Hub Coffee Roasters, Reno NV

Hub Coffee Roasters, Reno NV

I brought this mug home. Don't tell anyone!

Trying to get out of the Peppermill, where I was in for a recent conference, I checked my phone to find the nearest coffee place, both to get some coffee and get some steps.

First, I went to Coffeebar, and really wanted to like it. They brew their beans on premises-I was at the Mt. Rose Street location, and the vibe was friendly. The girl at the counter was nice, and I was excited to try their coffee. Unfortunately, it was only lukewarm and had a bitter after taste. But the outdoor seating area was nice, and I liked the smell of roasting coffee.

The following day, I tried Hub. Hub also roasts it’s own coffee, and I had them mix their drip dark and light for me. The young woman who took my order asked if I was going to have my cup on the premises, and when I responded yes, she took the cup and warmed it with hot water (a great touch), and then poured my hot coffee.

Warming the cup first was a great detail, and this coffee was hot without the aftertaste. The Reno Experience District (RED) location is a nice space, too. It’s modern, with large windows and lots of polished concrete. They have a large upstairs area with ample comfortable seating as well as an outdoor area overlooking a new park.

For the record,  the coffee served at the hotel, at both Biscotti's and Café Espresso, was also good, and I'd say that it was better than Coffeebar but not as good as Hub. It was, however, more expensive than both.

View from the upstairs at Hub

Phillippe the Original

 

 

Fresh Coffee!

It’s 2025, and four bits isn’t really a lot of money. But $0.46 is enough to get you a cup of coffee from one of the oldest restaurants in Los Angeles. Phillippe the Original is the best place to go for a French Dip, invented here 100 years ago. The atmosphere of the place is timeless, and the food preparation is still handled the same way it was when I was a small boy, which is the same way it was done when my father was a small boy, too. There are still wooden phone booths lining the wall and sawdust on the floor.

The prices, though are not the same, and have gone up proportionally over the years. Don’t get me wrong, I still think it’s a great value for the money, but it doesn’t cost what it used to-except for the coffee.

Grant it, my first memories of coffee at Phillippe’s was a nickel, the price it remained until 1977, when

Everyone seems to look at the phone booths

 

it jumped up to a dime. The dime held until 2012, when the price more than quadrupled to the current price of $0.46.

How is the coffee?

Actually, not too bad. It’s Gaviña, which is a brand that shows up in many restaurants, as well as Don Francisco and Cafe La Llave. It’s strong, with a smokey flavor and no bitter after taste. Certainly worth $0.46.

The coffee is a great value, but not the reason that people come to Phillippe’s. They come for the French dip. For the uninitiated, a French dip is a roast beef sandwich on a French roll that has been sliced and had the open face dipped in au jus. You can add cheese, and there’s house made spicy mustard at the table. That’s it. The roast beef is always lean and fresh, and still is prepared right in front of you by women who look like they’ve been there since Phillippe’s moved to this location in 1951. Phillippe’s will also make you a similar sandwich from pork, lamb, pastrami, turkey and ham, all dipped in their appropriate au jus. I’ve had the roast beef, pork and lamb, and they’ve all been good. (Interestingly, though I love pastrami, I don’t think I’ve had the pastrami here-I’m going to need to try it the next time I’m in the area).        

My usual.

Phillippe the Original is one of two places in Los Angeles that claim the creation of the French Dip, the other being Cole’s. Both have a great sandwich and claim to have created it in the same year, but I give the edge to Phillippe the Original. I like Phillippe’s Cole slaw and pickles, and my wife enjoys their potato salad. They also have a good cheesecake and carrot cake. Plus, it’s cheaper. Cole’s does have pretty good French fries, and a speakeasy in the back.

My family has been going to Phillippe’s for at least three generations (four if you include my children), and much has been written about it. It’s a great stop before or after Dodger games, or if you happen to be in Union Station.

 

Coffee at the 7-Eleven

7-Eleven, Mills and Main, Ventura

 

In 1985, I read an article in Spin by Henry Rollins singing the praises of the 7-Eleven. I wasn’t really a 7-Eleven guy, though, and on the rare times I bought food from convenience stores it was from AM-PM because they used to have the cheapest gas. Generally, I don’t buy anything from convenience stores beyond the occasional Slurpee/Icee/Froster.

