We enjoyed strolling back to our hotel after dinner at Jeune et Jolie. We had gotten some coffee at the shop on the corner of Carlsbad Boulevard and Grand Avenue on our last staycation in the area. I had forgotten to take photos during that visit. The coffee stand was actually in Witch Creek Winery. We decided to pop in and take a look. There were folks enjoying themselves, though the place wasn’t overly crowded.
The musician was plating Guantanamera which was a favorite of my late mom. We decided to finish off the evening with a nice glass of wine.
We got a glass of the Chardonnay and a glass of the White Blend.
The Missus really enjoyed the White Blend. We finished things off by sharing a glass of the Sparkling Wine, which I enjoyed. Fairly light, fruity, but not overly sweet.
We took the 3 block walk back to the hotel. It was a brisk, but pleasant night. We slept well. The next morning we woke and relaxed a bit. I went to get some coffee provided in the hotel’s recreation room and we sat on our porch and enjoyed ourselves.
We then took a nice stroll along the Carlsbad State Beach walkway.
After our morning walk, we decided to check out. The nice gentleman manning the front desk told us it would perfectly fine to leave our car in the lot until one or so. So we loaded up the car, then headed on out. The Missus wanted to check out some of the shop in the area, most of which didn’t open until 10. So we ambled up State Street and then Roosevelt.
I was getting a bit hungry and recalled seeing a fairly popular bakery during our last stay in the area. So we headed on over.
The name of the place is simply Carlsbad Bakery. It used to be named Carlsbad Danish Bakery.
The very nice woman working seemed to have a Danish accent, which made me smile as I hadn’t heard that in quite a while. I had thoughts about just getting a croissant, but decided on the Brie-Mushroom-Spinach pastry. The Missus got some flourless chocolate cake that She saved for later and enjoyed.
Pastry in hand we started walking back to the hotel.
As we walked past Witch Creek Winery, we decided to grab some coffee. And headed on in.
We’d been here on our last visit, so we knew what we wanted. The Missus got the Tanzania pour-over and I got a cold brew. We placed our orders and took a stroll around the shop.
The place was empty so it was nice to wander around.
There’s quite a bit of “stuffs” for sale in the shop and on the patio. Some of it was quite cute and charming.
Once our coffees were ready we took a seat outside and enjoyed watching the parade of pooches up and down the street. The Missus enjoyed Her pour over and the cold brew was great fuel for the drive ahead.
There’s a Starbucks next door which does some major business; but Sleeping Tiger was fairly quiet. I dunno, we much rather support a local business.
I had my pastry, which was much larger than it looked on the counter.
This was not bad; enjoyed the creamy brie which also had some nice earthiness, which the mushrooms further enhanced. The croissant dough was lightly buttery; though it lacked the flakiness that I enjoy; this was not bad. I guess I’ll need to try the croissants next time.
You can read about Soo’s visit to Carlsbad Bakery here.
I’m guessing we’ll be returning to these two stops when visiting Carlsbad.
Carlsbad (Danish) Bakery
2805 Roosevelt St.
Carlsbad, CA 92008
Tues – Sat 7am – 3pm
Sunday 7am – 1pm
Closed on Monday
Witch Creek Winery
2906 Carlsbad Blvd.
Carlsbad, CA 92008
Current Hours:
Sun – Thurs Noon – 7pm
Friday Noon – 8pm
Saturday Noon – 9pm
**** Sleeping Tiger Coffee is no longer
Sleeping Tiger Coffees (In Witch Creek Winery)
2906 Carlsbad Blvd.
Carlsbad, CA 92008
Current Hours:
Thurs – Mon 7am – 5pm
Tues – Wed 7am – 3pm
We had enjoyed Carlsbad; but now it was time to head on over to our next stop…..
The guacamole was fine, we prefer our guacamole a bit more coarse, with more heat, and this really in need of salt and more lime. It was almost like this was made in a food processor.
Geez who'd have thought we would see prices at 2 bucks per chicken wings all those year ago! The wings were nicely battered, more crunchy than crisp, the texture was not bad at all. There was a sticky glaze, which was more toward the sweet than savory, though you could make out the fish sauce. The wings were on the larger side and was decently cared for with a minimum of bitter black portions around the bones. This was not bad at all and had me wishing I had ordered the salt and pepper version.
I was able to try the rib bone. The meat was on the chewier side but came off the bone nicely and was actually the beefiest cut provided. Because the broth was super hot, the rare steak was over cooked by the time of consumption. The rest of meats were bland and tasteless as well. 
But at least I didn't have to worry about my rare steak being overcooked. Based on my last visit, I decided to time how long it took before I could safely partake of my pho. Cautiously taking sips things timed out at twelve minutes and seventeen seconds. As you can see; the soup was very clear, though it wasn't as sweet-salty this time around. It did have a nice beefy "nose" with hints of star anise. 
Of course we loved the tender, grassy-mild sweetness of the fern shoot.
