Sacramento

It has been a busy couple of weeks since my son, Jeff, arrived for an unexpected visit to South Africa.  On his final full day here, he and I took a drive just a few miles outside of PE to Cape Recife.  We toured SAMREC (South African Marine Rehabilitation and Education Centre), and even watched as the centre's volunteers fed some recuperating penguins.  Eddy was a great tour guide...knowledgeable and very passionate about the future of the African penguin.  Jeff and I then went out to the beach where the Cape Recife Lighthouse stands warning mariners of Thunderbolt Reef just offshore.  The lighthouse was commissioned in 1851....a few hundred years too late for the  Portuguese Galleon, "The Sacramento," that hit the reef on June 30, 1647.  Now, fast forward almost four hundred years and you will find the PE Coffee Crawlers making their way to Sacramento, a coffee shop/restaurant named after the ill-fated ship.  Unfortunately for the 72 survivors of the shipwreck, there wasn't a nice little coffee shop here for them to rest after swimming/climbing ashore.  I bet a nice, hot Caturra coffee would have hit the spot!  (And maybe more than nine of them would have also survived the 1300 km trek back to Mozambique!)

The Sacramento coffee shop/restaurant is situated on beautiful Marine Drive in Schoenmakerskop ("Schoenies" to the locals) overlooking the Indian Ocean.  This area is part of the Sardinia Bay Sea Reserve that boasts magnificent vistas, white sandy beaches and rocky shoreline, and numerous hiking trails.  Lou and I have hiked one called The Sacramento Trail a number of times....makes for a relaxing Sunday afternoon.  The Sacramento coffee shop is open every day (except Monday) until 5:00 with extended hours on Wed., Fri., and Sat.  The full menu includes seafood specialties and some very yummy sounding desserts.  The nautical theme (no surprise there!) of the shop includes a bronze cannon from the sunken ship.  Some interesting curio collections and a big fireplace contribute to the comfortable atmosphere.

I spoke with Sacramento's owner, Mark de la Peyre, when I first arrived and he was most welcoming to our group.  Our barista, Leigh, was cheerful and efficient as she filled our eleven orders of various beverages, cappuccinos w/froth, cappuccinos w/cream, teas, and black coffees.  It seemed that everyone switched up their order for round two (a second round is starting to become a habit) but that didn't faze Leigh; she never missed a beat.  Leigh is definitely a keeper.  Owner Mark missed the photo session on crawl day but posed for a pic on Saturday when Lou and I stopped by.  While we were there we ordered coffee, and again, great service with a smile!!!

Scary movies was the topic of conversation for crawlers Beth Vieira, June Nash, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Jeff and me.  The original "Psycho" and the relatively new "28 Days Later" were voted as must-see flicks.  By the time Fran and Keith de Beer, Fr. Dominic Griego, Leanne Waller, and Nomusa Nkomo arrived, the topic had changed to a debrief of Jeff's short visit to South Africa.  He only had a fortnight here so he got the Reader's Digest condensed version of the area.  (Hearing the S. Africans use the word "fortnight" and having only ever heard it before in old movies and Shakespeare plays, Jeff wondered aloud, "People still use that word?"  Apparently they do, Jeff!!!)  Jeff's bungy jumping off the Bloukrans Bridge (the highest bungy in the world) last weekend drew lots of questions and comments from this week's crawlers.  I still can't believe I watched my husband and son jump...they are crazy!  So, Fr. Dominic, Jeff has a great idea for a church fund-raiser!!!  Are you up for it?
Somehow, then, we got onto the subject of pizza, best pizzerias, favorite toppings, crust preferences...aside from coffee (oh, and chocolate) pizza is my favorite topic of conversation.  And finally, our discussion took another turn and ended up with Fr. Dominic telling tales of his brief modeling career.... I wish I would have been there for that catwalk!!!

A couple of notes:
This is Jeff's last week on the crawl with us.  He flew out Thursday afternoon right after our Sacramento visit.
Fran is keeping us up to date with her sister's (Prudie's) coffee crawl in KwaZulu Natal.  Her group is meeting for coffee every fortnight (OMG...there it is again, Jeff!!!).
Two of this week's crawlers celebrated birthdays last weekend.  Happy Birthday wishes go out to Nomusa Nkomo and Keith de Beer.  And for those of you who are wondering...I didn't ask!

