Just a couple of caffeine fixes for today.
Inka'fe (Bay Park):
Back in January, I noticed that Inka'fe was replacing Humble Bean in the little building on the corner of Denver and Ingulf Streets. The shop didn't seem open yet, but on JJ's last grooming visit, we passed the shop and it was open! We needed to kill some time and wait for "J", so we decided to head on over to check things out.
It's a small shop, but there are quite a few coffee based drinks and Peruvian specialties on offer. I had read that Inka'fe is a woman owned business that specializes in organic beans harvested from Peru. There's also Inca Kola and even Lucuma Ice Cream on offer.
There are basically three different roasts that are rotated for the basic coffee drinks. On this day, it was the "City Roast". The Missus got a latte, which She thought was quite smooth, almost too smooth, and mild in flavor. I got a Cold Brew, which also did not seem especially strong.
It was quite easy to drink and seemed to be a bit lighter.
The young lady working was a joy. I need to return when things warm up and get some Lucuma Ice Cream and maybe an Inca Kola.
Inka'fe
2615 Denver St.
San Diego, CA 92110
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 7am – 4pm
Sat – Sun 8am – 4pm
Coffee Culture (Old Town):
I like to take JJ over to Old Town for a walk during the off season, when things are quiet in the mornings. On this Sunday morning, I skipped my usual coffee routine and we just headed on over to Old Town. I had thoughts of grabbing a cup at Garden Coffee, but I had forgotten that they open at 9….it was just past 8. And then I saw this.
Ah, yes…..I remembered seeing the sign for Coffee Culture replacing Hola Paris in the Urban Market back in December. I guess they had opened? I walked on over and yes indeed, they were open.
Man, dig the art work! The young man working; I believe his name is Santiago was really friendly. We even had a chat about places in Mexico. On this day, the coffee featured was Guatemalan, so I got an Americano. I also saw that they have croissants, so I decided to take a chance….there's no bakery on sight, and they didn't have one on display, but I was told they had them. So, I got one of those as well.
The Americano was very earthy, though not bitter and lacking the sweet-acidity I enjoy….it was pretty stiff though and woke me up.
This was a decent cup.
Santiago was nice enough to heat up the Butter Croissant for me, but when he handed it to me, I knew it was basically mass produced stuff.
Very dry, not too crisp-flaky, lacking in salt and butter, the interior doughy……I'll just leave it at that.
Oh well, I'll come back and get a cup again though. The young man was so nice. On this day, JJ was just wanting to "get on with things".
Can you see he's telling me "daddy…hurry up?"
I hope they do well here. The Urban Market seems to have a pretty high rate of turnover. I'm thinking the lease rate must be pretty high.
Coffee Culture
2548 Congress St.
San Diego, CA 92110
Current Hours:
Mon – Tues 9am – 5pm
Wed – Sun 8am – 6pm
It came with a variety of "cuts"; I went for the chicharron right away. 
The Server recommended I get the rice noodles with this which reminded me of pho. It was perfectly prepared with a nice stretch to them.
I was happy to note that they actually use the appropriate noodle, the curly-rolled rice noodle sheets known as kway chap in this. Nice and chewy! 
The broth didn't have any spice, seemed a bit more porky and rich than the boat noodles. I ended up using the chili oil, which also had some nice acidity, and some chili flakes to help cut the richness.
While the exterior could have been a bit more flaky and crisp; there was a nice balance of butter and salt flavor. The interior was light, fluffy, and nicely honeycombed. This was a pretty good croissant; and would probably be in the "top 3" here in San Diego.
We enjoyed the Smoked Duck Salad even more this time around; the duck was more tender, had a nice gamey-smokiness. The dressing had a nice acidity and the Missus enjoyed the tart-sweetness of the apples….She usually does not like the addition of fruit to salads, but this changed Her mind. A nice refreshing salad.
We ordered the meat rare. but only the large piece was rare, the rest were medium-well, skewing things to the tough side of the scale. The meat was well seasoned, though the "sauces" really didn't go well with the proteins but was necessary for the really dry "garlic bread" bites in our opinion. The Bloody Mary aioli was interesting, but pretty bland; the BBQ Sauce was too sweet. 
The toasts were again really good. The tomato-bell pepper compote was over processed and runny; I prefer something more rustic and thicker. It also lacked the seasoning I like; cumin, smoky tones, harissa, herbaceous flavors, and garlic. This had a decent acidity, though I'm not quite sure about feta cheese in my shakshuka. I really wasn't expecting anything close to what we had in Tunisia or 
Think fried mochi/manju. The exterior was crisp, giving way to a chewy interior along with a filling that was a bit too sweet for us. We tried one when it arrived and saved the rest for after the main courses were finished. Unfortunately, by that time it had started getting soggy. We ended up taking the rest home to heat in the air fryer. Still, I don't think we'll have this again.
I liked the amount of cilantro and scallion in the broth, it added a nice fragrance and flavor. The meat was tender, though it seemed to not be as beefy as I would have desired. Still, if you're a major carnivore, you might enjoy this. Personally, I like a variety of cuts, texture, and flavors.