That changed when my daughters showed me this machine at our new 7-Eleven:


This is the latte machine.

Yes, the latte machine. I'm not really a latte drinker, finding that the extra two or more dollars didn’t make my coffee two dollars better. I like lattes, and if you’re buying I’ll have one, but I’m not willing to pay for it. 

Choose the Bold!

But here at the 7-Eleven, the vanilla latte does not cost extra. The machine grinds the beans fresh (‘bean to cup’ in coffee talk), and then brews it up, adding in the steamed milk and vanilla. Since you are making it, you can add an extra pump of vanilla from the counter, as well as a dash of cinnamon, which is how I do it. True, the machine doesn’t do the swirl at the top, but I’ve never found the swirl to add any flavor.

Add Some Vanilla

The extra large latte comes in at $2.89 (less if you bring your own cup), while the Tall Vanilla Latte at Starbucks next door costs around $6.75, meaning it’s half the size for a little over twice the cost. The obvious question is whether the 7-Eleven latte is as good as the Starbucks latte, and Starbucks will be happy to know that it isn’t. However, is the Starbucks latte twice as good, justifying the cost? 

No, the Starbucks coffee is not twice as good. The biggest difference is that the Starbucks Latte is usually hotter, something that I can fix by going down a size in the cup (pushing the button for the large and putting it in the extra large cup), and then topping it off with their fresh roasted drip coffees. In fact, I know that I’ve paid for lattes far more expensive then 7-Eleven that weren’t as good. If I'm just drinking the latte while driving, the 7-Eleven is perfect.

Brewed Coffees

The downside of this is that not all 7-Elevens have the fancy machine, though according to C-Store Dive, some sort of online convenience store trade website, they will all be moving that way by the end of 2025. Of the four 7-Elevens here in Ventura, only the one on the corner of Main and Mills has it. I’ve actually only found one other 7-Eleven with the fancy coffee machine (and I’ve looked, too), and that was in Walnut across from Mt. San Antonio College.

If you come across this, and know of where the fancy coffee machine is, add it in the comments.

7-Eleven, Japan

Fresh Food Shelf-All Good!

7-Eleven, Iwakuni, Japan

On another 7-Eleven note, if you’ve heard about the 7-Elevens in Japan, it’s all true. When the Summer Olympics were in Tokyo in 2020, I read and saw several rave reviews about the food options at the 7-Eleven stores. People talked about the fresh food, low prices, and 24 hour convenience, and when my son was stationed in Japan, I asked him about it. He said the 7-Elevens have everything, and when we visited him and stayed in Hiroshima, the 7-Eleven was the first store I went into. It was amazing. 7-Eleven was the most convenient and cheapest place to change money (I used my ATM card and withdrew cash from my account in Yen), we bought tickets to see the Hiroshima Carp play, I was in every morning for breakfast (melon pan, banana, coffee), bought coffee several times, and since neither my wife nor my son care for sushi, it was the only place I had sushi (except for the fugu restaurant). 7-Eleven was everywhere, and it was the go-to place for snacks and cash. 7-Eleven made the trip to Japan better.

Philz Coffee, San Francisco

 

I haven’t written about coffee in awhile, mostly because I’ve hit all the coffee places in Ventura and don’t really have anything else to say about them.

But I’m in San Francisco at the moment, and while walking by the Marina Yacht Club, I spotted a coffee truck with a bit of a line, and thought it must be pretty good for people to wait for coffee on a 45 degree foggy morning.

Philz coffee is all over the Bay Area, but I’m not up here that often to know. They do pour-overs made to order, and the line was moving fast. I ordered one of their dark roasts, the Tantalizing Turkish. They describe it as “cardamom, herbs and tobacco” but I got more chocolate and smoke, with a hint of mint at the end-they add mint leaves to the coffee. There was no bitterness to it, and it went well with the cream, sugar and cinnamon that I normally add to my coffee.

At $3.80 for a medium cup, it wasn’t outrageously expensive and well worth the wait. Definitely a place I’d come back to.