Lots of thank you's this week so let's get started.
*Thank you to Mark and the Sacramento staff, especially to Leigh.
*Thank you to the SAMREC volunteers who care for sick and injured African penguins.  Eddy, you are awesome!
*Thank you to Delta Airlines for getting Jeff here and back to NY safely!
*Thank you to Keith de Beer for his comment on The Pink Fig post...you are very kind.  For those of you who aren't fluent in Afrikaans.... google translate it!!!
*Finally, thank you to my son, Jeff, for joining us on the crawl for the past few weeks.... we loved having you "crawl" with us, honey!

Until next week,

Ellen 

 

Meet the Owner
Mark de la Peyre

 

Meet the Barista
Leigh

View from Sacramento
Schoenmakerskop



This Week's Crawlers
Nomusa, Fran, Leanne, Beth, June, Beryl, Stella, Jeff, Fr. Dominic, Keith



The Pink Fig

"Everybody knows a little place like Kokomo.  Now, if you want to go to get away from it all, go down to ....." 
Twenty years after this popular Beach Boys song hit the charts, The Pink Fig, a renovated farm house on Heatherbank Rd. in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, opened its doors as a coffee shop / children's play area.  Situated conveniently close to main thoroughfares, shopping centres, petrol stations, schools, and restaurants in town, The Pink Fig has retained a country atmosphere in both its decor and grounds.  A short distance from the shop, horses and cows graze lazily in the African sunshine (well, on Thursday they had to graze in the rain because, you know, it always rains on crawl day!).

The Pink Fig is a great getaway spot right in PE for the young and young-at-heart.  If you have children with you, they can play on the swings and other playground equipment or participate in craft activities at an adjacent shop while you sit outside and enjoy breakfast, a light lunch, or dessert and tea.  When the lkids get hungry there is a special menu for them as well.

No kids?  No problem.  There is plenty of room inside to sit back and relax in this country home setting.  The Pink Fig offers a pensioners' breakfast special Wednesday through Friday and also an All-You-Can-Eat Sunday breakfast buffet that, I hear, is to die for.  Some other menu highlights include a South African Farmer Sandwich (Fran and Keith tell me this is a definite must-try), rooster brood (an SA favorite), the entire dessert and tea cake selection, and a special section of the menu titled, "Pimp Your Garden Salad!" 

The Pink Fig uses Puro Fairtrade Brand for all of its delicious coffee beverages.  All the waitrons on staff are also trained baristas.  A few are registered in an upcoming barista competition in PE.  Good luck to Orlane and Stanley.... we're rooting for you!!!

While giving permission to take pics on Thursday, Manager Brendon Albertze insisted on a whole staff picture because, he says, "We're a team here!"  Well, that team feel was palpable when they all came out for the picture... you can always tell when people enjoy what they are doing...it makes for a very positive experience for the patrons.  So, speaking of patrons, this week's crawlers included Fran and Keith de Beer, Stella and Beryl Dawson, June Nash (welcome back, June!), Beth Vieira, and my son, Jeff.  (Yes, this is why I am late posting again this week...we've been out and about showing Jeff around.  We've been beaching, hiking, canopy zip-lining, and jumping off bridges....well, Jeff and Lou jumped, I just watched!!).

Conversation at the table was all over the place, starting with the "end of the world" which I guess was supposed to happen last week!?!  Better luck next time, Nostradamus!!!  Next, we discussed bad photography which included some visual aids provided by Beth (sorry, those shots didn't make the cut for the blog!).  We then went on to politics, democratic elections, and international affairs.  Obama, Cameron, and the Bushes, Jr. and Sr. all were fair game.  Regardless of our differing opinions, though, we all agreed on one thing...If You Don't Vote, You Can't Complain.  I won't mention any names, but you know who you are...........  : )

During the course of our attempt to fix the world's problem, Brendon offered the crawlers a round of coffees on the house!  That was awesome!!   Thank you, Brendon and staff!!!  A big thank you also goes out to Mother Nature who, by the time our visit was over, decided to spread a little sunshine on PE's version of Kokomo.

