Sunday, February 4, 2007

East County Charm

I tend to forget that San Diego has an east side...but if you're from East County or make it out there you have to make a trip down La Mesa Blvd in La Mesa. It's the main strip in La Mesa where you'll find an abundance of antique shops, thrift stores, local restaurants and of course a cute little coffee shop called Cosmos. This particular street makes me feel like I'm taking a trip back in time...its so "quaint." I imagine this would be an area where people actually know each others names. The coffee house is pretty spacious inside with a nice little outside patio in the front shaded by trees. I love patios; however I hate smelling cigarette smoke from the person next to me...so I moved back indoors and ordered a yummy sounding salad and my traditional cup of house coffee. There was no obvious notations of their coffee being organic or fair trade, however I found out their supplier was Cafe Moto--who does roast organic, fair trade beans. I was happy to know they used a vendor that supported organic and fair trade, however I am not a big fan of Motto's coffee--which is unfortunate because they supply a large amount of coffee to the local cafes here in San Diego. So I'll usually order an espresso drink like a latte or cappuccino if I know the beans are from Cafe Moto. Nevertheless, the beans are coming from a good source!

I've only visited this coffee shop in the afternoon, so I'm not sure what the night scene is like, but the times I have gone there, there has been a nice mix of young professionals and college age students filling the seats. The surroundings are comfortable, with periwinkle colored walls and artwork for sale nicely displayed. Apparently they have live music...but the website didn't showcase who was performing, so I don't know if the artists draw much of a crowd. Overall the place had a nice atmosphere and good crowd...the coffee and food were pretty good but could use some improvement, but the location itself makes this place a great place to at least check out once if you're in La Mesa!

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