Drunken Monkey
It all begins with an idea.
UPDATE 10/16/2018: Came here with my dad and of course we went inside (it's best you don't use the drive-thru and we know that). We got the vegan brownie ($2.73), a 16oz hot mocha ($4.32), 12oz hot almond milk cappuccino ($3.38), and an Anzac cookie ($2.25). My almond milk cappuccino was nothing magnificent, but it was a good change of pace. The vegan brownie made it a perfect vegan pairing. It didn't astound, but it also didn't disappoint. Chocolatey and not unjustly grainy tasting, the pastry was a blend that wasn't sugar shouldering the taste and wasn't just empty calories that traditionally butter and eggs have a stake in. Let's just say I didn't want to throw it out any sunroofs 😉
UPDATE 10/16/2023: No, that isn’t a typo. Somehow I wandered in here EXACTLY 5 YEARS LATER. And, why? The soup, always the soup. They ditched the hemp milk (a major bummer), but this soup? Creamy Purple Cauliflower and delicious beyond belief. I tried all three vegan soups (which also included Mushroom Barley and Syrian Chickpea with Lemon and Tahini). A blessing. I thought they’d limited the number of samples. Nope. So, the purple cauliflower was just too good to pass up (the rest were still amazing), and I had to hold back all the blissful sounds. God bless Drunken Monkey.
Foxtail
It all begins with an idea.
To read more about Foxtail, check out my published coverage in the Winter 2020 issue of Winter Park Magazine: https://issuu.com/digitalissue/docs/wpm_win20/54.
UPDATE 12/06/2018: Ended up circling back here after one evening of Italian food out in WPV. My dad's exact words were, "well, what about that place your mother said is too dark?" I laughed in understanding—of my mother, not of the cafe she referred to—and we headed over to Foxtail at my behest. I remember it being open till 22:00. However, I Googled it to double check and found that it is actually open till 00:00. Something must've changed. Something must be going on.
When we arrived, the doors available for entry had doubled. The space had grown tremendously—the barn door acting as a partition in the previous cafe was pushed aside—with this cafe adopting something called a Gravity Bar. I found an article about this new area being called the Farmhouse and opening up last April. Later night owls had nabbed a glass of wine while some still stuck with coffee at the tables perched on window sills and high top tables. My father and I picked up some cappuccinos ($4.25 each) and sat in the original barn wing. He asked me questions about where they got their beans, whether the coffee was a blend, what made it taste different from Starbucks, etc. When he finished sipping it down to the echo of a plastic cup, he flipped it and said, "two conclusions: one, good. Two, too small." The whole way back to the car I explained the beauty of a cappuccino's delicate proportions, why they had done this part right. Later on the discussion blossomed as, back at home, he mentioned once more that the cappuccino really was good and a nice change of pace. I begged to differ. Yes, the quality was their. However, their was a flavor at the tail end of the espresso that was unpleasant. The proportions of their blend was off. I understood where he was coming from though. The conclusory note was this—this cappuccino is like bleu cheese. It is distinct, it is unmistakeable from the other cheeses, but it takes a very specific person to enjoy it and is better as a garnish or additive to enhance other flavors (so, if you put sugar in it, it's like adding lettuce to a bleu cheese crumble salad). I would never get it again, but why other people do again and again does nothing to perplex me.
Barnie’s
It all begins with an idea.
To read more about Barnie’s, check out my published coverage in the Winter 2020 issue of Winter Park Magazine: https://issuu.com/digitalissue/docs/wpm_win20/54.
UPDATE 11/14/2018: Look at that divine S Santa’s White Christmas ($4.26) below. Gosh, that’s pretty. It has the coconut, vanilla, and sugary caramel wrapped in as a delicate ballet of flavors. Even though it’s visually appealing, I’m not sure if their was an issue or if it was just me, but it wasn’t the same decisively delightful experience I remember. Sometimes time fiddles with memory. Moral of the story: this drink is still amazing, it just isn’t transcendent.
