Kickin Back In The PNW

The Pacific Northwest (PNW), mostly encompassing Northern California, Oregon and Washington, is one of the prettiest places I've ever visited.  When we were little and the Little One wasn't around yet, my family rented a RV and we drove all the way up through California stopping at Mount Shasta, visited with dad's friends in Oregon, and went up to do a turn around in Washington before driving back down to L.A.  In my recent trips to Washington, I have been able to take in the beauty of the PNW.  Crisp air, clean, smog-free skies, and trees galore.  I can't get enough of the gorgeous pine trees that coat the PNW landscape. 
We spent a couple of the days from our recent visit, beating the heat (87 degree highs in August) by just hanging out with our friends in their house.  The way the their place is set up, the balcony overlooks a bit of the parking lot, but straight ahead are two trees that act as an anchor for the homestead.  Beyond those trees, you can see vast hills, jam-packed with pine, maple, and birch trees.  It brings me a sense of peace to just have a cup of coffee and take in all the forestry.
My friend offered me this Owl brand white coffee with coconut sugar.  I've have Owl brand coffee products before and they are pretty good.  This instant mix had a light coffee flavor with a slight toasted coconut finish.  It's good but nothing to rush out for as it is not as prominent a flavor as expected.  Still it was a great compliment to take in a few of our days when we weren't running around being tourist.  I'm looking forward to my trip back to Seattle in January and hopefully will get to see some of those trees covered in snow.  I'm sure it will be picturesque.

Coffee At 40,000 Feet (And Then Some)

As I mentioned in my last blog, I spent my birthday in Seattle this year.  Flew up a few days before and back down on my actual birthday, with plans for another adventure starting right after we got home.  We flew out of The Bob Hope Burbank Airport.  Rumor has it, they will be dropping the Bob Hope part soon, stating that no one knows who he is.  I was shocked too.  The airport has had something like seven different names in its history so why change it again.
We caught an earlier morning flight out.  The weather was gorgeous when we left L.A. and slightly cooler but equally nice when we landed at SEA-TAC.  It is a short 2 hour and a half flight and when taking Alaskan Airlines, they offer commuter flights daily up north and back so no stops or layovers.  The larger planes have all kinds of charging ports for electronic devices but this flight didn't so I read my book and the husband listened to some audio short stories from the Game of Thrones series as we waited for our drink orders to come.  He got a ginger ale and I got coffee.  Being that Alaska has a few common stops on the west coast, they have a menu that opens up options depending on where you are headed.  They offer Hawaiian beer (Longboard, one of my faves) and snacks if you are headed that way.   Other options of noms and beer for Mexico bound guests.  But pretty standard is the Seattle options on the menu.  There is a fruit and cheese tray that features Beechers cheeses, a Seattle cheese company, and a couple of Seattle Chocolates truffles.  Naturally, that means the coffee is, you guessed it, Starbucks.  Starbucks flagship store sits at the top of Pikes Place in Seattle with a constant 25 person deep line out the door.  I've seen it before, but have never been inside so I'll just pretend that my coffee is as close to it's origin as I see myself getting.  That little cup satisfied my craving for coffee but it was still early in the morning and we were headed to the coffee capital of North America (metaphorically speaking).
When we arrived, our friends suggested breakfast at a place not too far from the airport.  They had been before and said it was like a higher end Denny's.  Think big breakfast and really home-style food.  Shari's offered breakfast, lunch, dinner, and pies.  We passed on the pie this time but each got breakfast and a pot of coffee for the table.  The Northwest Barista Blend was far better then expected.  Bold and fresh, not like the usually day-old flavored coffee you find in other diners.  A very satisfying meal.
We went back to our friend's house and relaxed for a bit.  Later in the afternoon, we were able to catch one of the two weekend free tours offered by a local brewery.  Mac and Jacks is a fantastic beer only available in Seattle.  They have seven different flavors, including a rotating seasonal brew.  Our free tour gave us each a free pint glass and four very generous tastings.  Between the four of us, we were able to sample all of the flavors.  They were all fantastic.  The guy running the tour gave us a fun and informative short walk through the facility as he explained their story and let us smell some of the hops and spices they use.  If you ever find yourself in Seattle, I highly recommend checking out the Mac and Jacks tour especially because it is all free.  The first leg of my birthday vacation was starting out great.

Thanks Mate!

