YOUR QUESTIONS, MY ANSWERS ...!

Well, folks, I’m about midway through my culinary tour of Montana Avenue and thought this was as good a time as any to address some of the comments and questions I’ve been getting so far. Interestingly enough, a lot of the questions seem to be about Peet’s, so I went back there this morning to get a few answers. During my first visit, a friendly debate erupted between the Barista and the man standing behind me in line over which pastry I should order. I went with the Triple Berry Scone, but the Barista recommended the Almond Croissant. Paula commented that the Almond Croissant sounded good to her. Well, Paula, you’re right. It is good. There’s a certain subtlety to it that appealed to me: It’s not too flaky, not too buttery and not too sweet … with just the right hint of almond flavoring to make it all worthwhile. If you can believe it, when I arrived this morning, another Friendly Pastry Debate was in progress. The woman standing in front of me was waxing poetic about the Cherry Almond Scone, demanding that the Barista tell her exactly who baked it. In case you’re wondering, Peet’s gets its Cherry Almond Scones from La Provence. The Almond Croissant ($2.85) comes from La Brea Bakery. An Anonymous Reader assumed correctly that I was ordering the same-sized cup of coffee both at Starbucks and Peet’s and asked me how the prices compare. For my order, a small (or what Starbucks calls Grande) drip coffee, the price was the same at both locations: $1.95. Emikk wanted to know whether Peet’s offers any Apple Fritters. Sadly, Emikk, they don’t. One thing they do have, though, is an interesting sense of community. By complete coincidence, the same woman who offered me a seat at her table on Saturday joined me again today. I told her about my blog and she was quick to point out that an eclectic bunch of folks hangs out regularly at Peet’s, just like they do at 7th and Montana. “Oh,” she laughed, “We have our share of loons around here, too!” Granted, I’ve only been there twice, but I didn’t hear any Opera Singers belting out tunes in the bathroom; there weren’t any “zombies” sitting statue-like by the condiments bar; and there weren’t any cross dressers (at least as far as I could tell). Another Anonymous Reader asked: “How many coffee houses are there on Montana Ave.? I hope you tell us which one you like best.” There are eight coffee houses between 7th and 17th Streets and I’m planning to hit each one. When I’m done, I’ll let you know which one I like best. And finally, I got a noteworthy e-mail from Gary, the Co-Owner and Creative Director at Caffe Luxxe. He saw my blog and wanted me to let you know that they’ll be introducing “a very fun Peanut Butter and Jelly Macaron very soon.” Yum …!

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Meanwhile, back at 7th and Montana, work continued on the vacant space formerly occupied by Blockbuster Video. The fact that the work crew removed all the unsightly blue tiles from the building’s exterior means we might be in for a major overhaul. According to the Local Scuttlebutt, Chase Bank will be moving in, but, who knows … maybe we’ll end up with yet another Coffee House!