UPDATE 9/14/2021: I had a meeting with someone cancelled and rescheduled here three times and after the fourth time—the person got COVID—I just decided it was time to pop in. Renata was there, and I decided to get the seasonal…yep, I did it. It’s PSL season everybody. She did a wonderful job on the latte art, so I had to snap a picture. Honestly, it had enough spice, enough espresso flavor, enough velvety texture…let’s just say the rest of my afternoon was radiant. And, they are still running their Cappy Hour: from 2 to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, either buy 2 or more beverages and get 50% off your order (for groups of 2 or more) OR $1 off any individual order. The 12 oz. seasonal latte was $3.50, but ended up totaling $3.20 (with tax). Wonderful.
UPDATE 1/11/22: Their hours have changed. See below.
M-W {7-16} - Kitchen closes at 14:30.
Th-Sat {7-20} - Kitchen closes at 14:30, and after hours menu begins at 16:00.
Sun {7:30-16} - Kitchen closes at 14:30.
UPDATE 1/12/22: The above is from my visiting friend Christine 🙂
UPDATE 5/10/22: So kindly humored me with my post for 100 followers—completely played the part when I asked them to film them brining out my Santa’s White Christmas Blend latte. So great.
Austin’s Coffee
It all begins with an idea.
To read more about Austin’s Coffee, check out my published coverage in the Winter 2020 issue of Winter Park Magazine: https://issuu.com/digitalissue/docs/wpm_win20/54.
This is the place where I found out that tabs were an invention, where Heads Up wasn't just a game, but the prime of an era, where we drank virgin cider from plastic flukes to ring in the 2011 New Year, and where big truths were branded—like that bodacious, voluptuous woman that made for some unforgettable indie paintings (seriously, whoever's butt that is is forever brushed via oil paint all over my memory...). It's what you'd call the town hangout or the place that parents whisper about and ban their kids from going despite all the kids knowing that—if you must smoke your weed—this is probably the most tame place to do it. The lake-size sink hole that sits behind the coffee joint is legendary and the lack of seats doesn't speak to the smallness or any lack at all really - just a testament to the accepted perception that Austin's isn't any 'ole coffeeshop; it's a people magnet. And—for whatever reason—it enchants the young crowd that has come to claim it as their Winter Park haunt through all the stuffy years of indecisiveness and reckless curiosity.
Circa November 2010:
Circa New Years 2011 ❤️:
UPDATE 10/18/2018: Sweet coffee—still delectable. The vegan chocolate chip cookie (warmed up by the Darren Criss look-a-like behind the counter) was serenity sculpted by melted chocolate chips and a softened, browned dough.
UPDATE 11/22/2018
UPDATE 12/19/2018: Winter Park to Wrocław & Ås, Wrocław-to-Ås, Ås-to-Wrocław, Wrocław & Ås to Winter Park, and my high school girl and I were back to doing what we do best - hang, between the Europe adventures, where the explosive urge to seek out the world began. And, this time I got my sweet coffee. Nothing new. But, the ebullient barista asked me was kind of dairy. Not "cream or no cream," but what kind of add-in. I paused. No extra charge. She recommended coconut milk. So that's what I got. This drink is so good at its base that it can be mixed with anything and retain every ounce of integrity. What I'm trying to say is, you'll catch me tucked into a booth, deep into whatever I may be typing at some moment, with a domed plastic cup condensing around coffee tinted lighter than the conventional tar I love.
UPDATE 2/3/2019: Almond milk sweet coffee. 24oz. $3.05. $3.25 with tax. $3.74 with a 15% tip. Just do it. It's a gracious companion to hours of writing, reading, and loosening up with the evening.
10/12/2019:
3/26/2021
Krispy Kreme
It all begins with an idea.
UPDATE 8/19/20: Picked up an iced chocolate glazed ($1.39) and an original glazed ($1.09) for the giggles.
UPDATE 11/06/20: Hoped through the drive-thru for a 1/2 dozen ($7.74): 4 Pumpkin spice cake, 1 chocolate glazed, and 1 glazed raspberry filled.