For my birthday this year, the husband and I headed for cooler weather and close friends in Seattle.  Slapped in the dead center of August, my birthday is usually spent in 100 degree weather, avoiding the outdoors, or waiting until the evening to do anything.  We spent the week leading up to my birthday among the trees and breeze of Seattle and departing for home late on my actual birthday.  Prior to heading up, we had to do something we've never done before: Find a cat sitter.
I haven't traveled much in my life, but now we have Nugget and it would be her first time overnight alone, and for almost a week.  We couldn't just leave her by herself.  So my mate that lives in L.A. offered to stay at our house and take care of our kitty.  I went down to his place to tell him all the over protective, new pet parent things I felt he needed to know.  We thought the 2 minute walk to Little Japantown from his house would be a great place to grab a bite and chat.
Lollicup is a coffee and tea place that has a small food menu and a passion for boba.  My mate regularly hits Lollicup up for dinner on his way home from UCLA or work.  The pork they put in their dishes is to die for.  This time we just got a couple of drinks.  Subliminal messaging got me to order the iced coffee.  Ok, it wasn't subliminal, it was even on the big screen above the registers.  Mocha flavor in their regular blend.  Nothing too amazing but a good cup of iced Joe on a hot evening.  My mate got the taro milk tea.  Don't be taken back by the bright purple hue.  Taro is popular in Japanese, Hawaiian, and African culture.  It is a root vegetable that looks like a sweet potato or yam and kinda taste like them too.  A soft, sweet taste that is put into everything from sweet 'n' salty chips to creamy purple ice cream and can also be boiled or roasted to be eaten as the vegetable itself.  The leaves of the plant are also used in recipes and as wrappers like banana leaves.  Milk tea is just as it sounds, tea with milk in it.  Depending on what your preferred calorie intake, boba can be added, but my mate opted out.  I recommend trying taro if you haven't had it before.
We had our drinks with the backdrop of a beautiful California summer sunset.  The busy street filled with people which was our sign to wrap it up.  Nugget was grateful for her sitter.  He spoiled her and sent us pictures to put our minds at ease.  (Thanks again!)

Nugget helped with my mate's homework.

Tiny Cute Things

The Little One recently adopted a little kitten to keep her cat company while she was at work.  The older cat, Princess Leia, had a traumatic experience that left her with a broken leg about a year ago.  It cause her to become overly attached to my sister and she would be in distress when my sister was out.  She ended up chewing blankets and while worried about digestive blockage, my sister took her to the vet.  The vet said a second cat would be the only way to help Leia's mental state.  The Little One had to wait for the best time to get another cat which was just a couple of months ago.
It was a free pet adoption day near my sister's work.  She browsed the cats and kitten, fat, thin, fluffy, uneventful.  Eventually they brought in the cutest, fluffiest kitten and my sister knew he was the one.  But for some reason, he wasn't part of the free adoption day deal.  He was worth every cent.  She brought him to my house and the new kitten, Han Solo, had fun playing with Nugget, before going home to meet the princess.  After about a week, Leia and Han became best friends.
The day after Han came for a visit, my sister invited me over to have coffee and play with the new baby.  When I arrived, there was a panic.  My sister, all wet, came out and said, "I'm sorry, Han has fleas and we're bathing him and putting the medicine one him!"  She was so worried that Nugget might have gotten fleas from him so she gave me medicine and told me what to do.  (Nuggy was flea free)
The tiny, usually super fluffy kitten, behaved the whole time but looked ridiculous.  We gave him a Mohawk followed by many kisses as we dried him off.  It was an exhausting feat.  My sister's boyfriend was so helpful with it all.
We sat down for coffee as Han dried.  Just as I'm halfway through my cup, my sister's boyfriend hands me something tiny and totally random.  He had a friend visit Japan and brought him back some souvenirs.  Green tea Kitkat (one of my faves so I was happy when he shared), some other candy, and this thing he handed me.  It was a tiny girl sitting oddly.  It is a cup decoration.  You clip the little girl to the side of your tea or coffee cup just for fun.  The paper it came with showed the other positions she comes in to accompany your drink.  Cute but so weird.  It didn't stay on my mug very well but it was a thicker mug then I'm sure the tiny girl was made for.
Han only needed one flea treatment and lots of love.

Welcome new friend.

Laser pointer chase.

Best friends.

