Caffe Artigiano 06.28.08. Betty’s 86th.

I think there was a new guy at the Artigiano I go to at Kerrisdale. Well, whether or not he is new, he made a pretty nice heart the other day. Then again, everybody seemed to have gotten the same heart…

 

This day was special: it was one of E’s old neighbor Betty’s 86th birthday. We didn’t know this – we had drove by to see E’s old place in the neighborhood, and happened to see Betty’s niece in the garden and were invited in to say hello. E hasn’t seen Betty for over a decade and Betty’s starting to suffer from dementia but still remembers E fondly. After we found out it was her birthday that day (and after having said latte at Artigiano), we went down to Michelle’s Cake house on W. Boulevard and got her a tiramisu. Too bad I didn’t take a picture of it, it looked quite pretty. I would have chosen the fresh mango cake but Betty seemed more like a Tiramisu kind of gal. Anyway, Michelle’s Cake House is an Asian bakery, and makes fabulous cakes and pastries. There was a gigantic lineup when we were there; they take numbers.

We brought the cake back to Betty’s place just in time as her friend told us she was just about to call and order a cake for Betty. ^__^

 

Michelle’s Cake House

6033 West Boulevard, Vancouver

604-261-3284

Latte Art @ Cafe Artigiano

Back from a little hiatus… which involved a hospital visit and being dissected. This unfortunately means that my Christmas posts will not be filled with extreme feasting. *sigh* However, I am backlogged on posts, so we should be bursting with food nevertheless! For Christmas Eve, I have decided to dedicate a post to something lovely: Coffee.

I was a tea drinker… once. I used to dislike coffee. Somehow, some when, I converted. At first, I could drink the instant stuff. Then I went from getting a tall Americano from Starbucks once in a little while, to having a grande every day. Now, the drip brew from Tim Horton’s tastes like shit to me. I am by no means a coffee connoiseur, I don’t even brew my own… but I salivate when I see nice espresso machines. I only know that I don’t like drip brew, I don’t like bitter, I don’t like over-roasted, and I prefer espresso-based drinks.

Caffè Artigiano is considered to be one of the best coffee houses in Vancouver, and has won the Canadian Barista Championship for several years. I love their espresso for what it tastes like, not the leaves and hearts that decorate the milk foam on top. Not that I don’t consider it a skill, but latte art in general doesn’t impress me so much, because sometimes I think of fancy-shmancy as a cover up for a less satisfactory product. This is, of course, not the case at Artigiano. Though I must admit the latte experience is more exciting with the art than without.

Their Americano is good, better and with a nicer crema than your typical Starbucks fare:

Now, if you have had a latte at Starbucks, and actually like it, then that’s just… too bad. I can still drink Starbuck’s Americano, but there is no way I’d have the latte at Starbucks. I don’t know if there is latte better than Artigiano’s: their’s has got a great aroma, very roasty, and not at all bitter. Which is very important. It is far superior than most latte’s out there, even without the latte art. This particular leaf wasn’t the prettiest, but it really doesn’t matter:

Due so soon?! A tall just isn’t enough! 

Before I tried it I had an impression that this place might be a little overrated. I don’t think it is – Artigiano is really that good. But maybe just how great you think it is depends on your specific coffee preferences and snobbiness, and what you order. Artigiano is pretty much the same price as Starbucks, but to me it is far better. Unfortunately they just aren’t close to where I live, and I don’t have an espresso machine.

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Caffe Artigiano

5 locations in Vancouver: Pender, Hornby, Hastings, Park Royal, Kerridale.