Until next week,

Ellen





The Pink Fig Team



Mett the Barista
Orlane Chidiku









This Week's Crawlers

Jeff, Ellen, Keith, Beryl, Fran, June, Stella, Beth



2 for 2



Park Lane Cafe

Did you ever have one of those days when a nice surprise catches you off guard?  Well, this past Sunday, while driving around exploring the Addo Elephant National Park area, Lou and I stumbled upon the Zuurberg section of the park.  We stopped, had a bite to eat, then set out for what we thought would be a quick jaunt around the vicinity.  We ended up on a four hour hike which included river crossings, beautiful scenery, and game sightings (some of which were too close for comfort!).  The nice surprise came, however, toward the end of the hike when Lou's cell phone signaled that he had a new text message.  The message was from our son, Jeff (the "retired barista" Jeff) informing us that he had a few weeks to kill and wanted to come visit us in South Africa!  This adds "spontaneous" to my list of adjectives to describe Jeff.  So, that was Sunday evening....we picked Jeff up at the airport here in PE on Wednesday evening.  Jeff's first order of business, after getting settled in at our house, was to join me Thursday morning for the coffee crawl (despite feeling somewhat jet-lagged after a 30 hour trip...you're the man, Jeff!).

This week's crawl took us to Park Lane Cafe at 7 Park Lane in Central.  I decided to visit this shop because Heather, a PE Coffee Crawl blog reader, suggested it in her comment on Foong's (see comments for April 7 crawl).  I figured Heather must be Park Lane's owner, barista, or a staff member, but it turns out she is just a real fan of the cafe.  That's good news for Grant Houzet.  Obviously, Grant has a loyal fan base after owning the shop for only five months.  He and finacee, Edelweiss van Rensburg, who happens to be Park Lane's chief cook, have done a major renovation of what was previously a curry house.  The place is now a tastefully decorated, three room cafe.  One of the rooms is the perfect setting for small conferences.  I just love the high back leather chairs and very cool coffee pics adorning the walls.  Edelweiss tells me that Park Lane has become a favorite of the staff of nearby St. George's Hospital  as well as some of the local book clubs. 

This week's crawlers, Beth Vieira, Fran and Keith de Beer, Nomusa Nkomo, my son, Jeff, and I enjoyed the Park Lane Cafe so much on Thursday that we all ordered a second round.  Our waitress, Mantho, served us a secret Park Lane Blend coffee, the recipe of which is known only to Grant.  He did, however, divulge that the blend includes 40% of an Ethiopian coffee.  I must say, Grant, that whatever your secret is, you nailed it!!!  Joining us also this week via text messages was June Nash.  She was enjoying a cappuccino in Cape Town at the same time.  She made sure to mention to us that the weather there was beautiful knowing that it was probably raining in PE.  Of course it was, June...thanks for rubbing it in!

With this being Jeff's first visit to the African continent, the conversation around the table was a crash course in South African culture...languages, rugby, and biltong.  After learning some inappropriate words in Afrikaans, Jeff tried to learn some words in Xhosa.  The Xhosa clicks still elude me, but after a quick lesson form the Park Lane staff, Jeff was catching on to it.  Nomusa also gave him a lesson in her native Zimbabwean language as well.  Jeff''s already somewhat familiar with rugby so that leaves biltong...what?!?
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, biltong is like jerky in the U.S.  (btw, Jeff tried some kudu biltong today-Saturday the 21st, and loved it!)  At the table Jeff and I also toasted to my grandson/Jeff's nephew, Alexander, who turned two years old on Thursday.  Happy Birthday, Alexander!!!!!!!

The "No Food On The Crawl" rule was broken again on Thursday.  Jeff ordered an egg on toast breakfast.  Well, I couldn't have him eating all alone, so I ordered a raisin / coconut muffin.  What a mother will do for her son!  The muffin was excellent... my compliments to the chef.  To top off the morning, Jeff and I stopped by Sweet Somethings, a cupcakery that shares the same address with Park Lane Cafe.  We bought one each of Thursday's cupcake specials.  It's a good thing that Jeff and I went to the gym later in the day.

Lots of thank you's this week-
*Thank you to Park Lane's hospitable owner, Grant, and his fiancee, Edelweiss... you have a great coffee shop!  Best wishes on your new business venture.
*Thank you to Heather for suggesting Park Lane to me
*Thank you to this week's crawlers for making my son feel so welcome
*Thank you to my blog readers for being patient.....

