Starbucks has announced it will close 600 US stores and layoff more than 12,000 staff. It has also moderated its expansion plans, and will open fewer than 200 new stores in the US this year, down from the 250 originally planned.

Starbucks’ quarterly profit is down 28% from last year, and it will take almost $350 million in charges this year from its decision to close 600 stores.

All US retailers, says Starbucks, have been hit by an imploding housing market and rocketing fuel prices. The coffee retailer will focus on expanding internationally.

Hopefully Starbucks does not consider Vancouver an international expansion target. We already have more than enough green and white mermaids, thanks.

Damn Fine Pie
Our favourite house guest brought us some mighty fine pie from Tartine this week. Flaky crust in the tradition of my dear departed mother, and fillings that would be worth a bit of penance, if it were still Lent. We liked the bumbleberry a whole lot, and the strawberry rhubarb even more. Their bakery at 770 Beach Avenue, almost under the Granville Bridge, has a full breakfast and lunch menu, and lots of goodies, for take out. Did I mention their pies?

Ahhh, Artigiano
The new owners of local coffee roaster, Caffè Artigiano, have been growing their business, and have recently opened their newest location, near Hastings and Willingdon in Burnaby. It’s not close enough to our house to walk, but we’re delighted to no longer have to foray into downtown Vancouver to buy their Private Reserve Espresso beans.

Five Names, One Lucky New GM
Five names for new Canucks GM have been bandied about by the The Vancouver Sun. At our house, the money is on Jim Nill.

Kitchen Goodness
Some day, some way, we’ll get a new kitchen and quit bumping into each other and the fridge door. In the meantime, we dream, and I like this French kitchen a whole lot.

Don’t Take Your Cat On Skytrain
Tasers are meant to be used sparingly, as a substitute for lethal force. Unfortunately, for some of the “authorities,” tasers are toys, and for others, an easy and convenient way to keep people in line, witness the BC Transit Police tactics since they got their tasers into their hot little hands. If you wouldn’t shoot someone for skiving on their transit fare, then why taser them? Unless of course, the skiver is a cat…like the one that was fighting with another member of its species, or the other that may have accidentally wandered into the wrong place at the wrong time. RIP, kitties.

On a recent trip to Parksville, we stopped in at Bocca in Nanaimo for our post-ferry caffeine. We found cheerful and cozy Bocca while exploring Nanaimo’s Old City Quarter. It’s a cheerful and cozy little place, with green and blue walls, and tucked away at the end of an open-air mall. Bocca doubles as gallery space for local artists.

They served Cafee Umbria’s Bizzari blend espresso, which is a mellow and ideal for an afternoon coffee. The food looked great but we were on our way to lunch at my aunt’s, so we didn’t indulge.

We did pick up some of their house granola to take home, however, and in a few short days, it’s almost gone. Bocca’s granola does not stint fruit and nuts, and it is sweetened with just the right touch of honey. Next to my own, this may be the best granola we’ve ever eaten.

Bocca, 427D Fitzwilliam Street, Old City Quarter, Nanaimo, BC

Hacienda La Esmeralda farm in Panama is the source of a new upscale coffee that has won several international awards. Its top price, for beans bought at auction then roasted by Chicago-based Intelligentsia Coffee, reached $103.90 US per pound.

The world’s most expensive coffee, of course, is Kopi Luwak, which is harvested from the poop of Indonensian civets.

Esmeralda’s coffee, which is also distributed under the trade name, Geisha, doesn’t have quite such a notable beginning.

What sets Hacianda La Esmeralda apart is its distinctive floral and citrus notes, which are normally associated with African, and not Central American coffees.

Source: Chicago Tribune via Obscure Store

We’re home now. And we’re drinking Continental Coffee’s espresso. It’s delicious. It’s also more than a week old and has been sitting in a tin on our kitchen counter since before we left. Even so, it’s still far tastier than a lot of the coffee we drank in Oregon and Southern Washington.

In almost every little town we drove into there were several drive thru espresso shacks. Clearly there is a demand for what they’re selling. They’re all managing to stay in business even though they’re selling boring putrid shyte.

