Milwaukee Specialty Food and Coffee

Glendale/Whitefish Bay: Snapshots: Stone Creek in Glendale

I'm at Stone Creek Coffee's location on N. Port Washington Rd. in Glendale. Last week, I had the Holiday Blend at City Market and enjoyed it very much, so I picked up half a pound.  I have to admit that the last two times I've bought coffee at Stone Creek, I've gotten half pounds just to avoid the punch card dialog.  Today I actually wasn't successful in avoiding it, but the friendly barista played it a little better than others.   She asked if I wanted a punch card for the beans.  She didn't ask me if I had one--which is nice for two reasons: (a) if I had one, I'd probably present it (right?), and (b) it didn't make me feel like I hadn't done my homework for this transaction by not bringing a card.  I also enjoyed a mug of the drip coffee of the day, the Tanzanian Peaberry.

It's all holiday music, all the time here.  All of it has been rather annoying with the notable exception of "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" from A Charlie Brown Christmas.  The contrast illustrates the difference between Christmas and the holiday season.  I'd love to not have to endure another holiday season, but would never want to live without Christmas.

Stone Creek: Retail Coffee: Stone Creek Decaf Colombia

Many thanks to Stone Creek Coffee's Steve Hawthorne, who graciously sent me two pounds of their delicious Decaf Colombia.  It's wonderful both by itself and blended with regular coffees to create half-caff (my usual strategy when I find myself downing cup after cup of coffee).

Muchísimas Gracias!

Web/Tech: Stone Creek Launches New Website

This week, Stone Creek Coffee launched its new website, which, in my opinion, is just about the best I could imagine.  It's decidedly generous in terms of well-written descriptions and decidedly lacking in das Blinkenlights and useless gewgaws.

East Side/Riverwest: Snapshots: Stone Creek Coffee

I'm at Stone Creek Coffee in Shorewood enjoying the air conditioning and a couple mugs of Decaf French Roast (aside: is it possible that Stone Creek's E-commerce site still does not work in Firefox???  I am able to navigate in Google Chrome--which I never use--but not in Firefox.  I pointed this out to them months ago.)  The French Roast is good with half-and-half.  Though not quite on a par with the French press brew I enjoyed on Sunday, there's nothing wrong with this coffee at all.  The barista is also one of my favorites.  I note, for example, that she was suggesting for-here cups to customers, even though I've been here in the last hour before closing.

Photos: Grace Place Coffee Lounge

As a Grace Lutheran Church member, I remain ambivalent about the Grace Place Coffee Lounge, but in any case, here are a couple of pictures.

 

East Side/Riverwest: Snapshots: Stone Creek Shorewood

I had such a great experience at Stone Creek Coffee's N. Oakland Ave. location last night (Wednesday) that I thought I might be able to catch lightning in a bottle tonight (Thursday).  The atmosphere is not quite coming across to the same extent tonight.  Still, let me focus first on last night's great experience.  The barista, another of my Stone Creek favorites, brewed up a soy latte that met or possibly even exceeded last week's delicious treat in Glendale.  It tasted like they were using plain soy milk in Shorewood and vanilla-flavored in Glendale--or maybe I'm imagining things.

Tonight, the atmosphere has an old-skewing quality to it that seems odd for the beginning of a long holiday weekend.  The background music is almost Muzak-like in both style and volume.  While complaints are often voiced that the music at Alterra is played too loudly, here it is anything but that.  Those who are looking for a quiet place to work or study will find it here.

I'm drinking a couple mugfuls of the Decaf Guatemala, which is pretty decent.  I've explained in a comment that I find drip coffee at Stone Creek to be mediocre about 50% of the time, and this is kind of straddling the border between mediocre and good.  It doesn't taste like it's been held too long.  Despite this, I don't know which variables are responsible for the lackluster or at leat highly inconsistent qualities of the drip coffee here.  I would think that drip would be the easiest item on the menu to master, far more so than espresso drinks.

Glendale/Whitefish Bay: Snapshots: Stone Creek Coffee in Glendale

Yesterday, I felt better than I had in weeks, and with my workload down to a trickle and my boss heading out on Lake Michigan, there was nothing other to do than to take a long walk.  I made my way from the UWM area to northern Glendale with nothing in my pockets but two or three loose keys, driver’s license, blank check, cell phone. (Perfection, though sunscreen should have been in the mix somewhere.)  I planned to stop at Stone Creek Coffee in Glendale.  I would have been content with an experience that didn't kill the buzz, but it ended up being much more than that. 

It happened that my favorite barista was working.  Not only does he make a mean espresso drink, he exhibits remarkable attention to detail--handing me a pen to fill out my check before I had to ask, and even watering the plants in the cafe!  Some baristas would be unperturbed by plants growing out of half-empty latte mugs left on a table for a month.  I posted a week ago about owning one's workspace, and this barista is exemplary.

I made a point to spend some time sitting in the comfy chair, as if to spite Alterra a little bit by letting my bourgeois, non-fist-raising self luxuriate in seating comfort.  What's up with a coffeehouse not having comfy chairs, anyway?  They must figure it will help them skew young.

East Side/Riverwest: Snapshots: Stone Creek Shorewood

I'm back so soon at Stone Creek Coffee's N. Oakland Ave. location, which is doing a booming business not long before closing.  I'm enjoying a decaf Cappuccino that tastes sweetened even though it isn't (probably from the steamed milk).  I rather like it.

East Side/Riverwest: Snapshots: Stone Creek Shorewood

Today has been a great day! I did the Brown Deer Road - Cedarburg and back walk on the Ozaukee Interurban Trail, and I feel like I returned from Lourdes or something (I've been suffering from mysterious back and side aches, most likely due to excessive sitting and stress.) Speaking of that, I've basically resolved to wean myself off caffeine to the greatest extent possible, which will probably end up meaning cutting down to just enough to avoid withdrawal symptoms. All of my coffee stops today have been for decaf. Right now, I'm sitting at Stone Creek Coffee in Shorewood enjoying the mellow pre-closing atmosphere. I have to credit the friendly barista with going about his closing duties in a most unobtrusive manner. Nary a garbage bag has been opened in the half-hour or so I've been here!

Photos