UPDATE 8/11/21:
Stopped in for the S’mores Classic Doughnut ($1.29) and a couple S’mores Fudge Cake Doughnuts ($1.89/each). Delicious. See below for the descriptions of these products below.
S’mores Classic Doughnut - A doughnut filled with marshmallow KREME™, dipped in Hershey’s chocolate icing, drizzled with marshmallow KREME™ and chocolate icing and topped with graham cracker crumbs.
S’mores Fudge Cake Doughnut - A Hershey’s fudge cake doughnut, dipped in marshmallow icing, decorated with Hershey’s chocolate icing and topped with chocolate chips.
UPDATE 9/29/21 (7:53AM): What a way to begin National Coffee Day 2021. ❤️
The deal was a regular glazed and a small coffee.
UPDATE 10/22/2021: Enchanted Cauldron ($1.89), Pumpkin Spice Cake ($1.49), Bewitched Broomstick ($1.89), and Abra Cat Dabra.
CLOSED: Blue Bird Bake Shop
It all begins with an idea.
UPDATE 12/09/2018: Headed over here once more with an old friend. She said that, since being in Oregon, she has been craving some iced coffee. She ordered a vanilla iced latte (when we met later she exclaimed, "ahhh! I meant to tell you how my coffee was! Honestly, it wasn't very good—forgot to ask them to hold some of the syrup haha. I was just so excited to have iced coffee again..." So, on that front, there you have it: if you're looking for coffee, ask them to lay off the recipe calling for 4oz of syrup) while I—staying away from the cupcakes given my last review—got a small cappuccino ($2.85) and what I insisted on calling a brown scone. It was in fact a chocolate toasted almond scone ($3)—the characteristics that underscored for my enthusiasm—and yet, I just couldn't bring myself to use the words when ordering. The barista however was a delight, putting the puffed, brown triangle on her professed favorite Christmas plate, and later coming out with my cappuccino in hand. The scone wasn't bad, mini chocolate chips were stuffed into the folded butter and cocoa, a seldom almond flake here and there mostly towards the bottom. I should quickly mention that scones are not something I like to indulge in, frequently finding them rather heavy and not worth the calories, so it would take a otherworldly variation of this British baked good to knock my socks off. It had all it claimed; it just didn't strike me as worthwhile.
The cappuccino—and particularly the espresso it was composed of—was a caramel sweet. Somehow, I was able to take this opportunity to appreciate a deviation from the specialty coffee world. Nice to see that coffee doesn't have to be flowery and is still enjoyable in the ubiquitous sense.
The Glass Knife
It all begins with an idea.
Endless The Glass Knife Appreciation Board:
(L to R) And this list isn’t even all of it…(missing the peanut butter frosted cookie and the lemon lavender cookie among others…)
Signature Sprinkle—1/19/19
Chocolate Big Wheel—2/6/19
Strawberry Snack Cake—2/8/21
Pride Petite Cake ($11) — 6/11/21
Pumpkin Spice Latte Cookie ($5) — 10/13/21
Vegan Maple Pecan Donut ($5) — 10/20/21
Free Snack Cake—11/10/21
Vegan Raspberry Almond Donut ($5.50) — 12/11/21
Cookies and Milk Croissant ($7) — 12/12/21
Apple Almond Croissant ($7) — 1/9/22
Vegan Lemon Blueberry Thyme Donut ($5.50) — 3/20/22 (a sincere 15 out of 10)
Blackberry Matcha Pastry—4/28/22
(not pictured) Blueberry Pie Donut—7/21/22
Blackberry Cobbler Donut and Chocolate Milkshake Donut—8/15/22
11/6/2020
3/20/2022:
Stardust Video & Coffee
It all begins with an idea.
UPDATE 11/13/2018: Got the M Iced Mocha ($3.75 without tax) and the flavor was very fluid in terms of the coffee's performance in relation to the chocolate component and vice versa. It wasn't anything of special note, but the size fit the bill and it hit the marks of a mocha. My choice deviant from my normal coffee regimen.
UPDATE 8/28/21: They have coconut milk now! And, they have child karaoke…let’s just say Saturday nights are probably not for everyone…