Best Coffee Chain: Peet's
Best Peet's Location: (limited to L.A., remember?) Larchmont. Superior in every respect - a great product, easy access, nice place to hang out, plus I was once customer-of-the-month. Runner-up is Sunset Blvd across from Book Soup (enjoy the valet parking!), and the one by Loyola Marymount.... what city is that?
Worst Peet's: (tie) Santa Monica (probably too busy with tourists to be really kept up) and Pasadena (no excuse!)
Most "Hail, fellow well-met" Out-of-Town Peet's: (Tie) Manhattan Beach (the Cheers of coffee places, where everyone inside seems to know each other from the PTA at their good-enough-to-be-private public schools)and La Jolla.
Most Likely to be Mistaken for a Library Out-of-Town Peet's: Tustin, next to the Trader Joe's. Deadsville.
Best Coffee in a Restaurant: Urth Caffe - all locations - Beverly Drive, Melrose, and Main Street in Santa Monica. Their coffee is just superb: treat yourself to an Italian cappuccino, vanilla latte, or "over the counter" drip. Where "organic" means "delicious."
Runner up: Aroma in the Valley - which deserves its own special category since it includes the bookstore and gift shop, Portrait of a Bookstore - and its "sister" restaurant, The Alcove on Hillhurst. Not coincidentally, Aroma and Alcove are owned by a fabulous and talented couple, Mark and Tom.
Worst Coffee in a Restaurant: This is a tough category, since there are so many contenders, but I'm going with Fred 62. I'm not sure if it's their choice of raw materials or the fact that they produce an unmanageable amount of menu items around the clock. Everyone can do a few things well, but no one can do everything well, and they suck at coffee.
Others in this unfortunate category include, ironically, The Coffee Table - bad in Silver Lake and worse in Eagle Rock.
The one I most hate to mention is Dusty's in Silver Lake. I have tried repeatedly to get a drinkable latte out of this place, and I have to admit to my innermost self, it's not happening. Someone needs to gently pull Dusty's aside and gently whisper in their ear that their coffee is just NG - no good.
Hippest & Best Micro-Chain: Intelligentsia, which should certainly win a design award in addition to serving a really great latte. This is Intelligentsia's first outpost beyond Chicago. Based on the overwhelming success they're enjoying on Sunset Blvd, it's probably safe to bet there will be more of them throughout the country soon.
Most Likely to be Mentioned as the Setting for a Vanity Fair Interview and Best $8 Cup of Coffee: LAMILL. With table-side barista service, specially-designed-for-coffee organic milk, and the best example of Beverly Hills Regency in Silver Lake, LAMILL is the best place to take your friends and family when they visit you from out of town. They also have excellent and interesting food, although the portions are teeny tiny. It's the perfect place for a tasty morsel. A great answer to the perpetual question, "Where should we meet?"
Best Place to Go with Kids: Swork in Eagle Rock, which has a kids' play area, gelato and lots of kid-friendly drinks. While you're there, shop at Owl Talk, sisters Kathy and Sharon Kroner's consignment shop, and Twerp's a fun toy store.
Best Coffee in a Gas Station: Magic Gas in Echo Park.
Best Coffee Across the Street from a Gas Station: Chango
Stay tuned for more updates, ratings, and random thoughts on coffee...
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