Until next week,

Ellen






Meet the Owner/Barista and the Chef
Grant Houzet and Edelweiss van Rensburg



Our waitress
Mantho







Meet my Son
Jeff



This Week's Crawlers
Keith, Fran, Beth, Jeff, Ellen, Nomusa









Friends and Blends Coffee Bar

To Jackie and Liz who have been waiting with baited breath for this week's blog posting (to all other readers, see Jackie's comment)... I am neither vacationing nor goofing off (but, mind you, Lou and I have been on a perpetual summer vacation here for 10 months!!!).  Regarding the delay, I could use the excuse that I didn't want to send this week's posting on Friday the 13th for fear that the computer would crash.  Or, I could say that this week has been insanely busy (a "fun busy").  Make your choice... in either case, here I am on Saturday at almost 1:00 pm, after just having had breakfast, ready to regale you all with this week's posting.  Here goes.........

Every Thursday morning since I started this blog (14 weeks ago.....how time flies!) I've begun my day by making a pot of coffee and preparing with excited anticipation for what this week's crawl will bring.  This past Thursday, however, I woke with a nagging headache, and also feeling very drowsy.  Perhaps, a late Wednesday night dinner with friends including a few glasses of red wine, a couple of Irish coffees, and a Bailey's nightcap (for good measure) contributed to a less than enthusiastic start to Thursday.  (Do ya think?!?).  A nice creamy cappuccino at the crawl was about the last thing I wanted.  But, the crawl must go on...............  So with camera and notebook in hand I left the house and headed for Friends and Blends Coffee Bar.  Then I remembered that Lou was supposed to (but forgot to) leave the GPS with me because I really didn't know where Friends and Blends was.  I had seen the shop once a number of months ago while driving around lost and trying to find my way home.  At that time I filed the shop's name into my mental Rol-o-dex and have never been able to find it since.  Well, I know PE better now and I had a general idea of which direction to go.  So, despite making a few wrong turns and totally losing my bearings once, I finally made it to my destination in the Walker Drive Centre in Sherwood.  The Sherwood Nursery is close by, and word has it that there is an orchid show there this weekend.  Count me in!!

Friends and Blends has been in operation for six and a half years under the ownership of Charles Muller.  Charles was happy to host Thursday's coffee crawlers, Gail Taverner, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Fran deBeer, Beth Vieira, and June Nash.  Though we all arrived in shifts, our waitress/barista, Chantelle, kept up with our orders quickly and with a smile.  To keep things interesting, Friends and Blends changes the Masterton's blend they use on a daily basis.  On Thursday we enjoyed a nice, strong Sweet Italian Blend.  It was Americanos and Cappuccinos all around except for June who ordered a Red Cappuccino made with rooibos tea, and drizzled with honey.  My cappuccino was excellent but my brain was screaming for a regular black coffee, no sugar, which is what I ordered for a second cup.  It was exactly what I needed for a pick-me-up and, feeling much more chipper, I began to check out the shop.

The sidewalk tables and large doorway leading to the inside give the shop an open, airy feel while still maintaining that nice coffee shop atmosphere.  The display case filled with baked goods was tempting... especially the lemon meringue pie!   I'm sure to stop back there the next time my meringue flops!!!  The menu has something for everyone's tastes, and includes an item quite new to me... a bacon and banana sandwich.  I don't even know what to make of that, but from what I'm told, it's very common here.  I'll have to get brave someday and try it.  Friends and Blends also is hard core into advertising Coca Cola brand products.  You have my vote there...and, yes.......... I've been blind tested and can tell the difference without fail.  I'm sure I'll live to regret just saying that!!!!!  (I saw what you were drinking on Friday night, Keith!!)

Discussion around the table was a debrief of the royal wedding which occurred two weeks ago.  I guess last week we were all in shock over how really bad some of the royal guests looked, Beatrice, that we just skipped over it.  The crawlers were not short on opinioins this week, though, and not one royal was spared...the good, the bad, the ugly.  We were all in agreement, however, that the bride was stunning.