Copper Coffee Pot, Ventura

The pandemic has given me the excuse to walk pretty much everywhere within a five mile radius of my house, and my dog and I have done exactly that. I've seen some interesting things on my walks, including this morning's "Nature in Action" moment, as I watched a small hawk pin down a pigeon in the middle of Main Street. Two large crows flew overhead, also with an eye on the struggling bird. 

A burst of traffic was released by a green light a block away, and the hawk was forced to temporarily give up his prize in the face of oncoming cars. He flew atop a telephone pole, and my dog and I paused our walk and sat on a wall on the opposite corner to watch nature unfold. The pigeon flapped his wings, but was unable to leave the asphalt, and the two crows flew lower, but also could not land due to the traffic.

A small break in traffic caused the hawk to spread his wings, but he opted to stay where he was when a bus swerved to miss the struggling pigeon. More cars followed until a large, black pick-up truck absently crushed the wounded pigeon with a squishy pop. The hawk seemed to look disappointed in his now flattened meal, and then flew on

My dog and I had enough of natural selection in action, and continued our walk.

The Copper Coffee Pot is part of Valentino's Take-n-Bake Pizza, located right next door.  Both are situated on the corner of Main and Seaward, next to the fire station and Foster's Donut shop. They have the least expensive coffee of the coffeehouses in the neighborhood, using locally roasted Calioh Coffee, which this morning cost $2.25 for a 16 oz. cup. Interestingly, today's coffee was the best I've had there, a slightly smokey brew with a strong taste of chocolate, and I'm wondering if after a year they finally figured it out. When I set out to write this, I was going to say that I always found their coffee a little thin, without the full body of a good dark roast. Today that wasn't the case.

The CCP people are always nice to my dog, so that's why I go there. A few of the high school/college kids working there even know my dog by name-not me, but the dog. They do have several reasonably priced breakfast items, but I've never had any. The CCP shares a kitchen with Valentino's, and everything looks and smells good, but I'm usually at the start of my walk, and I just want a coffee to go. There is seating both outside and in, and usually a few locals hanging about.

Today I'd have to say it was one of the better cups of coffee in town, and now I'm wondering what gives-which one was the fluke? The good coffee of today or the average coffee of most days.

Beacon Coffee

Poseidon Brewery, right next door!

A friend once told me that this was the perfect set-up. She’d spend a Saturday Morning coming here to Beacon Coffee , and getting her java fix, then hit the cross-fit gym next door for  a good sweat, and after a couple of hours there, close it all out at Poseidon Brewery, for some recovery carb loading.

I don’t do cross-fit myself, but if there were a run or swim involved, it might work for me.

I’ve talked about Beacon Coffee in other places on this blog. A few of the coffee shops in town brew it, (See my posts on Kays' and Palermo), and I certainly prefer it to Santa Barbara Roast, the other larger local coffee purveyor.

I don’t often get to the place where they actually roast the coffee. It’s located in a storefront of a business park behind the Ventura Auto Center and close to Buenaventura Golf Course. But it is worth the trip. There are five tables in the dining area, and the smell of roasting coffee permeates the premises, even when coffee isn’t being roasted.

If you’re staying, they’ll top off your cup with the coffee of the day. On this visit, it’s some sort of Guatemalan thing that is a bit bright with a hint of citrus-that’s what the young hipster (glasses, longish hair, tan long sleeve shirt, Patagonia puffy jacket) guy said who topped off my cup. Whatever it was, though my preference is generally for dark, it was good. A nice, flavorful cup of coffee.

They usually have some pastries from their Ojai branch, and they’ll do espressos, macchiato, chai teas and mochas. The same person who told me about her Saturday morning dream routine also swears by their “Cold Brew Nitro,” which I’ve tried, but I like my coffee hot, even, strangely, on hot days.

The early 60’s era Rolling Stones playing is a nice touch, too. They also sell bags of coffee, coffee brewing equipment (no drip coffee-makers here!), t-shirts, and bags.

Coffee, two sugars and cream, and I’m very happy. Good coffee here.

On a side note, one of the Poseidon brewers just walked in and said they’re expanding next door, and experimenting with more brews. Poseidon is my favorite of the local breweries, but the seating area is generally full if you don’t get there early, so I'm looking forward to that change.

