. Look for a coffee place, find me. Here’s la ♥QELI!

*Note: The restroom is cool.

Here is this picture again, because why not – I love it, so much good going on:

 ✚  |  Barista
529 SW 3rd Ave

A nice detail, those clocks are all times from different Portlands: AR, CT, PA.
Muy nice.

 ✚  |  Fresh Pot
724 SW Washington


Had not really planned to stop by this shop but the large prints on the shop’s walls drew me to it from walking across the street. Turns out it was indeed a coffee shop, but sadly closed on Sundays. Next time! 🙂

 ✚  |  S Mystery cup of awesome

Pine State serves biscuit deliciousness. But first, a misty walk through the farmer’s market at the PSU campus was started with this surprise latte from Trina y Dave. OMG.
The latte came from a place where morning magic baristas know everything about expired film photography and japanese vintage macro lenses. Or I imagine some place like that exists. This coffee surprise from them was the BESTESSSSST.

YUM.
—
/ All fotos taken with my LX5

Have a great weekend.
xxom

—
The sequence of events is in no particular order.
TBC→

Steep hills, great views and Rapha’s parklet con coffee.
Wishing everyone a great weekend!
xxom

Over 4 years ago –wait, what?!– I posted about a new donut place on 24th [Cop Diet Special] serving Portland’s darling Stumptown coffee (at that time). Dynamo donuts has since switched to our own local darling Four barrel coffee.

From the Mission to the Marina green, the donuts have arrived to a little kiosk on a very walkable area between the yacht club and the beginning path on Crissy field which leads to Fort Point. For those of you outside the Bay Area, this is rather close to the Golden Gate Bridge and that creamy dome peeking into one of the images below is the Palace of the Fine Arts, also a nice green area to walk around or read a book +BYOCoffee.

Previously, the kiosk sold basic snacks +beverages and they did sell San Francisco’s finest It’s Its! so that was cool. I loved the old sign there, this was taken September of 2009:

Got to check out the place, shortly after it stopped raining so there was not many people out and about at all, great time to roam the green areas, such fresh feeling.

This place is gerat to drink some coffee with a simple but full espresso bar, and eating donuts while sitting down and watching tons of exercising bunnies hop on by.
Yes.
I loved the bright orange, nice touch of colour.

While people watching and seeing all the exercising bunnies go about their way, I’m going to do the complete opposite and enjoy myself by eating a donut, or two. For those roaming with your 4-legged best friends, there’s dog donuts 🙂

And if you are not in the mood for donuts, this view never gets old..
xxom

Last year while visiting this cute cafecito spot in the Parkside, Brown Owl Coffee, for the first time I ran into a high school friend. 1990s flashback! I had been wanting to go back since, so last week I had to get some coffee after stopping by at Action Camera, also on Taraval.

In addition to coffee, there are pastries +plenty of teas to chose from, books, no WI-FI, newspapers, a community board +many owls around. During my brief visit, I had a pleasant chat with Ariana +asked her if I could snap a few pictures 🙂

Their coffee beans are roasted locally +their own, known as Heart Coffee Roasters:

“Born and raised in San Francisco, this city is truly our hearth and home. […] At Hearth, we have a dedication to our product and craft that we believe is unparalleled. Keeping it small, specialized and hand-crafted is our goal. You won’t find us in every café.” /about hearthcoffeeroasters.com

As of this morning (today, Thursday Nov.29th), they announced they are closing this Saturday :((
Have you been to it? Make sure you stop by before then.

Here is a quick map of their location for reference:

‘Til next time brown owls, it was nice to meet you ♥
xxom

Hola all;

Hours: M-F 730am-4pm // 768 Sansome St. between Gold +Pacific Ave.
Get to it if you haven’t already.

Pacific heights: Jane

This previous spot was bittersweet a few years ago. 

I have enjoyed this place for a quick bite or some good espresso drinks. 

The chalkboard outside always has clever nice messages, I assume they are a daily thing. 
Collected some quick fotos throughout this year +made a quick collage of them to share:

I do get a bit of a little techie-phobia panic, similar to the upper level of coffee bar in the Mission. It doesn’t annoy me, it just a bit overwhelming to me when people have-to-have a fork in one hand +laptop/phone on the other. 
Anyways, people can do +go about their business as they want, and that is totally fine with me.

Sign of the times.

/taken with my mobile on two different occasions.

excuse the super shaky hand.

Their staff is pretty nice and their mirrors are quite peculiar.
Must say, whoever’s been in control of the music the few times I have been there, has been pretty kickass.
Is not often that the BJM, Hope Sandoval and Willie Nelson are played within one sitting, so I liked that very much.

