'Full of All Kinds of Goodness'

Kaldi, originally uploaded by seanbonner.

METROBLOGGING'S SEAN BONNER gives Atwater Village caffeine-dealer Kaldi Coffee (3147 Glendale Blvd.) the once over: "There's free wifi, comfy seating, and the staff gets the top rating so far in my book. I've been here off and on for months, but only regularly the past week, and they already know my order before I get to the counter - and actually care about making a good cup of coffee. "Think Kings Road vs Starbucks. Which is amusing because there's a brand new Starbucks that just opened up a block or so away and when I passed it this morning it was empty." The rest of the Village seems to agree with Sean. For the most part. Starbucks still has a few slight competitive advantages: 1) Their patio is elevated 2) They open when they say they open 3) They take plastic If Kaldi evolves to include #2 and #3, the block is theirs for the keeping.

Meanwhile, Kaldi Coffee, the Block is Yours

OUR GREAT STARBUCKS MYSTERY popped up today on Curbed LA: "What's up w/ that Starbucks in Atwater Village? It's had a 'Coming Soon' sign on it for 5 months." More like nine months, but who's counting? Certainly not neighborhood fave Kaldi Coffee, a few storefronts up, cashing in (literally; no credit cards taken) on its latte domination of central AV. The phone number listed for the Glendale & Glenfeliz SBUX just rings. And rings. And rings. Yet the store is still coming "soon," insist the banner and web site. "You keep using that word," goes the famous quote. "I do not think it means what you think it means."

Making Up for Lost Weekends

Orange Drain Cover Cat, originally uploaded by theturningman.

I HAVE BEEN RIGHTLY tsk-tsked for my absence from a shining moment on our neighborhood's spring calendar. The Artwater Music & Art Festival (previewed here) swept the sidewalks and storefronts of Atwater Village two weekends ago. Thanks to these kind persons, this is my blog's only first-person account: It wasn't culturally groundbreaking and we didn't stay overly-long, but my kid got to get her face painted, I met the sweet li'l old lady whose portraits are hanging at the J. Ferrari gallery, and Kaldi was selling espresso jello parfaits on the sidewalk. Overheard dialogue between a father and tween-age son as they walked toward one of the performance stage areas (the guitar case-toting son, ostensibly about to perform): Son: [grumbling] Aww, man! This looks lame! Father: [pleasantly clueless] What's that? You say you think it's going to rain? No, I was not boycotting. I was in Fillmore, of all places, for the annual pilgrimage to ride this cartoon-faced locomotive. Nothing personal. Let's enjoy together: theturningman's Artwater photos [Flickr]

Where 'Soon' Means 'Come Back Next Year'

WHILE THE NEIGHBORHOOD waits and waits and waits more than seven months, so far, for the new Starbucks on Glendale Blvd., yummy things are going on up the block at Atwater Village fave Kaldi Coffee. From Chowhound: Kaldi (3147 Glendale Blvd.) is my regular place for coffee since it's so close to my house. I bypassed my usual (expensive and sweet) coconut mocha and tried their "cold press coffee" something they had been touting with a little info card on the counter. Apparently it's popular in the Midwest. Basically, you soak coffee grounds in cold water overnight, then when you filter out the coffee, you are left with a concentrated cold coffee. You dilute it with water to serve. To serve hot, they steam water and add it to the syrup. I have to say, it was a really great cup of coffee. There was very little bitterness and it's gentler on the stomach. It's also way cheaper than a mocha! Kaldi roasts all their own beans... and they pull a decent espresso too. A new Starbucks is opening a few doors down, but as long as Kaldi starts accepting credit cards, I think they'll survive.

Atwater Chatter - Non Non-Election Edition

SURELY THERE ARE HAPPENINGS in our little slice of northeast Los Angeles beyond grammar violations and canceled elections, yes? Yes: Future of Arthur Magazine looks bleak - "A split between Babcock, who ran the editorial operation out of his Atwater Village home, and Kreslins, whose Maryland-based company holds the trademark and handled the business side, became inevitable last year." [LA Times] Kaldi Coffee and Tea - Atmosphere: 4 stars. Coffee: 3 stars. [Los Angeles Coffee Shops] Visual Artists in Los Angeles - Ian O'Phelan, contemporary drawings, pen & ink, Atwater Village, ianophelan.com [Artist Directory] Now a personal - and, at this point, garlicky - question. Tonight we hankered for Zankou Chicken, went to the Burbank superstore. I noticed something missing from the menu: the Hollywood location. Not on the paper menu, not on the web site. Isn't LA's original Zankou still open at Sunset and Normandie? Why would it be disowned?