Tatiana's Coffee & Tea, Ventura

Tatiana's Coffee and Tea

2470 E. Main Street

Ventura  CA 93003

My son came home a few weeks ago talking about a coffee house that he and his friends put up a poster for a robotics competition, and he was saying how nice they were. He described the location, and I knew he was talking about Tatiana's Coffee and Tea, and he said he wanted to go back because they were so nice.

Tatiana's has been there for about six months, and I'd been in once before. That time Tatiana was off but her husband was in, and he was nice enough. There were a couple of reasons that I never went back, though. First, the hours weren't very agreeable with my schedule, they being open only 7:30 to 5, and, second, they serve Santa Barbara Roast.

I find Santa Barbara Roast coffee to be a bit bitter for me, and I prefer Beacon or Starbucks. Still, Tatiana was nice to my son, and I did say we can go, so after a morning run we swung in for a coffee, hot chocolate and as an afterthought, an empanada.

The empanada was a great choice. Prepared by Chef Galo of the late Cafe Bariloche, it was excellent. A light, flaky pie crust surrounding a seasoned meat filling, it was excellent, and made me long for the flavorful South American food that I had the few times I was in Cafe Bariloche.

But the coffee...

Tatiana was in on this visit, and she's very nice, and because of her I hope the coffee house succeeds. The prices were in line with other places, the walls were filled with local artwork, all of which is for sale, the chairs were comfy, and so everything seems in order. Tatiana herself struck the right balance between friendly conversation, and backing away so that my son and I could talk, and she seems genuinely proud of her space.

The empanada and Tatiana's pleasant demeanor means I'll be back. They also have Wifi, so it'll be good when I need the internet, but also need to get out of the house.

Palermo

Palermo

Coffee, Gelato & Gifts

321 E Main St.

Ventura

Though I'm sure I'll revise this later, I'm doing the first draft while sitting and enjoying my El Salvador sourced, Beacon roasted coffee at Palermo, which was always my intent when I started this blog-to write while things are fresh in my mind.

Palermo is a popular and busy place here in town, a gift shop that also serves a selection of Moonstruck chocolate (from Portland, Oregon), and Leo Leo Gelato (from Paso Robles). There always seems to be a large crowd of locals in exercise clothes lounging with their coffees and their dogs at the outdoor tables, while tourists walk among the shelves looking at the local tchotchkes for sale. It's clean, and as I sit here, there isn't an empty cup in sight. The counter girls (I don't see any men working right now, and all are reasonably attractive in the quirky, coffeehouse girl fashion), greet everyone as they walk in, even if it's only "I'll be right with you."

The 16 oz. medium coffee is served piping hot (a coffeehouse peeve of mine-too often I've walked into a "local" coffeehouse, and been served a warm coffee), and costs $2. There is ample seating both inside and out, with the inside seating being the thrift store couch and chair variety and outdoors being more bistro style. In the background, soft, "adult contemporary" music plays, amid soft lighting, unfinished brick walls and concrete floors. It's a comfy space that conjures "coffeehouse," and reminds me of coffee houses I've visited in every revived downtown space I've traveled to.

That's not a bad thing.

Years ago, I remember a wine bar in the back, but that's gone now. There are some baked items, too, as well as a variety of teas. Free parking is available about a block away, and the stroll helps one to get into the coffeehouse spirit.

Free wi-fi, too.

Marie Shannon Confections, Ventura

Marie Shannon Confections

27 S. Chestnut St.

Ventura CA 93001

After walking to the post office with my son on a cold winter's eve, I was going to go to Starbucks, but remembered this place and thought that we'd pop in. 

A few words about the post office, though. Originally built in the 1930's, the exterior was remodeled in the 60's and isn't anything special. The inside, though, is filled with WPA/TRAP murals by Santa Barbara artist Gordon Grant. When I was a small child in the 60's, I remember that many post offices had these types of murals-which, upon further reflection, means only Maywood and Bell, which both had post offices of a similar vintage. Anyway, it's nice to see WPA stuff around still, and the murals in this post office, (as well as the post office in Oxnard), are maintained well. That Roosevelt guy may have been on to something.

Maria Shannon Confections is across from the Ventura Theatre, and is open for breakfast, which looks healthy, tasty and reasonably priced. But on this evening, I was looking for someplace to sit and thaw before the walk home. My son had the hot chocolate, while I plunked down a couple of bucks for a medium coffee. They use Caribbean Roast, which is okay. I also had a chocolate chip cookie, which was very good when dipped in the coffee.