I don’t like sweets or chocolate but look at this thing, a tempting monstro:

Their coffee beans are by Stumptown, I could stare at their cold brew for hours (the black piece of drip to the left of the mirror) +their egg sandwich is filling. Their big salads seem to be popular, haven’t tried them myself.

Downtown

Illy is a rare bean choice in San Francisco these days and it was quite more abundant before the micro-roasting era. I continue to have a fond appreciation of it because though it is a global company (it is everywhere in DF/Mexico City), it remains to be a family-own operation. There is a coffee bar downtown that I will soon be checking out.
Until then, here is a giant cup on the corner of Market +Sutter/Sansome: 

OK fellow coffee lovers, stay caffeinated.

xxom

*Fotos taken with mi mobile (HTC EVO) +my beat-up old Canon SD990 point+shoot. 

Good morning from San Francisco.

Local innovative start-up company Square has teamed up with Coffee titan Starbucks for their point of sales, the mobile way.
The Bay Area is sure breathing with the most amazing apps in tech, in the world.
WSJ, Business Insider and more will have precise analytical articles.
Square’s official letter is published here: Onward.

Today Starbucks signed up for Square. Read @jack‘s letter to Square merchants: squareup.com/letters/onward #onward
— Square, Inc. (@Square) August 8, 2012

What I have here for you, is a non-business approach and rather creative point of view as both a vendor, and a user of this product.

A plaque with a retro Starbucks logo, inside the local market chain Mollie Stone’s on California/Fillmore st. I have gone there on a very occasional random blue moon. The employees have always been very nice.

Most recently, I was beyond stoked to learn that National Records had released a great compilation. At that moment, I also learned that it was sold exclusively at Starbucks and iTunes. I still buy CD’s so hell froze over and went to a Starbucks to get my CD and a cup of coffee.
Nothing wrong with that.
Coffee asides, many of my girlfriends have worked there while in school, have worked there as single moms and as myself, was one of the first places I met other gamers and arty kids outside the ghetto.
So head-nod for that.

MIS, Nortec, Aterciopelados. That compilation is a great, worth the $7 and go together like sweet bread with coffee. The limited-time album sold between June+July titled: Café con música.
 

To add some spice in this recipe, let’s throw a pinch of sour salt from one of the funniest Twitter accounts out there. (SF tech humor to its finest)

I love you @sightglass but you ain’t no @starbucks.
— Fake Jack Dorsey (@FakeDorsey) August 8, 2012

– – –
Square dancing

I had no idea about the empowerment that this app could offer for an super small independent vendor like me, it was while purchasing coffee that I learned about it, no surprise here.

Already becoming aware of the product as an avid consumer at the little cart known as Sightglass, which has now blossomed within their location of their massive (for SF standards) beautiful warehouse-style coffee house. About a year+1/2 ago one of the baristas handed me the reader, told me to download the Android friendly app. Whaaat a non-iPhone user at Sightglass?!. Contrarian should be added to astrological signs.
And so, that was the sweetest little business 5 minute chat+introduction we’ve had.

While most of my poster sales happen online [still available, check them out here], Sightglass coffee was the place where I made my first transaction as a vendor.
I sold 2 posters. Score.

/Photo by © Richie Benavidez

I have found more than a few new spots, after being out of cash in cash-only places, the square app in my phone has come to the rescue. Most recently, bought Gelato in the middle of downtown Davis, California.

Another great find a couple of years ago was Contraband, located on Larkin near California.
I’m on their frequent buyer program. Nice.

I actually found The Mill, Four Barrell’s new cart/location on Divisadero, from my square directory.

Yes, they are quite on the complete opposite of the spectrum from Starbucks, but I am as enamoured to Four Barrell as a teenager is to frapped sugar.
This place is open for business (not Mon-Tues) and it already is awesome,
but once the space is finished — will be mucho AWESOME.
 
The Mill, 736 Divisadero

– – –
Have you used square? It is a free, functional and beautiful app.
Additionally, have any of you worked at Starbucks or used it as an extended living room away from home/dorm/work?

Jack Dorsey, the sharp mind behind twitter and Square – believes in his companies to be able to change the world. The world to some may begin with the ability to sell posters on the go while buying some coffee sans wallet.
Like me.

Okay, those are my small two cents and two shots of espresso.
Things are looking good, and they smell like coffee.

– – –
/all images (asides the one by Richie) taken with my mobile HTC phone.