The Metrics Side Of My Magic Job

Every six months, our store does inventory.  We dedicate roughly three days to cleaning up the stockroom and pushing out as much product as possible to the sales floor, in hopes of selling a bunch of stuff so we don't have to count it.  Then we shut down the stockroom so we can count it accurately and count the front of the store after close of business for the day.  It's extremely tedious.  Each item with different SKU's.  Make sure you count every different sized shoe, watch out for differences between the die cast Tie Fighter and the die cast Ultimate Tie Fighter, and of course we received 10 boxes of Singing Ariel dolls just the day before inventory started.
Yet, I like inventory.  It allows us to sort and organize our space.  There's a peacefulness from being able to sit and count quietly, even if it's while crammed in a small aisle on piles of dust bunnies and glitter.
My store manager has come up with a great way to separate the cast into different sections, making it easier and more streamlined to count without anyone overlapping each other.
The Boss and I have done almost every inventory together.  So per tradition, after finish, we head to Denny's to chat and grab a 2am bite.  This last inventory we went out all three nights.  On night two, we invited one of our cast mates that counted the stockroom with us.  On the third night, we invited the whole inventory crew.  We got our usual each night: a regular coffee for me and a decaf for The Boss.  Our cast ordered a mix of waters or sodas to go with the late night grub.  French toast and a slice of bacon for one, a salad for someone else, and usually just coffee for me.  It's Denny's coffee, but it's much better then it used to be, so I almost enjoy it.  Not my top pick of coffee but acceptable when fighting off a zombie state.
By the end of night three, I go home and find myself counting things unnecessarily.  "I'll just make myself a cup of tea" then proceed to count all the tea bags in the box.  It wears off pretty fast.  Inventory seems to come faster then every six months.  I think that is because of the way the seasons are separated so you just finish a big focus like Christmas, then it's inventory.  Then bathing suits and back to school and inventory again.  Halloween and Christmas, boom, inventory.  The twice a year deal keeps our numbers more accurate, which is good for business.

Here Kitty Coffee!

Here is just a quick review of the Grumpy Cat coffee I recently enjoyed.  Or should I say, Grumppuccino.  Grumpy Cat is an cat made famous via the Internet.  The natural markings of a sweet cat give her the look of a cat who has a permanent loathe for life. The Little One had seen this iced coffee drink at Gelson's a few months back and asked if we could try it together.  She prefers cold coffee to hot and I can go either way.  So while she was resurfacing the laminate counters in our parents kitchen, we decided to take a break and try them out.  We invited our mom to join in too.  Overall, the two flavors were really good.  I liked the coffee flavor whereas my mom and sister liked the mocha flavor better.  It was refreshing and smooth.  No hint of bitterness and not overly sweet.  The downside?  Price.  Each bottle is well over the four dollar mark.  There is a third flavor, vanilla, but I don't believe it was available at the time my sister bought these.  Grumpy Cat, offers lots of fun merchandise featuring her sourpuss face, but this was our first blue-eyed celebrity kitty purchase.  There are other famous Internet cats, like Lil Bub, who while overcoming her disabilities, has managed to raise money for other animals in need, through merchandise like socks and books featuring her.  There's also Colonel Meow, who passed early last year but was made famous for his scary face.  He was 2014 Guinness record holder for longest hair on a cat.  And one of my favorite Internet cat stars, Maru. Maru lives in Japan and just loves getting himself into boxes.  He's adorable.  As for now, Grumpy Cat seems to be the only one I know with her own coffee line.