The display case was full of pastries, and under ordinary circumstances, I might have tried something else. But one of the reasons I was out for a walk is that I'm feeling a bit tubby from the amount of junk food that I've been eating for the holidays. There was also a book of custom cake creations that looked quite good.

They have ample outdoor seating, which I wanted no part of on a cold evening, and plenty of comfortable indoor seating as well. They also have free wi-fi.

I'll get back in for breakfast and write more.

And now, for more!

I wrote the initial post on  Dec. 28, and on Jan. 4, 2015, I had a chance to go back for breakfast. Since it was Sunday, though, I wasn't carrying my phone-I try not to carry my phone on Sundays, with the rationale that it's family day and I don't need my phone if I'm with my family. It doesn't always work that way, but it sounds good.


My daughter went with the Egg White Spinach Feta Scramble with toast and fresh orange juice. I was about to order empanadas, but the Breakfast Plate, (scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon and toast) walked by just as I was about to order, and I went with that. We sat outside in the slightly chilly patio area, and I was thankful that the coffee was very hot. 

Though not large portions, they were adequate for the price, (about $25 for everything, with tip) and they weren't bad. The patio area was nice, though it seemed like they were slow to pick up after other diners, it wasn't crowded so it wasn't an issue. My daughter rated her scramble as excellent (I took a bit and thought it was good), and the dining space was nice. 

I don't think I'll make a special trip, but I wouldn't be opposed to eating here again. Sorry I didn't bring my my phone, but there are ample pix on the Marie Shannon Confections website, and they're pretty accurate.

Goleta Coffee, Santa Barbara CA

Goleta Coffee Company

177 South Turnpike Road

Santa Barbara, CA 93111

At the heart of every coffee house is, of course, coffee. And since I started writing the blog and really paying attention to coffee is served, I've come up with some favorites. 

I must confess, as much as I hate to go to chain anythings-restaraunts, stores, whatever, I do like Starbucks. Not that the 800 lb. gorilla of coffee chains needs a plug in my little blog, but I know what I'm going to get going in, and it's consistent, reasonably priced and good. Not only that, they're everywhere-I think there are 8 stand alone shops in Ventura, and more at Vons, Target, etc. There are two Coffee Bean's and one Peet's here in Ventura as well, and I like them, but not as much as Starbucks. The independent coffee houses between here and Santa Barbara usually use Santa Barbara Roast, which I tend to find a bit acidic, or Beacon, which I like and is roasted here in town but not found in as many places.

I've stopped at the Goleta Coffee House a few times before, and have liked their coffee. On a recent Sunday afternoon, there was a crowd but a few seats available for what I was doing-drinking a cup of coffee and reading the paper. I was expecting the usual SB Roast, and was surprised by the smooth smokiness of the Mexican organic. While sitting, I saw several people order the sandwiches, which also looked quite good. There was ample seating up front, outside, and in a rear indoor area that had a fireplace blazing on the cool morning.

Goleta Coffee is reasonable close to UCSB, and what appeared to be several college students were sitting about with books and laptops open, studying-I believe finals were coming up-along with the many locals coming and going, chatting with one another. 

I asked, and discovered that Goleta Coffee used Peerless Coffee out of Oakland, and they keep several types brewed and ready for drinking. A small coffee, or any size of your own cup is $2. With a relaxed, locals favorite atmosphere, it was a good place to sit and have a cup.

No website, but there is a Facebook page. They do have wi-fi. 

Breakfast Paradise

Breakfast Paradise

1070 E. Front St.

Ventura, CA 93001

I've been driving by Breakfast Paradise for a couple of years, and always see a big sign about a breakfast special for $5.99.  There always seems to be a few customers on the outside patio, and generally places that aren't very good go out after a year. This one seems to keep hanging in there.

So today, I gave it a try. 

