Here's something you might be interested in.
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Photogenic, but still comfortable
North Park's new coffee shop has it both ways
An apple bowl and tricolor coffee drink for those who photograph what they eat
In the food item as bowl domain, few have impressed me so much as the caramel apple dessert offered by the new North Park coffee shop, Deja Brew Lounge.
Situated in a converted craftsman bungalow on University Avenue, the new café finds sort of a middle ground between the austere photo-charisma of contemporary third-wave coffee shops, and the parlor comfort of 90s-era coffeehouses, which have become endangered species in recent years (RIP Rebecca’s and Clare de Lune).
"Good vibes" and "no bad days" around the holiday-friendly fireplace of Deja Brew Lounge
Deja Brew reads perfectly instagrammable, with every corner composed in perfectly arranged scenes suitable for snaps of that So Cal lifestyle so envied by the folks back home. Yet, even as light backgrounds show off well-placed planters, artwork, and eclectic objects, laptop-functional tables and chairs give way to the odd sofa or day bed, outfitted with fur-trim lap blankets and other loungeworthy amenities. With the holidays ahead, the owners of the shop have even ornamented Christmas trees and hung stockings over the white brick fireplace. The fact it’s entirely dog friendly meant my pup could cozy up at my feet as I settled in to a low futon to await my coffee drink and dessert.
Formerly a salon, Deja Brew Lounge sits within a converted bungalow.
The photo-friendly design seems to have crept into the menu. From a slew of coffee beverages with self-explanatory names such as nutella banana, strawberries & cream, and peanut butter cup, I went for the white aloha ($4.50/$.95 large). Available hot or iced, this features white chocolate and hazelnut flavors in a double shot espresso and milk (or almond, soy, coconut milk alternatives). Served in a clear cup, I embraced the tricolor appeal of the cold version: hazelnut sinks to the bottom, lending a chocolate shade to the lower third of the milky beverage, while a late addition of butterfly pea tea colors the top third blue.
Secretly, I would have preferred hot coffee or something off Deja Brew’s matcha menu, but I wanted that photo opp. Fortunately, one of the owners suggested she could reduce the high levels of sweetness swirling in the white aloha, to better suit my personal, black-coffee-is-best palate. She nailed it, and the drink tasted as good as it looked.
Naturally, I ordered food based on appearance as well. In addition to baking its own pastries, Deja Brew features soft serve ice cream, flavored with a bevy of sauces and toppings. Yes, you may get a cone, but the caramel apple looked much more fun. Served in a hollowed-out granny smith, the soft serve is drizzled with caramel, topped by granola, chocolate, and toffee crumbles, and further prettied up with cookie straws and a flower.
That’s not to say the whole dish was designed around its looks though. As I started scraping into the bottom of the apple “bowl,” I found a welcome surprise waiting there: a second layer of toppings!
This wasn’t a sunny afternoon, but despite the fact I sat next to an open roll-up door on a cool day, eating ice cream and drinking iced coffee, I gotta say, I find myself warming up to Deja Brew.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Photogenic, but still comfortable
North Park's new coffee shop has it both ways
Photogenic, but still comfortable
North Park's new coffee shop has it both ways
An apple bowl and tricolor coffee drink for those who photograph what they eat
In the food item as bowl domain, few have impressed me so much as the caramel apple dessert offered by the new North Park coffee shop, Deja Brew Lounge.
Situated in a converted craftsman bungalow on University Avenue, the new café finds sort of a middle ground between the austere photo-charisma of contemporary third-wave coffee shops, and the parlor comfort of 90s-era coffeehouses, which have become endangered species in recent years (RIP Rebecca’s and Clare de Lune).
"Good vibes" and "no bad days" around the holiday-friendly fireplace of Deja Brew Lounge
Deja Brew reads perfectly instagrammable, with every corner composed in perfectly arranged scenes suitable for snaps of that So Cal lifestyle so envied by the folks back home. Yet, even as light backgrounds show off well-placed planters, artwork, and eclectic objects, laptop-functional tables and chairs give way to the odd sofa or day bed, outfitted with fur-trim lap blankets and other loungeworthy amenities. With the holidays ahead, the owners of the shop have even ornamented Christmas trees and hung stockings over the white brick fireplace. The fact it’s entirely dog friendly meant my pup could cozy up at my feet as I settled in to a low futon to await my coffee drink and dessert.
Formerly a salon, Deja Brew Lounge sits within a converted bungalow.
The photo-friendly design seems to have crept into the menu. From a slew of coffee beverages with self-explanatory names such as nutella banana, strawberries & cream, and peanut butter cup, I went for the white aloha ($4.50/$.95 large). Available hot or iced, this features white chocolate and hazelnut flavors in a double shot espresso and milk (or almond, soy, coconut milk alternatives). Served in a clear cup, I embraced the tricolor appeal of the cold version: hazelnut sinks to the bottom, lending a chocolate shade to the lower third of the milky beverage, while a late addition of butterfly pea tea colors the top third blue.
Secretly, I would have preferred hot coffee or something off Deja Brew’s matcha menu, but I wanted that photo opp. Fortunately, one of the owners suggested she could reduce the high levels of sweetness swirling in the white aloha, to better suit my personal, black-coffee-is-best palate. She nailed it, and the drink tasted as good as it looked.
Naturally, I ordered food based on appearance as well. In addition to baking its own pastries, Deja Brew features soft serve ice cream, flavored with a bevy of sauces and toppings. Yes, you may get a cone, but the caramel apple looked much more fun. Served in a hollowed-out granny smith, the soft serve is drizzled with caramel, topped by granola, chocolate, and toffee crumbles, and further prettied up with cookie straws and a flower.
That’s not to say the whole dish was designed around its looks though. As I started scraping into the bottom of the apple “bowl,” I found a welcome surprise waiting there: a second layer of toppings!
This wasn’t a sunny afternoon, but despite the fact I sat next to an open roll-up door on a cool day, eating ice cream and drinking iced coffee, I gotta say, I find myself warming up to Deja Brew.
Comments