Coffee At Club 33

In 1967, just a few months after Walt Disney's death, the private club he had built to entertain dignitaries and VIPs, opened.  He never got to use it for it's intended purpose but supervised the process to make sure it was built to his specifications.  Club 33, hidden in New Orleans Square in Disneyland, is a posh restaurant that you can only dine in if you are a member or a guest of a member.  Every detail was mapped out by Walt, either to serve a purpose or maintain a piece of history.  But as time went on, the almost 5 decade old club needed to be updated, so it was recently renovated.
The Boss and her husband are members of Club 33.  Though it is near impossible to become a member these days, they joined the list a while back and have been enjoying the perks of membership ever since.  Special events, unlimited annual passes, celebrity hobnobbing, and the good food are just some of fun that the membership will get you.  With the recent changes, the membership dues have gone up, but they now offer a second club in California Adventure.
The husband and I got married the day after Chinese New Year this past February.  Every year for Chinese New Year, I host a small dinner with friends to celebrate.  Some of the friends that were dining with us that night brought wedding gifts, as they would not be attending the following day.  The entire wedding party consisted of the bride and groom, my two sisters, and our two closest friends (who are engaged to each other).   Among the cards and gifts, The Boss and her husband gave us a beautiful wedding card with a personal message inside. It said that the gift from them would be lunch together at Club 33 to celebrate our happy new union.  So as soon as we all got our schedules together, we had a double date at Disneyland and Club 33.
Finally, on a not so hot day, at the end of July, we were Disneyland bound.  The Boss's husband had to work in the morning but he met us just in time for lunch.
We have joined them before at Club 33 for other occasions, but this would be the first time being there since the renovations were completed a year prior.  I am a purest when it comes to Disneyland.  Walt said, as the future progresses, we continue to build and bring new technologies to the park so the park will never be completed.  Of course, when there is a remodel or change at the 60 year old theme park, I cringe a little each time.  As much as I love Star Wars, the new Star Wars Land that's slated for a 2017 opening, hurts a bit, as it will alter some of the original park layout.  Naturally, I cringed when the Market House coffee shop on Main Street closed for a full re-do, closing it off from the stores it once flowed into, and reopened as a large, singular entry Starbucks.  So you can imagine how I felt when I first heard they were going to update Club 33.  The reasons they had were sound, but when touching a personally designed Walt Disney site, I drop into historical landmark protester mode. 
Walt had set up Club 33 for himself and his guests, first and foremost.  Up until June 2014, it was set up like this with very few changes over the years:

The door, plain, pale greenish-blue, had a covered doorbell to the left and a mirrored, elegant 33 to the right.  The 33 did not seem out of place.  The address above the Blue Bayou restaurant next door is 31, and throughout all of Disneyland, you can see these "suite" numbers on every store.  A member, or guest of a member, would ring the doorbell and the host on the other side would verify name, reservation time, and make sure all of the party was there and ready to come in.
Upon entering, the host table is up a step to the right and to her side was the stairs to ascend to the dining room, or you could take the small glass elevator.  Remember when I said Walt had a reason for creating this place the way he did?  That glass elevator is actually a French Lift.  Walt and his wife were in New Orleans when he spotted the lift that he had to have.  The hotel he saw it in, would not sell it to him, so he had an exact replica created.  The carpet and walls of the entryway are dark pink with a Victorian style.
The landing at the top of the stairs greets you with access to the Trophy Room, entrance down the lounge hallway into the main dining room, and the original phone booth prop from the 1967 movie, The Happiest Millionaire.
The Trophy Room was Walt's real vision.  It had a masculine feel with an autographed rifle from Fess Parker (Disney's Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone) on the wall and some Disney memorabilia adorning the shelves.  In the chandeliers above the tables, Walt had microphones hidden so that he could hear his guests talking, and could respond via the auto-animatronic birds in the room.  It might sound weird but Walt did it to impress his VIP's with this new technology, "adding magic" (Disney lingo) to his guest's dining experience.  The wiring has since been disconnected but it all stayed just so this whole time.
Down the lounge hallway, you see concept art for The Happiest Millionaire and Mary Poppins.  Concept art from Mary Poppins hangs in the hall.  There is a side table that was used in Mary Poppins nonchalantly placed up against a wall.  A green harpsichord, that looks like a small piano, sits to your left as you continue down the hall, and has a soft Renaissance painting on the lid.  Sounds like just like another piece of furniture, but there is a rumor that is was actually built for Walt's wife.  Oh, and it has been played by Elton John and Paul McCartney.
On the left, before hitting the second dining room, there is a bar.  It is the only place in Disneyland that serves alcohol.  It is not original to the club but the dazzling glass light fixture above it gave it a complete look in it's station.
Just beyond the bar was were the lunch buffet tables sat.  Originally, lunch at Club 33 was an all you can eat cold salad bar that included shellfish, a main course entree, and all you can eat dessert.  Dining options for dinner were a la carte but again, with the update, this menu style has changed.
Enter the main dining hall.  Thick drapery over large windows, crisp, white tablecloths with folded napkins on large chargers with 33 painted on them, and a huge fireplace as the centerpiece of the room.  Additionally, a long veranda wrapped around outside this second floor room, overlooking New Orleans Square and known for being the best spot in the park to watch the nighttime show, Fantasmic.

