That Coffee Shop & Their Latest Attempt

Stopped in this morning at That Coffee Shop (sometimes referred to as Starbucks) for a tall morning pick and the first pumpkin scone of the season (probably the last of the season as well if I want to maintain, or should I say attain, a fit and trim figure). Today's marketing plan apparently was to give out as many sample of the new Via instant coffee as possible.

My grimace at the mere mention of "instant coffee" was enough to launch the barista on a persuasion pitch to get me to try Via. Yeah, I thought it was a bad idea too...instant? gross!...but you'll be surprised...try it...really...etc...etc. So I walked out this morning with a sample of Via in hand.

Then this afternoon I'm thinking it's time for a hot drink so back to the breakroom I go to boil water in the electric tea kettle and give the Via a test run. I was expecting the large grounds that you get in a jar of other brands' instant coffee and was surprised to pour finely ground coffee out of the packet. Nice.

I.actually.liked.it. Gulp. Not good enough to replace a real brewed or French-pressed cup, but if you're desperate and not near a coffeemaker or French press it's definitely a good thing to have on hand. I'm thinking that Via would be perfect for camping and backpacking. No more dragging along the old metal percolator or French press. No more dumping coffee grounds in the forest (oh, uh, who me?).

For those of you who don't like strong coffee, a.k.a. Starbucks' bitter dark-roasted beans, you'll probably be able to get two cups of coffee out of one packet of Via.

Delancey

For those of you who know, the title is perfectly clear...I finally got to eat here! So they're still working on a sign and it's nearly impossible to realize that tucked away along NW 70th Street in Ballard is this sweet little spot. Unless, of course, you've gone to the website and dutifully Google-mapped the location.

For those of you who don't know, Delancey is the creation of blogger Orangette's husband. We did, in fact, see Molly, but since I had neglected to bring my book we didn't bother meeting her.

The idea behind Delancey is to offer New York-style pizzas with a thin crust. The pizzas are fired, not baked, at a very high temperature in a brick oven, producing yummy charred, blackened bits amid an otherwise soft and chewy crust. The four of us shared 3 pizzas: A margherita, prosciutto, and foraged mushroom. The margherita was pretty much your standard pizza with tomato sauce (but really, really, really...good tomato sauce), mozzarella, and basil. I found it interesting and point-winning that the tomato sauce on the margherita tasted different from the one on the prosciutto and both complimented their accompanying ingredients well. The mushroom pizza was a whole different animal: No tomato sauce, just the mushrooms and cheese. It was delightful, actually.

Dessert: Grey salt covered chocolate chip cookies. 'Nuf said. Well, maybe not: Gooey, oozing chocolate on a warm cookie with a crispy edge and chewy center, topped with a smattering of salt crystals to create that just right blend of salty and sweet.

We had been told the wait would be about an hour, but the party before us were no-shows, so within 10 minutes we were seated at the table by the window (in the blog Molly mentions that she wants to sit at this table someday). Otherwise, they don't take reservations unless you have a party of 6 or more, for which one table is reserved.

My take? I'm not a New Yorker, but having grown up on the East Coast I feel like this pizza is more Italian than New York style, especially with the Europe-dominated wine list. However, it's tasty and the place is homey. I'd like to go back for my autograph, of course, and another cookie. I'd definitely take friends here who read Orangette and have followed the restaurant's saga.

How to satisfy cravings

The ice cream aisle at Fred Meyer: Good
Laughing hysterically with your sister while choosing said ice cream: Better
The resulting photo: Priceless

Ben & Jerry's Oatmeal Cookie Chunk: A

Tillamook Marionberry Pie: A+ (always a favorite)

Starbucks Caramel Macchiato: Familiar taste of Starbucks coffee, A, but the whole effect of the ice cream, B+

Fred Meyer Private Selection "Fried" Ice Cream: A+ (cinnamon tostada chips...nuf said)

Haagen Dazs five (Passion Fruit): A- (I hate to say it, but all those fake ingredients in the other stuff pull it together; however, this does taste very much like the product of a home ice cream machine)

Ben & Jerry's Dublin Mudslide: B- (too much happening)

I think my scores above were slightly skewed by my secondary cinnamon craving tonight.

Note to the diet police: We only sampled one spoonful of each one. Really. Ok, I might have had two of the "fried" ice cream.