We filter our water here at chez Vancouveriste, and it probably makes a difference to our coffee, though not one I ever considered until our friend Lornna reminded us that most of the water in the “good ole USA” is heavily chlorinated.

But water quality is only a small part of the answer. Methinks coffee quality is an even bigger part. The fastest way to make a buck is to cut the quality of your product, especially if your product is as habit forming as coffee.

Of course, not bothering to filter your water is another quick way to maximize your revenue. After a while, or so the theory goes, people get used to it, if they knew the difference in the first place. Then again, maybe driving up to the espresso window in your Winnebago is the height of American neo-con sophistication.

One of the worst cups of coffee I had was from an Allann Brothers outlet in Eugene that I said was abysmal in a previous post. And it surely was. But it was also, apparently, an aberration. We later tried Allann Brothers coffee in Ashland, Albany, and Corvallis, and while the coffee wasn’t brilliant, it wasn’t abysmal either. Allann Brothers is a solid Oregon-based industrial coffee roaster, no worse quality than Starbucks, really, save possibly their Eugene store.

While we were in Albany we dropped into the Wine Depot Deli, where they serve Allann Brothers coffee. They suggested we try Boccherini’s, which we did the following morning on our way out of town. Boccherini’s was what we had been hoping to find on this vacation. Not only did they serve excellent Portland Roasting Company espresso, but a charming young man pulled the shots, and the room is everything one would want their neighbourhood coffee joint to be. If Boccherini’s were in Vancouver, I’d visit often, and not just to check out the barristi.

We spent an afternoon in Portland, mainly shopping, and Mr. V. dragged me to a little downtown coffee outlet called Portland Roasting Company. I can’t even remember where it is, other than its being not too far from Pioneer Square.

We’d been there on a previous trip to Portland, and I’m not sure why we returned. It couldn’t have been for the coffee—Panache—which was only so-so.

And it certainly wasn’t to enjoy hanging about with the local slackers who seemed to fancy themselves “artistes.” One manic youngster was especially grating, despite the possibility he had good taste in books, given the way he was waving a copy of Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” around while he screamed existential clichés.

He was incredibly annoying, perhaps because he reminded me a bit of myself when I was his age, though I could never have been half so bloody loud. Had the Portland Coffee House’s coffee been great, I may have put up with his blathering, however.

We spent our last night in Olympia. Which was not as odd a choice as our first night in Vancouver, Washington, but odd enough, and in this case the choice was Mr. V.’s. There is only one word to describe the coffee that we drank in Washington’s capital city—Starbucks. Enough said.

Finally, Seattle. On a Saturday, no less. If you would like a lesson in what livability isn’t, try getting anywhere in Seattle on a Saturday. The traffic is its own special hell. (Are you listening, Minister Falcon????)

We did make it to the Pike Street Market, and paid six bucks to park for an hour. We stopped at True Colors, where they serve Seattle’s terrific Caffee Vita. We drank a couple of double shots there and bought a pound to take home.

Then, after braving the U-Dist, where it took us 45 minutes to go 10 blocks, only to find that parking was impossible, and our errands would have to wait for a future trip, we turned around and headed out to Fremont for Paseo sandwiches, and right after that, around the corner and down a couple of blocks to Lighthouse Roasters for more coffee. We like Lighthouse Roasters coffee a lot too, and after braving Seattle’s traffic, we certainly needed some. It didn’t hurt that their coffee came with a shot of Grateful Dead, either.

And then, it was off to the border, where the nice man told us we’d brought back a bit more wine than we were allowed, but to have a nice day. And we did. As soon as we got back to Vancouver, before we went home, took back the rental car or anything, we dropped into to Artigiano for one last cup. Which may explain why it took us until 4 a.m. to get to sleep that night.

We’re in Ashland now. It’s very hot. Unseasonable, apparently. Which didn’t stop us from searching for a decent espresso. We bypassed Seattle on the way down, but did stop for a few hours in Portland after over-nighting in the “other” Vancouver. Don’t ask—it was something I thought would be a good idea at the time.

Anyway I digress. Our last decent cup of coffee was at a Peet’s outlet in downtown Portland. We tried some espresso in Portland’s Alphabet District later in the afternoon and it was flat. Then later, in Eugene, we tried the local roaster, Allan Brother’s, and it was abysmal.