The new look for Club 33 is very polished with much less focus on dark woods and with added windows, the sunshine pours in from every direction.  The changed the entrance to a location a little farther down, incorporating a grand staircase known as the Court of Angels. Other major changes are that the restrooms have been moved outside of the main restaurant, the tiny kitchen downstairs has been moved to the area previously known as the Trophy Room, a large bar/lounge area has been added, and the whole place now complies with ADA regulations (no more step up to the lift).  The large bar, also know as The Jazz Lounge,  now houses the French lift as a seating area and some of the auto-animatronic birds are found throughout the restaurant.  The art on the walls is mostly the same and the harpsichord still hold a prominent place for guests to admire.  A large player piano sits in the lounge up against lead-lined windows and stained glass.  The giant fireplace in the main dining room and been removed and replaced with more windows.  The new dining options are price-based for either 3 or 4 course meals.   I'm happy with a lot of the changes and am really glad they kept some of what was important to Walt.  This fan-based site has a lot of great pictures if you are interested in giving it a click:
http://www.disneylandclub33.com/

As I was saying, The Boss's husband met up with us just in time for lunch.  He found us in the lounge, enjoying some drinks while relaxing in the over sized couches.  The Boss was having a mint julep, I had a Mai Tai, and the husband went with an oatmeal stout.  Nothing but water for the Boss's husband, he was ready for lunch.  The drinks were fantastic and the service was wonderful.  The host then took our drinks on a platter and lead us to our seats in the main dining room.  A square table right by the window was all set up for us with fresh flowers too.  The missing fireplace was all I kept focusing on.  It was weird to not to have this iconic piece in the room.  It was dark and heavy and the new windows in it's place were quite a contrast.
We ordered lunch and I grilled the Boss and her husband for happy marriage tips.  Seeing as they have been married for almost 35 years, I figured they might know a few things.  None of the tips were out of the ordinary but as we have been friends with them for many years, it's obvious to see that communication and a great sense of humor are the top tips.  We each ordered a 3 course lunch.  A mixed variety of soups, salads, entrees, and desserts with the mindset that we could each get a taste of what everyone else was having.  When it came time for dessert, the Boss and her husband surprised me and mine with special 'Congratulations' messages and heartfelt well wishes from the Club 33 staff.  (And some macaroons for each of us.)  To go with our desserts, the Boss and I ordered coffee.  Two little coffee cups were brought out with a tray of creamer and different types of packaged sugars.  I got excited to see uncut sugar and raw sugar, as I haven't had that as an option with my coffee before.  I enjoyed how it kept with the high end theme.  The boss ordered decaf as usual and I got the regular even at 3 in the afternoon.  I needed it for the rest of the day running around Disneyland, of course.  The coffee paired with dessert was wonderful.  I would love to get that coffee again and sit in the lounge or on the veranda and take a nice slow break from the big crowds and long ride queues. 
After lunch and coffee, we did a few rides, took a few pictures, and did some shopping.  Seeing as the husband and I didn't have all the fun extras of a wedding shower or reception, we got ourselves some wedding themed gifts while there.  The husband and I try to mark trips or events together with an ornament.  We have ornaments from our honeymoon in Palm Springs, our first trip to Seattle, one from when we got our first place together, so naturally we found the Just Married ornament that would be perfect for our collection.  Our friend would just had her bridal shower, received these Mr. and Mrs. mugs and I loved them when I saw her open the box so we also got those mugs when we picked up our ornament.
In the evening, we got tea and watched the Paint the Night parade followed by the fireworks.  It was an amazing day and definitely gave us wedding memories to cherish always.

National Coffee Day

September 29th is National Coffee Day.  Now, I haven't heard of it until this year, however everyone seems to be celebrating.  Time to get in on the action.  In the link below, there is a short story about the possible origin of one of the most traded and consumed commodities in the world.  There is also a link inside the link to some of the coffee companies around the U.S. that will be participating in free or discounted coffee drinks for the holiday.  It's definitely worth the few clicks.  Not included in their list is Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (one of my favorite coffee places).  At participating locations, they will be offering 1/2 off iced coffee, flavored iced coffee or iced americano drinks all day.