The first thing I noticed is that they have a large, tile-topped bar just inside the door, and my youngest immediately decided that would be a great place to sit. We pulled up a couple of the big, bar chairs, and sat down. Today's newspapers seemed to fill one section, and a bunch of change was piled next to it, as if it was being counted and the counters were called away for something else. The tile top was missing grout in some places, so crumbs filled in those gaps. I wouldn't say it was dirty, just that it hadn't be cleaned since opening that morning-we were there at about 11. The interior reminded me more of a wine bar, with heavy wooden chairs and tables, a painted concrete floor and walls painted deep earth tones-great for evening cocktails, but a bit odd for a breakfast place.

The other customers at the counter seemed to be regulars, the waiter commenting on the newly cut hair of one of the older female patrons, casual chit chat among locals. Our menus were brought quickly enough, though they were a bit beat up, again out of character with the walls and furniture. 

My daughter found something that made her very happy-a ham and cheese omelet on the kids menu. She likes ham and cheese omelets, and usually will try to talk someone into splitting one with her since she still doesn't have the appetite for a whole omelet. One on the kid's menu made her very happy, and she ordered that with a chocolate milk. 

I was torn, but eventually decided on the "Texas Bowl," an omelet with sausage, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, cheese and spinach, with some coffee. The other thing that I was looking at was empanadas, of which there were several pictures on a couple of different signs throughout. It seemed an unusual item to have, and if they were making a big deal about it, I thought they might be good. But the Texas Bowl won out.

The order took a little longer than I expected, but not too bad. The two servers engaged in long chats with one another, and with the regulars, but not so much with us. Still, my coffee was kept full, and that's really what makes me happy. While sitting there, I noticed that several of the patrons were older, which I thought was odd, but might just reflect the part of Ventura that we were in.

When our order came out, my daughter was happy, and quickly powered through the omelet and hash browns.  My Texas Bowl was okay-the eggs were actually very good, light and fluffy, but the rest of the ingredients didn't quite mesh, like perhaps it was cooked too quickly and didn't allow the flavors to combine. It wasn't bad, just wasn't quite as good as I thought it could be. 

So when I eat at a place like this, my first thought is would I bring the whole family back. On that, the answer is yes. The next is should I bring the whole family back, and on that one, maybe not so much. It wasn't bad, but it also just wasn't that good.

Kay's Coffee Shop

Kay's Coffee Shop

1124 S. Seaward Ave.

Ventura, CA 93001

In the short time that I've been blogging, this space has been Full of Beans (6/9/13, which still has it's Ojai location that I highly recommend, in spite of serving Santa Barbara Roast-unless you like Santa Barbara Roast), and La Petite Réve Cafe (6/21/13, which still exists in it's catering form), and it really is a great space. It's a block off the water on Seaward, so close you can hear and smell the ocean.

I was a bit bummed last year when La Petite Réve went out, and I wondered if another coffee shop would come in. Then, late last year I had seen Kay's, but hadn't had a chance to stop by. I didn't know if it was a coffee house or some other type of shop. With my kids in Junior Guards, it was a good time to check.

It's a tiny space, with a few tables inside and a few outside, but it's protected from the wind, so outside is comfortable even on cool, overcast June gloom kind of days. Like Django's, (8/11/13), they serve Beacon Coffee, which I really like-less acidic then Santa Barbara Roast.

It wasn't too busy the first time that I was in, and I struck up a conversation with LaDonna, the owner. She said that she'd opened in October, that the business was going well, and she enjoyed it. I asked about all the planes around the shop and in the logo, and she said that she had named the shop after her father, who built model planes as a hobby. LaDonna seemed to tear up a bit as she spoke of her father, which I thought was rather endearing. She also said that there was only so many things you could do with a surf theme.

LaDonna is very proud of her shop. I didn't ask if this was her first shop or not, but she made reference to several local businesses, giving me the impression that she'd been around Ventura for a lot longer than I have. When I commented on the use of Beacon Coffee instead of Santa Barbara Roast, which so many other local shops use, she said without hesitation that she used Beacon because they were a local business, as if Santa Barbara Roast was on another planet.

A large coffee is $2, with refills $1. Kay's is open from 7 to 7 daily, and have punch cards for frequent visitors. Since every time I've been in the last three weeks I'd just finished my run, I had only the coffee while I sat comfortably on the patio, but several people raved about the scones and other pastries she served, which are also locally made.

The perfect walking distance from my house, and great after a beach run, I now have another great place to sit and drink coffee.