Further south on the I-5 we’ve noted plenty of small, free-standing drive-thru espresso shacks, and coming out of Roseburg this morning we picked up a couple of Americanos from a Dutch Roasters stand. Heavy on the American, light on the espresso, it tasted like the kind of coffee my mother used to perk back in the 70s. Not bad, but not espresso either.

In Medford we pulled into a big mall and got some half-full Americanos from Starbucks, and, compared to the rest of the dreck we’ve been drinking, they actually tasted pretty good.

The latest attempt was the Water Street Café in downtown Ashland this afternoon. Like a lot of the espresso we’ve seen in the past couple of days it had a decent crema, but ithis version tasted so awful we dumped it.

Ashland is a college town. There may be decent coffee to be had here somewhere, but we’re afraid to ask. It seems that the rich and complex brew that we Vancouverites take for granted may be elusive outside the Pacific Northwest.

Thank heavens we hit Seattle on Saturday, and Artigiano on Sunday

On the BC Day long weekend in August we combined a trip to visit family with some exploration of the Cowichan Valley.

We were up early Saturday morning in order to get to the terminal fon time for our 9:55 reservation. BC Ferries has been unforgiving more than once when we arrived seconds past the half-hour cut off time, and we were in no mood to forfeit our place in line on a Saturday morning of a long weekend.

In Nanaimo, we made our usual stop downtown at Perkins Coffee before checking out some of the nearby stores, including the Flying Fish, and A&B Sound to pick up a copy of Amadou & Marian’s “Dimanche a Bamako.”

Our first stop in Duncan was at the Community Farm Store, which stocks a wide range of organic chocolate. I loaded up on some smaller bars, including a 35 gram bar of Green & Black’s Maya Gold, which is consistently good and was, in lieu of lunch, quickly devoured.

The other bars were disappointing. Gabriola Gourmet Garlic’s Red Hot Chilli Chocolate Too! bar was a strange concoction. Callebaut Chocolate coated a ganache that contained flakes of hot pepper that were prickly and unpleasant, and didn’t harmonize with the chocolate. This bar definitely needs more work to ascend beyond the novelty class.

Even worse was Endangered Species Premium Organic Smooth Dark Chocolate Bar. This should have been a winner, given that it claims in large letters on its packaging that it contains 70% cocoa, but it was dismal, waxy, and overwhelmingly cheap tasting.

We stopped by Coffee on the Moon, which always has good espresso, and then set off, dopios in hand, for Cowichan Bay. There we visited True Grain Bread for dinner rolls, and then, Cowichan Bay Seafoods, for some Indian Candy, which we ate while checking out some of the boats visiting that weekend for the Cowichan Bay Regatta. The salmon had been previously frozen, and was carelessly made with skin still on. It was dry and disappointing. Up till now, we’ve always liked their Indian Candy, but will think twice before we buy it again.

That evening, after a family dinner we took a walk through downtown Duncan, browsing the E. J. Hughes paintings in the window at Pacific Outlook Gallery, and then stopping in to check out the nearly new Craig Street Brewing Company. It’s an attractive, airy room, with a solid pub food menu, though we didn’t get a chance to try their food or beer this visit. The crowd at the pub was young, loud, jolly, and mainly blonde. It remains a mystery to us from where so many attractive twenty and thirty-somethings have appeared in a reputed retirement haven.

We slept late on Sunday morning, then ventured out to Merridale Cider for lunch at their La Pommeraie Bistro. It was a glorious, sunny day, and the best part of lunch was sitting on the patio, overlooking the orchard. We ordered off the brunch menu. Mr. V. had the frittata, which was fine, and I had an omelette that was overcooked but contained a very nice brie along with ham and chanterelles. It was accompanied with some lovely, chewy, multi-grain toast from True Grain Bread.

After lunch we went to Silverside Farms where we bought some of their blackberry vinegar, blueberry port, and a pint of their early blueberries. We haven’t tried the port yet, but since returning home we’ve made a couple of salads with mesclun, some of their blueberries, a little bocconcini, and a vinaigrette made from the blackberry vinegar. Very nice.