An interesting note-- Some of you regular coffee crawl blog readers may remember Prudie Brown, Fran's sister, who joined us for a few weeks.  Well, she's back home from her visit safe and sound.  She was so inspired by the PE Coffee Crawl that she started up a coffee crawl in her city of residence, Empangeni in Kwazulu-Natal Province.  I'll be sure to get more details but there were twelve in attendance at Wednesday's Empangeni Coffee Crawl.  Very cool, Prudie!  Have fun and keep me posted on your adventures.

A thank you goes out to Charles Muller and staff.....and to my fellow crawlers who had to put up with me not being quite myself for a short while.  I'll keep my Wednesday consumption in check this coming week and will make every attempt to get Thursday's posting up on time, Jackie :) !!!

Until next week,

Ellen



Meet the Owner
Charles Muller





Meet the Barista
Chantelle





This Week's Crawlers
Fran, Beth, June, Gail, Stella, Beryl



The Picket Fence Coffee Shop

And the Lucky PE Coffee Crawl Shop # 13  is.................... Teddy Heaven!!!  No, scratch that.  Teddy Heaven is closed for renovations...I guess we'll have to check out those pearly gates at another time. 

June and I stood next to our parked cars and discussed "Plan B."  Fortunately for us Teddy Heaven is on Main Road in Walmer (aka Coffee Shop Row) so we didn't have to look far to find another place for this week's crawl.  We quickly decided on The Picket Fence Coffee Shop directly across the street at 169 Main Road in the Amble Inn Complex.  June made a few phone calls and we hung a really tacky sign on the tree near our cars redirecting crawlers to the venue change.  We then made our way across the the hectic Main Road traffic managing to anger only one motorist on a motorcycle...(I hope his day improved after this). 

Lise Sponneck, owner of The Picket Fence, welcomed us warmly as we chose a table.  There are a number of guest tables in the beautiful garden outside but the aroma coming from inside was irresistible, so inside it was.  It happens that June and Fran recognized Lise from an association she had with their grown children some years back.  It doesn't matter that PE has a population of over a million people, it seems that someone from the crawl always sees someone they know wherever we happen to be.  Anyway, back to the crawl.  In our conversation with Lise she said that she has owned The Picket Fence for 2 1/2 years and that it's in her blood.  Many of her extended family members own coffee shops in PE...(I wonder where they have their family reunions...and, who brings the beverages?).  I got the names of the shops and am sure to visit them all at some point.

The Picket Fence is open every day offering a variety of breakfast and lunch dishes.  They also do a Sunday roast... well, that got me thinking ...hmmm....this Sunday is Mother's Day.  It just so happens that they are having special Sunday roast for the occasion....I made a reservation for noon.  So, to my children, Christopher, Jeff, and Liz, who are all in the States...Dad's got you covered!

Lise has chosen two brands of coffee for use in her shop.  Barista Zoleka whips up regular Americanos, Lattes, and Cappuccinos using Masterton's Blend 81.  For the decaffeinated versions of these she uses a Puro Fairtrade blend.  Being a decaf drinker, my sister, Mary, will be excited to hear about that!

This week's crawlers, June Nash, Beth Vieira, Fran deBeer, and Stella and Beryl Dawson, all found their way to Thursday's "Plan B" shop.  Beth and Fran stuck to their black coffees and everyone else ordered cappuccinos.  It was unanimous that the combination of large cups, low price, and nice hot coffee earned The Picket Fence PE Coffee Crawl's "The Best Coffee Deal In Town" award.  (The chocolate powder sprinkled on the cappuccinos is a great touch, too....chocolate gets a thumbs up from me every time!)

Adjacent to the coffee shop is the Amble Inn, an antique furniture store.  After coffee, Fran and I "ambled in" to see what treasures we could find.  I've been looking for a coffee table (no kidding) to replace the monstrosity now occupying way too much space in our family room here.  Well, no luck with a table but I did find a great chair.  I'm not much into antiques but this chair really caught my eye.  So, Lou, I paid for it and you're picking it up on Saturday.  As I said, kids, Dad's got you covered!  Thanks!!!
Amble Inn had some wonderful things; the other shops in the complex are also worth checking out.  So, stop by The Picket Fence, have breakfast, then make a day of it.

*A belated Happy Cinco de Mayo to Jeff.  For some unknown reason this son of mine has always celebrated this Mexican holiday!?!  Hope you found a good Mex restaurant in Atlanta, Jeff!

