Bica

Recently, the Missus mentioned a place in Normal Heights that was pet friendly and supposedly made good coffee, named Bica. JJ enjoys riding in the car; but gets major FOMO. He does enjoy the walks, so recently I headed on up to Normal Heights and easily found street parking a couple blocks away from Bica, which is basically across the street from White Rice Bodega.

Indoors there's a counter for ordering; the Barista working there on both visits was very friendly.

Prices aren't too bad either.

There's a small menu of "tartines" – open face toasts and sandwiches. It was different on both visits.

I went and ordered a Cold Brew and Mushroom Tartine ($12), paid and walked over to the patio area.

While the furnishings in the patio area were pretty packed in; it was not fully occupied and was quite nice and relaxing. 

The place just gave off a nice vibe and JJ did well, just hanging while I enjoyed my Cold Brew, which tasted lighter, but had a nice caffeine "kick".

As for my Tartine; well, it looked lovely.

Loved the bread. Wish there was more mushroom…more savory-earthiness would have been appreciated. A bit too much stracciatella cheese. A bit too much sour-acidity, but overall a decent breakfast.

JJ enjoyed his pre and post breakfast walk as well.

A few weeks later, the Missus decided to join us on another visit to Bica.

I told the Missus to just order me a Cold Brew and order a sandwich for us to split. JJ and I then just headed over to the patio.

The Missus had gotten Herself a Cortado which She loved.

As for the sandwich; well, I was surprised that She ordered a Cubano ($17)!

Once again, we loved the bread, which was perfectly toasted, crusty and crisp, sturdy enough to hold up thru our entire meal.

The pork was tasty, as were all the individual parts. Though when taken as a whole, there was a bit too much pork in this for us. Of course, I'm sure all the swine lovers must love this. For us, proportion matters and more acidity and pungency would helped to balance things out.

The Missus loved the pickled veggies.

We again enjoyed the vibe and walked JJ all the way to Kensington. Funny how people react differently when you have a pup in tow. Folks were wishing us a "good morning", several women stopped to pet JJ….and being the little ham that he is, we would roll on his back to get his tummy rubbed! 

Overall, we enjoyed Bica. Heck, if they were in our 'hood we'd be regulars. Plus, the Missus enjoyed Her Cortado and we actually returned just for that a week later.

I also noticed another place during our time in the neighborhood that we'd end up visiting and enjoying as well!

Stay tuned!

Bica
3569 Adams Ave.
San Diego, CA 92116
Current Hours:
Daily 630am – 4pm