We then went to visit Mike Dohm’s at Cobble Hill. Mike had gone to Victoria for the day, so we wandered around for awhile, and I took some pictures. Pig Roast aficionados and other friends of Mike are welcome to check them out on my Flickr site.

After another family dinner, we settled in to watch the Chronicles of Narnia, which was a decent adaptation of Lewis’ “The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe”, though a bit slow-paced and surprisingly bloodless, considering the epic battle scene.

On Monday morning, we went to the Dog House to hunt for E. J. Hughes as well as for a bit of brunch. The Dog House diner is a Duncan landmark, having been there for over fifty years, It is also where where Ted Hughes usually takes his meals. He wasn’t there, but our waitress, a comely blond lass, gave us a broad smile when we asked about him, said he was a very nice man, and pointed out his usual table.

Food at the Dog House is typical diner fare, made without flare. I ordered the eggs benedict with complete understanding that the hollandaise would come from a package. The benedict was exactly what I expected, accompanied by fluffy hash browns which mainly stayed on my plate. Mr. V. ordered corned beef hash (one of his weaknesses) and unfortunately this dish veered to the grim side. But what with him being a Duncan boy, this could not have been a surprise.

In the afternoon, we visited family friends on Gibbons Road who gave us some early bounty from their garden—huge zucchinis, tomatoes, beets, and a parsley plant. It seems the reason our parsley didn’t come up this year is it’s a biannual. So,with a little luck and sunshine, we’ll have fresh parsley every year from here on.

The beet tops were steamed for last night’s dinner, and the beets themselves were slow roasted. Now they’re sitting in the fridge, marinating in apple cider vinegar and five spice, with a touch of chipotle flakes.

Before starting out for Gibbons Road we stopped at Serious Coffee’s new Duncan location. They serve a rich and syrupy espresso that reminded me of Lighthouse Roasters in Seattle. It was a good cup, but since Mr. V. loves Coffee On the Moon’s espresso, on our return visits we’ll likely be drinking more of theirs than Serious Coffee’s.

We left Duncan for the drive to Nanaimo around 5:00, and arrived at Departure Bay about an hour before our boat. It was a typical hot and sunny day at the terminal. Everybody’s windows open, people out of their cars, walking their dogs. And off in the distance, someone’s hi-fi drumming gangsta rap.

Right next to us was a family travelling in two vehicles. Whiny kids were making too much noise; mothers, grandmothers, and fathers were talking loud nonsense trying to drown out the whiny kids. We were just sitting there, windows down like everybody else, trying to keep cool, doing our best but failing to ignore our obstreperous neighbours.

Then Mr. V. got a brainwave. Turned the stereo up loud, playing Amadou & Marian. Pretty soon everybody shut up because their heads were bobbing and they were grooving on the music. I got to read my Globe and Mail in peace. A perfect way to end the weekend.

I was in Sen5es’ (as it likes to be known) Vancouver branch on Georgia the other day and picked up an espresso to go. They are using Arcaffee, a brand I’d never heard of. The server seemed very confident of the coffee when I asked him about it, but his confidence seemed surprising since my shot had a thin and quckly disappearing crema.

As I’d asked for an ounce of hot water to be added I decided not to be overly judgemental. I added about a teaspoon of cream and took my coffee to go, balancing it and several bags, drinking while I walked to my bus stop.

What I was drinking was entirely inoffensive and non-descript. It was smooth, well-balanced, not overly acidic. But also completely without character or aftertaste. Which got me wondering–why would Sen5es, which purports to be an epicurean oasis, sell boring espresso?

Would I drink this Walter Mitty espresso again? It wasn’t at all horrible, and if I had to, I would but not if there was an Artigiano or JJBean to be had within ten blocks.

A list of the coffee on hand at our house just now:

• -Artigiano espresso
• -Mulvadi kona
• -Cafe Justica Guatamalan dark roast
• -Starbucks Terraza
• -Dean & DeLuca house blend
• -Dean & DeLuca Charlotte blend
• -Cuppers’ Choice creme brulee

The last item is not as horrid as it sounds.

Sciué, which is Italian regional slang for good and easy, is an “Italian bakery caffee” situated at 800 West Pender at Howe Street in downtown Vancouver.

