theReviewGuys

This cafe is next to my work place. I pass by on a daily basis, and I usually don’t stop. I’ve had an occasional cup of joe, and today since I neglected to get my shot of espresso from Blue Bottle, and also neglected to get enough of the freshest espresso from Moschetti, I figured I’d get a shot of espresso from The Coffee and Tea Leaf.

A “small” shot is $1.75 and a “large” shot is $2.25. I decided to see what they could do with a “small” shot. As is my usual habit, I planted myself in a place where I could watch the barista do her thing. She loaded up the portafilter with a mound of already ground coffee from the grinder’s doser. Then she didn’t bother to tamp the coffee and just stuffed the portafilter into the Cimbali Espresso Machine. A paper cup was placed on one side of the dual spout portafilter and a shot glass was placed on the other side. The shot was poured and it was all of a 5 second shot. The paper cup was handed to me, and the shot glass was unceremoniously dumped.

I opened the lid of the cup and stared at a watery bit of espresso that had almost zero crema. I took a whiff and the espresso had little aroma, and the taste was bitter, and little coffee flavor. There was zero body to the espresso and no-silky texture. One sip and I threw away the cup with the remaining espresso. It was a crappy experience and I’ll not buy another cup of coffee or espresso.

The curious thing to me is that there’s always a crowd there, and I see folks who are regulars, and I wonder why.

Don’t bother getting a shot of espresso from the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. They have no interest in quality coffee. It is obviously not fresh, since there is no crema, and I don’t think the baristas are up to the challenge of pulling a decent shot.

On an espresso rating scale of 1-5, they get a 1. Poor taste, poor execution.

I recommend that the owners, managers, and employees of the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf cafe march down the street to Blue Bottle on Mint Street and experience what a good shot of espresso looks like, and tastes like. Then march right back to your cafe and practice until you can pull a good shot of espresso.

Tried one of those $2.50 Maple Bacon Beignets at the Thursday morning San Francisco Ferry Building Farmer’s Market. It was a cream filled donut that had subtle flavor. I never did taste the Maple, and the bacon was only there after I’d eaten the “beignet”. I think I found a tiny nugget of bacon lodged on a tooth.

Still, a donut with cream filling is ok in my book.

Went to this little french bistro/jazz club and had a Croque Madame Рham sandwich on crunchy bread, melted gruyere, dijon mustard and covered with b̩chamel.

Bread wasn’t crunchy, had one very thin slice of ham, no mustard, and the bread was not toasted. Tasted like it was made yesterday and left on a plate in the fridge. I could have given Gordon Ramsey a run for his money on critiquing that limp, insipid and soggy poor excuse for a sandwich.

.

I’ve passed by that place a hundred times and wanted to try this sandwich. Only, the price is normally $13.95, and up to now I just keep on going by. Today they had a $9.95 special for the sandwich, fries and salad. There were three tables filled in the place, and now I know why.

This is what it should have looked like:

Here’s a Croque-Monsieur (with Mornay Sauce) Recipe:

Ingredients:
A loaf of Crusty French or Italian bread.
Gruyère cheese
Mornay or Béchamel Sauce (easy to make)
butter
flour
milk
salt
pepper
fresh nutmeg
Good quality, thinly sliced ham.
Good quality French sweet honey dijon mustard

Slice up the ham and quickly cook it in a hot frying pan to caramelize the sugars and fat. Set aside.

Make a Béchamel Sauce by melting one tablespoon of butter and adding two tablespoons of flour. Whisk until it is just cooked. Add a cup of scalding milk and whisk it together slowly. Cook slowly until thickened. Turn off the heat. Add half a cup or so of Gruyère cheese and stir until it is melted. Now it’s a Mornay Sauce. Add salt and pepper and grated fresh nutmeg to taste.

Take two slices of bread and butter one side of each. On the other side of each smear on a good helping of French Honey Dijon Mustard. Grate a good helping of Gruyère to each slice of bread on the mustard side. Pile on the ham and close up the sandwich. Grill it in an iron skillet until each side is brown and crunchy.

Pour several tablespoons of Mornay Sauce on top of the sandwich and grate a good helping of Gruyère on top of the sandwich. Broil in the oven or toast oven until the sauce and cheese are bubbly and brown.