I'm looking forward to celebrating but not really sure where I will end up.  Possibly a new cafe to explore?  Or a favorite cup at home with the husband and Nugget.  I could also meet with friends, maybe even over Skype.  Share with me how you celebrate.  Take it in, savor the break in the day, snap a photo.  That little cup is more then just a drink.  It's an international symbol to relax and bond.
A friend of mine recently sent me a shirt for the holiday.  I'll be sporting it wherever I end up.  The shirt's message rings true, everyday is National Coffee Day.  Enjoy.


http://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-coffee-day-september-29/

Free Sample Review

My older sister is signed up with Ralph's grocery store.  They email her coupons for new products or items that companies want people to try and it's all free.  She just goes in on the day they state and pick up the item.  No charge.  Over the years she has gotten some good stuff and some stuff she'd rather pass on.  If she gets something that she's allergic to or thinks someone else would like more then herself, she will pass it along.  So when she sent me a text asking if I preferred vanilla, cappuccino, or mocha, I knew a sample was coming my way.
The coupon was for Skinny Cow Creamy Iced Coffee.  Naturally, I chose the mocha latte flavor.  She picked it up and delivered it to me.  Skinny Cow makes a lot of great tasting, low calorie products.  The reason stands because they use regular ingredients but the portion size is majorly controlled.  So when my sister handed me this tiny 8 ounce bottle, I wasn't shocked, but my inner fat American felt a little sad.  To make things seem normal, I used an 8 ounce mug.  Not a very common sight in my vast mug collection.  (For years, this mug was used as just a pencil holder on my desk.  The Batz Maru character is my favorite from the Hello Kitty family, so I loved looking at it when I wrote letters.  It was a gift from my mate, who now sees it was only one of many mugs he would be getting for me over our long friendship.)
With my "full" cup of iced coffee, I sat down and relaxed for a bit.  It was delicious.  A rich, creamy flavor, so I didn't feel like I was drinking diet coffee.  I would definitely get it again and even try the other flavors.  They come single serve or in a four pack in 3 flavors.  I look forward to seeing what other free stuff my sister will share with me.  Trying new things is fun.

It's Never Too Late For A New Favorite

My mom has lived in the same area code her entire life.  Of that, she's lived in the same vicinity for roughly the last two decades.  In Reseda, in the Loehmann's Plaza, sits a cafe, that in all the years my family has been going to that plaza, we hadn't tried until now.
The store Loehmann's, which was a clothing store, in the Loehmann's Plaza has long closed, but the name stays.  For the most part, the same stores have been there for forever.  CVS, Vons, Pizza Hut, Kaye's Music Scene, and Carl's Junior are all still there.  Gone is the Blockbuster Video and KayBee Toys.  It's the new home for Fab Dogs, a terrific hot dog joint, made famous on Diner's, Drive-in's, and Dives on the Food Network.  It got too famous for it's old location and moved here to continue gifting the world with their bacon wrapped hot dogs and genuine Chicago dogs.  Next to Kaye's is a cafe that I swear has been there for forever.  Glass front windows and colorful high-backed booths for outdoor seating always looked inviting but we always felt they would be too expensive.  We never gave them a chance.  It turns out, Roladin Bakery and Cafe is a fabulous little Mediterranean restaurant with good prices and simple, clean, inviting decor on the inside as well.
The Little One, her techie friend, and myself needed to run errands and the plaza had most of the stores we needed.  We hadn't had breakfast or coffee yet, so we thought now is as good a time as any to give them a shot.  The three of us walk in and behind the large glass bakery counter, we're greeted by a couple of girls who show us to our seats and hand us each a tall, spiral bound menu.  This menu has everything.  Breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks, desserts, and a huge section of coffees.  Before we order, a pretty, cold bottle of water was brought for the table as well as some Turkish appetizers.
We each order breakfast, which the portion sizes are huge, and a coffee drink.  The Little One ordered a blended iced mocha.  Chocolate was poured down the sides of the glass and it was topped with java chips.  Her friend ordered a cappuccino that came with pretty design in the foam.  For myself, I thought I would try a house specialty.  The Roladin Dream is a hot coffee with caramel and white chocolate.  The white chocolate isn't just an added powder.  It was white chocolate chips melted into the coffee.  It was sweet and rich and at the bottom of the mug was a pool of leftover melted white chocolate.  All the coffees were great and so was the food.  We didn't have room to try anything from the bakery case but we're sure to revisit soon.
We rolled out, very full and very satisfied.  We needed to walk off some of our recent indulging.  Lucky for us, they turned the old Blockbuster into a Petco Unleased.  Buying cat food and litter was next on our errands list.  And we may have needed to check out the newest Star Wars cat toys.

What Dreams are made of.

Cappuccino.

Blended iced mocha.

I liked the big landmark photos hanging above the booths.