*A Happy Mother's Day wish to all of the mothers, grandmothers, godmothers, and mothers-to-be out there.  Have a wonderful and relaxing day!!!

*Yes, Lise, I did remove the unsightly paper sign we posted on the tree across the street.  No need to worry about an onslaught of people coming in and asking about your unorthodox advertising methods.

The Picket Fence turned out to truly be the Lucky 13 for the PE Coffee Crawl.  Thank you to Lise and staff!

Until next week,

Ellen



This Week's Crawlers
Beryl, Stella, Fran, Beth, June




Meet the Barista
Zoleka




Meet the Owner
Lise Sponneck



The Rose Garden Tea House

I awoke this morning to howling winds and a torrential downpour and thought, "Yep, if it's raining, it must be coffee crawl day."  Rain is one thing, but PE has been experiencing constant winds of 25-30 mph with 40 mph gusts since Monday, earning it the moniker "The Windy City," putting Chicago to shame.  These winds coupled with the rain made for a chilly autumn morning so I expected only a few crawlers to join me at The Rose Garden Tea House for coffee.  In all, though, we numbered thirteen who braved the elements for a cappuccino, with everyone in good spirits despite the weather.  Today's crawlers included  June Nash, her daughter, Leanne Waller, and her grandson, Luke Waller, Beth Vieira, Prudie Brown, Fran deBeer, Stella and Beryl Dawson and their niece, Jenny Fowler, Margaret Zoetmulder, Colleen LeRoux, and Elize Potgieter.

Though the tea house looked cozy, especially with a cheery fire blazing in the wood-burning stove in the corner, we were met by the staff and manager with a chill that rivaled the temperature outside.  I will chalk up this less-than-warm reception to the staff having to work after an extended holiday weekend which included Easter and two national holidays.  The weather probably didn't help either.

The Rose Garden Tea House is situated at Floradale Nurseries on William Moffett Expressway in the Overbaakens area.  The shop's decor is somewhat like a Japanese tea garden with pale blue-and-white Japanese themed wallpaper and coordinated framed pictures, blue-and-white checked tablecloths, and assorted bamboo bird cages hanging about.  Lucky for me the cages were lightweight and birdless because I hit my head on one of them about six times during our visit.  It's a wonder I'm even coherent right now!  Unfortunately, we didn't get the chance to stroll around the gardens and nursery due to the rain.  Note: There will be no Meet the Owner / Meet the Barista pictures this week as we were asked not to take pics or reveal the identity of any staff.

The coffees were very good but it's hard to go wrong with a Masterton's blend.  Fran finally jumped back on the cappuccino bandwagon, Jenny and Stella ordered caffe lattes which presented beautifully (see pic), and three-year-old Luke got a "babycino" (hot frothed milk to which his mom added some sugar!).  After the coffees were served there was some discussion about tomorrow's royal wedding.  Most everyone is planning to watch the nuptuals while donning their own millinery couture.  I will be sporting the white Esprit baseball cap I won at the Splash Festival this past weekend.

A sad farewell goes out to Prudie Brown.  Prudie left for the airport right after the crawl today to head back home.  Thank you, Prudie, for joining us the past few weeks while you were in PE visiting your sister.  We all hope you got home safe and sound.  The next time you're in town please come crawl with us.

Some recent follow-up visits:  Lou and I went to Shelly's (the site of the first coffee crawl!) for Easter brunch.  The food was great!  Shelly was glad to see us and has been reading the PE Coffee Crawl blog to keep up with our adventures.  We also stopped by Cobblestone, on the way home from a Masterton's run, to pick up some of those awesome bagels I wrote about last week.  We will definitely become regulars there!

A HUGE THANK YOU to all of this week's crawlers.  You guys are the best and have made this blogging experience a real treat for me!!!

Until next week,

Ellen



Leanne, Luke, Fran




Say, "Cappuccino!"






This Week's Crawlers
Prudie, Stella, Beth, Jenny, June, Leanne, Fran, Beryl, Colleen, Margaret, Elize





Cobblestone Bakery

Okay, so I got a late start on this week's posting, and the president of my blog's fan club (that would be my father-in-law) has really been putting the pressure on!!!  Well, Easter is fast approaching and I have been busy about the task of scouring the city for jelly beans, chocolate rabbits, Easter lilies, and an egg coloring kit.  Needless to say, this week blogging has taken a back seat to playing Easter Bunny.