Atwater Chatter - Foodie Edition

Pigs in a New Car, originally uploaded by Atwater Village Newbie.

Taco stand on Fletcher 'off the hook' [Goodgoings] Canele: 'My new favorite restaurant' [Daily Nosh] Pirate Chai at Kaldi Coffee: 'Relish' it [Food and Music Club] Tam O'Shanter fish and chips: $19 [LA Times] Guac Bowl crushes hopes, dreams [Cooking Critic]

Funny Name for a Wine Bar

There's a new and seemingly decisive entry in the wine-bar, not-a-wine-bar debate over 3111 Glendale Blvd. in Atwater Village. Crispy Crust, known for its "really good" pizza by at least one guy I saw today who had ordered from the original store on Vine St., is opening a second location.

We'll see if Crispy Crust can pry Villagers' fingers from around their Giamela's slices - though this isn't exactly the same Goliath-and-David moment that awaits when Starbucks finally opens a block from hood fave Kaldi Coffee.

Wonder which place this commuter from around the corner will choose.

Paper Flower Border

I don't know what the legal boundaries of Atwater Village are but for me the physical demarcations are a glorious growth of crimson bougainvillea that flows gently against the concrete wall of an overpass...

See and read more from the Uncommon Traveler trek down coffee-shop memory lane: Quick cups: Kaldi Coffee and Tea, Toni's Bakery & Cafe.

Starbucks Takes First Casualty

Neighborhood activists, start your lawn signs. With less than two weeks till opening, the new Starbucks store on Glendale Blvd. in Atwater Village may have already claimed its first victim.

Just this side of Hyperion Bridge, within foaming distance of the new SBUX, once perched a too-cute coffee-cup sign above neighborhood joint Creative Grounds. (Recently the same block opened kiddie education store Segray and Squires.) But the giant cup is gone, as are the Grounds themselves, says an email from the proprietor:

yes, creative grounds is no more. the landlord decided she wanted to go a different direction. thanks for the interest...

Watch your back, Kaldi Coffee.

PREVIOUSLY: Life In a Theme Park, It Might Be a Mega-Chain Coffee Shop If...

Give a Yelp to the Neighborhood

Here are some AV joints recently (and highly) rated on Yelp.

The write-ups on Yelp are definitely of the ifyerlookinfor style, something an editor once described to me as loathsome.

• 4/5 stars - Kaldi Coffee & Tea - "If you miss the days of laid back coffee houses then this is the one for you. Locals (as in Atwater Village residents) flock to this place for their morning coffee ritual." (That last bit I can certainly verify. Inexpensive beans too.)
• 5/5 stars - Asia - "It's in Atwater Village, adjacent to trendy Los Feliz and boasts a snazzy, zen decor." (See my slightly less starry review here.)
• 5/5 stars - Indochine Vien - "If you want good pho this side of LA, I highly recommend this place." (Definitely on the To-Try List.)

Yelp also offers a fan-tastic Map-Tastic Google Maps mash-up. Pick a ZIP, click on restaurants. Or doctors. Or museums. And up they pop, reviews and all. Here's a capture from the map of reviewed restaurants along Los Feliz Blvd. in Atwater Village:

(Much cooler of course on the Map-Tastic page, since all those little numbers would be clickable.)

Unarrested Development

Thanks to an astute reader of Curbed LA for shedding light on re-construction at the old Atwater Ranch Market (3111 Glendale Blvd.).

BEFORE:

AFTER:

More drawings from the Atwater Chamber here, including a 13-page PDF presentation here.

So, a third bank along that stretch of Glendale? How many people really walk into banks any more? I know they're clean, good-paying tenants, but they're not exactly a draw. Are they?

And I also wonder how the indie Kaldi Coffee & Tea folks (about 400 feet away, same block) feel about this developer courting giants Starbucks and The Coffee Bean. (Though I'd lobby for a Peet's; the nearest is 6 miles away.)

P.S. - I just found this handwritten note on page 9 of the PDF to "maintain new mural." I wonder if the "new" mural is the colorful display on the building now or another one yet to come.