Sciué’s inspiration, according to owners Davide Bonamici and Alex Fonseca, is the joy of sharing a meal in true Italian style–food that is delicious, delightful to behold, and enjoyed in a warm social environment–because eating well is one of life’s most satisfying pleasures.

We had lunch on a Friday in the early days of the World Cup, and staff were all attired to show support for the Italian team. Several flat-panelled TVs were broadcasting the game of the moment. Being lunch time, the place was bustling.

Sciué is one of those “place your order at the counter then wait at your table” kinds of places, and there were lots of people lined up waiting to choose from the abudance of food available. The line up wends past the varieties of pane romano on offer, past the the paninis and the espresso bar, and on to the gelateria and pasticceria.

Behind the displays, blackboard menus list an abundant selection of rosticceria, panino, ripieno, espresso, gelato, and pastries. The array is dazzling almost to the point of confusion for a newcomer, but we knew why we were there that day–to try Sciué’s pane romano.

Pane romano–Roman street food–is what sets Sciué apart from the other stylish Italian inspired caffees, like Artigiano and Take5, that dot downtown. Unlike the round Neopolitan inspired pizzas we are used to, pane romano is oblong, thin crusted, about 6 inches wide and a foot of more long, and sold by weight according to the size of serving you ask your server to cut for you. We tried three varieties for our first visit.

We started with the Gamberi, which featured cold fresh shrimp and was strangely reminiscent of a Danish open-faced sandwich. The shrimp were cold and fresh, as was the mesculin it sat upon, though the pane was warm. There were plenty of shrimp, which had a tendency to fall off. I liked this one more than Mr. V. did, it may have been a bit too girly for his tastes.

Next came a chicken and pepper combination “creation of the moment.” It was good, not great, maybe because it was warm, not hot.

Our third pick was Funghi, a combination of tomato sauce, mozzarella, and mushrooms. It was very hot when we tried it and, according to Mr. V., the best. I probably liked it as much as I liked the Gamberi.

On a return visit I’d like to try the Cartaginese (special chili mix, parsley, garlic, and olive oil) and the Patate (mozzarella, potato strings, oilive oil and rosemary).

Sciué’s is spacious and airy, with high ceilings and windows overlooking Howe Street. There’s a large patio in front of the entrance on Pender.

The room is sleek and understated. Gorgeous slate floors play beautifully off the dark wood and the sienna and ochre accents. The circular patterned chair upholstery throws in a touch of whimsy that perfectly lightens up the stark elegance of the decor.

We chose the patio, as it was a pleasant spring day. It is large, and faces north on Pender, and should, thanks in part to the surrounding buildings, offer a bit of shady space on hot summer days. Traffic was fairly noisy, though most of the noise seemed to be created from trucks and buses than from the ubiquitous cars.

Besides pane romano, there is an abundant variety of food on offer at Sciué, including a selection of panini extensive enough that you could eat a different one for lunch every day for more than two work weeks.

There are also stuffed pane romano, and a wonderful range of breakfast foods including pane con marscapone, crostata, the little donuts known as ciambella, and macedonia di frutta (fruit salad) with or without yoghurt and granola.

A rosticceria offers hot meals including a variety of pastas, lasagna, gnocchi, risotto and meat and fish dishes. Pasta, risotto, carne, and pesce specials are created daily.

Clearly, with all this variety to choose from, and the opportunity to enjoy it in comfortable surroundings, it would be easy to make Sciué a home away from home.

Though the wine list is small, reasonably priced and mainly focuses on Italians, it also offers two bubblies a Mionetto at $39.95 and Veuve Cliquot at $99.95. There is a good selection of bottled beer including Peroni and Moretti, and a full service bar for cocktaiils.

Sciué serves a range of espresso drinks including a granita and “caffee cola” which is a blend of coke, lemon juice, lemon peel and espresso over ice. They use the excellent Caffe Umbria beans from Seattle’s Bizzari family, which they also retail, whole bean or ground to specification.

What’s not to like about Sciué? It’s an ideal spot for a delicious and inexpensive breakfast, a quick lunch, a more relaxed late lunch, or even an early dinner, since it’s open from 6:30 a.m. till 8 on weeknights.