I wasn't very excited for La.Va. I'd been there once before and had asked for a couple of things on their menu to be met with a heart-breaking "We ran out of those". Well, heart-breaking for a hungry person craving something specific anyway. So considering my lack of enthusiasm, I decided to keep the bar very low - if they actually had what I ordered this time, it would be a win for La.Va. So, I worked up an appetite that morning by walking from 2nd to 21st and South (because SEPTA is incompetent). I met Samantha there for breakfast, on a weekday before work. La.Va does have a BYOB dinner menu but we decided on breakfast because La.Va had just acquired some serious competition across the street in the form of Honeys Sit 'N Eat. We figured we could have a breakfast wars between the two.
The first thing that should strike you about La.Va is that they are dog friendly - on the outside. You can't bring your dog inside however, but if you leave your dog tied up outside while you are enjoying your breakfast, he/she has options.
 |
| Well, you might have to operate that gizmo below for Fido, but once you do, scooby snacks a plenty. |
Which brings us to next good thing about La.Va, it is gorgeous inside. The decor is what I'd call posh and the couches are grand and comfortable. The art on the wall is fantastic, some of which, I believe, for sale. This place makes me want to dress up, preferably in an old timey suit of some kind, with a monocle and a glass of whiskey.
So it was a little weird seeing people casually doing what they do in coffee shops - working on their computers and chatting with friends. The clientele seemed from the neighbourhood, which is good considering the tagline on their website is "Come meet your neighbours". The menu is rather large for a coffee shop and my eyes fell upon the turkish coffee.
And yes, as you might've guessed by now, they were out of it. After doing this:
I got a regular coffee and a breakfast sandwich - croissant with bacon, egg and cheese. In hind-sight, this was a terrible thing to order as I cannot actually judge anything from it. I mean its a bacon, egg and cheese - a food truck can make it and arguably have it taste better because of the extra grease that lines their fry stations.
It was good. I mean, obviously it was good. And as I failed on ordering something interesting (perhaps from fear that they wont have it), let me comment on the coffee. Very very satisfying. Their menu calls it their homebrew - so I'm unsure of where the beans are from, but it was damn fine coffee! Agent Cooper would approve.
To conclude, the place doesn't really fit a coffee shop. They do have a BYOB dinner menu, but they're base is a coffee shop and things just don't feel right. The space begs for a more sophisticated dining experience and I feel disappointed with myself for sitting there in my jeans drinking my coffee. They do cater and rent the space out to parties which I think is a fantastic idea. It is a gorgeous space to have a party in and since you are pre-ordering things to be catered for the party, you won't run into the "we've run out of" problem. All in all, good coffee, dog treats, a decent bacon and egg sandwich make this place a good cafe. But it can be so much more.
La.Va Cafe
2100 South Street
Philadelphia, PA 19146
215-545-1508
No comments:
Post a Comment