Holidays are special times to spend with family and friends.  This week's coffee crawl visit to Cobblestone Bakery definitely got this Easter season off to a great start!  Crawlers on Thursday included two sets of sisters, Stella and Beryl Dawson, and Prudie Brown and Fran deBeer.  Also joining us this week was The Crawl's first 3-generation group, Barbara Horwood (who plays drums in the PE Caledonian Bagpipe Band), her daughter Melanie Morgan, and her granddaughter Zoe Morgan.  Six-week-old Zoe has officially replaced Fr. Dominic Griego as the youngest coffee crawler, though I think Fr. D can argue the point as Zoe didn't order coffee.  Rounding out the group was June Nash, Sylvia Mynhardt, Beth Vieira, and Colleen LeRoux.

Barista, Phumelelo (aka Phumi) made Caffe Molinari Americanos, lattes, and beautiful cappuccinos for everyone.  Oh, except Barbara, who stepped out of the box and ordered a Vietnamese iced coffee.  This was quite new to me so I watched intently as Barbara poured hot Vietnamese coffee over sweetened condensed milk on ice... interesting... I'll have to try one someday.

Now, in keeping with the family theme, Cobblestone Bakery, located at 40 6th Ave. in Walmer, is owned by Sean Brice, while the paintings on the walls are compliments of his brother, Brent Brice.  Sean oversees the baking of fresh breads and pastries (and bagels!... more about that in a minute...) and Brent sells his amazing paintings of local scenes.  Brent, if the Lighthouse painting wasn't already sold I would have purchased it on the spot!  Brent is quite the talented artist, so, stop by the shop, have a pastry, and check out his artwork.  Also for sale at the shop is fantastic jewelry made by a local woman.  It is displayed in a glass case near the baked goods and, like the pastries, looks too good to pass up!

Now, about those bagels.  I have been in search of a bagel here in PE that comes close to Wegman's (in the U.S.) bagels but with no luck...until Thursday!   Thank you, Sean, my search is over!  In Sean's words, "They are proper bagels; they're boiled."  I bought a few to take home.  Lou and I are in agreement that these bagels are the best we've tasted...ever...move over, Danny Wegman!  Sean, I'll definitely be back for more!!!

From the outside Cobblestone appears small with limited parking, but there is a back lot with extra parking and, once inside, the bakery is quite roomy with plenty of tables for breakfast and lunch patrons.  The staff is very pleasant.  I must give extra kudos to our waiter, Louis, who was extremely patient as our group outgrew our chosen table. 

During our visit, Colleen met up with an acquaintance who happened to be having coffee with her "Friendship Group" at another table.  (Cobblestone was hopping that day!)  I chatted with the group for a bit, they posed for a pic, and then even chose next week's PE Coffee Crawl site!  I gave them a choice of two and the decision was unanimous.  Perhaps we'll see a few of the "Friendship Group" ladies there.  Remember, Thursday, 9:30 am.  You are all most welcome to join us.

On returning to the table I found the discussion to be about the crawlers' favorite board games.  As I write this I get a bit sentimental because holidays and board games go hand-in-hand in my family.  This Sunday I am sure I'll miss sitting around the dining room table playing a rousing game of "Apples to Apples" with everyone.  Just know that I am there in spirit.  I guess I'll just have to spend Sunday kicking Lou's butt in "Scrabble" or "Backgammon!"

As for my search for the Easter items mentioned earlier, I thank June for bringing Easter joy and jelly beans for all the crawlers...I couldn't find jelly beans in the stores.  I was, however, able to get a chocolate rabbit and some Easter lilies, though the egg coloring kit eluded me.  So, I bought some beets and am planning to boil the eggs right in with the beets.  Considering the eggs are brown to start with I'm not really sure how all this will work out!?!  I'll keep you all posted.

To everyone reading this posting, enjoy your holiday with family and friends and I wish you all a Happy and Blessed Easter season.

Until next week,

Ellen




This Week's Crawlers
Stella, June, Colleen, Beth, Fran, Beryl, Sylvia, Prudie, Barbara, Melanie



Meet the Owner
Sean Price



Meet the Barista
Phumelelo





Melanie and Barbara breaking the No-Food-On-The-Crawl rule



The Friendship Group