Pretentious Moi?

[Paul]

OK, you know the sort of "up themselves" pretentious a-holes who like to try and look important in restaurants by ordering off menu ("I know it is not on the menu, but could you do me a .....")? Knackered kidneys turned me into one of those today!

After my hospital appointment I stopped in a coffee shop beside the ponds to have a (shh don't tell my doctor) cup of coffee (although have since read a post on here that I will use as an excuse, both today and every day I do that). The coffee shop did not have a menu on display but I assumed they sold coffee on account of the fact that they were a coffee shop, so I ordered a cup. The guy behind the counter asked me what type, and as there was no menu I asked what they did. He offered me latte, cappuccino, or Americano. Problem: Because I had no idea what time I would get out of hospital for lunch I had eaten two bowls of cereal for breakfast, so was probably close to my milk limit. This meant latte was out. Also cappuccino as that also has a lot of milk, plus chocolate shavings on top. And Americano was out because that is horrible, undrinkable, rubbish (I'm told it is called "Americano" because it is how Americans like their coffee - If that is true your entire country needs arresting for cruelty to coffee beans).

So with nothing on the menu I could drink, I described to him how to make my cup of coffee "off menu". He was most obliging, but I felt a bit of a looser doing it.

[cassandra]

Americano from an espresso machine (i.e. Real coffee  ) is delicious.

[Paul]

Americano from an espresso machine (i.e. Real coffee  ) is delicious.

I disagree. I have never tried it from any source other than a proper espresso machine, and every time it tasted like espresso that someone has urinated in!

[MooseMom]

1.  I, too, have felt this way in the past, rather embarrassed at having "dietary restrictions".  But it seems that these days, everyone is a bit precious.

2.  I have never been to a Starbucks.  Yes, it's true.  I am not really a coffee drinker, although we do have a "coffee lady" from whom we buy whole beans (usually Kona) which we take home and grind ourselves.  Boy, does THAT sound precious!  Anyway, in the few times I've been into a coffee bar, I've seen "Americano", but I don't know what that means.  What is it?

[Charlie B53]

Just toss a heaping tablespoon or two of good ground dark roast beans into about 12 ounces of near boiling water, let it steep a few minutes then filter it into my cup and I'll be good.

[Riki]

Where do you put chocolate shavings on your cappuccino??? No no no... that totally ruins the foam...

[Paul]

I've seen "Americano", but I don't know what that means.  What is it?

Pour one or two shots of espresso into a very large cup, fill it up with water so you have the most revolting dilute coffee taste you can manage, add milk on top.

[Paul]

Where do you put chocolate shavings on your cappuccino??? No no no... that totally ruins the foam...

In Britain the cheaper coffee shops put cocoa powder on the foam, the more expensive ones put chocolate shavings on it. And the really expensive/most pretentious ones will shave the chocolate in front of you.

It actually tastes quite nice, but is full of stuff I mustn't eat.

[cassandra]

I've seen "Americano", but I don't know what that means.  What is it?

Pour one or two shots of espresso into a very large cup, fill it up with water so you have the most revolting dilute coffee taste you can manage, add milk on top.

That's why you don't like it. Americano: pour 2 espresso shots made of your finest, very finely ground coffee beans into your coffee cup. Slowly add 3 drops of boiling water. Add some sugar to taste. That's it! Done. Don't touch it any further with weird things like milk.

[Paul]

I'll agree with your point about milk, but if you only add three drops of water it is not Americano, it is a double espresso with three drops of water added! The idea of the Americano is to dilute the taste of the coffee considerably, for people who don't like strong coffee. At least twice as much water as espresso, usually three times as much.

[kickingandscreaming]

I'm no expert and not a coffee connoiseur.  But I have to say that my local Americano is hardly weak and not dilute.  It's very robust and requires some cream (for me) but then it's delicious.

[Paul]

As I said to Cassandra, then it is not proper Americano. Americano is supposed to be weak, it was designed for people who prefer weak coffee.

[Charlie B53]

We used to have an combination coffee/espresso maker.  Sadly it committed suicide.  The coffee pot heater memlted and sunk inside, started itself on fire.  Wife freaked, I just unplugged it and turned on the sink hose sprayer.


I would grind my own BLACK beans and make quads.  Add a shot of Hershey's syrup and a shot of hazelnut then finish filling my cup with un-heated milk.  That was just enough to temper the temperature to something I could sip without burning my tongue.

I still add an ice cube to my coffee every morning.  It's just too hot otherwise.

My Dad had an old stove top perk pot.  He would take the BOILING pot, pour his cup and immediately start sipping til it was empty then refill.  I still cannot understand how he kept any skin in his mouth.

[Riki]

I'm not much of a coffee drinker, except for the occasional cappuccino when I'm out, or my ice caps, which are not real coffee at all, but taste good.. *G*  I am a tea drinker, which is a very common thing in the Maritime provinces.  I like my tea like some prefer their men, strong and hot. *L*  My grandmother made the best tea, and there really wasn't that much to it.  She would take a couple of store brand tea bags, put them in a stove top tea pot, and boil the crap out of them.  Last weekend, my mom bought me a pot so I could make my own

[kitkatz]

My Dad made coffee in an old percolator.  Six heaping tablespoons of coffee grounds in the filter and fill with water.  Plug it in and percolate.   Holy cow!  That was some coffee.  It would grow hair on your chest whether you needed it or not.  I am surprised he did not have fuzz on his teeth.
I cannot stand coffee, although both sisters will drink it now. 

[Charlie B53]

My replacement coffe maker after the other one burnt, has a pot of the left and one of those K-cup makers on the right.  You have to be careful filling the water as my preferred LARGE cup is too much water and the machine won't turn on unless switched to the pot.  So I use a small coffee cup to measure.  One cup in, wait for it to make some noise before adding the second cup.  Works fine and just the right amount for my larger morning cup.

I tried the K-cups.  Not impressed.  The machine came with a grounds cup that can be used in place of that special K-cup holder.  I mostly use regular store bought dark roast, but on occasion I will get into one of my Gevalia crocks.

I load the grounds  holder full, so full the lid has to squeeze down the grounds while sliding it into the machine.

Once the coffee is done I add a heaping spoon of one of those espresso mixes to kick it up a notch.  Usually one of the chocolate flavored ones.  Then I also add another heaping spoon of vanilla Protein Powder.  I'm thinking that little bit of added protein can't be a bad thing as my usual breakfast is that coffee, a bunch of cigarettes and a blueberry muffin.

I've been doing this for more years than I can remember  quickly and it hasn't killed me,   yet.

On very cold freezing snowy Winter mornings I sometimes also toss in a spoonful of instant chocolate mix for an extra chocolate hit.

[Riki]

The other day, one of the guys in my class from the Bahamas came into class with a coffee.  I don't think he's much of a coffee drinker, I think he's more into tea.  Anyway, I wasn't paying much attention to him until one of the girls in the class asked him if he'd like some coffee with his sugar.  He had 6 empty sugar packets on his desk. *L*

I like having a cup of tea about halfway through my treatment.  One of the DSWs who's been there almost as long as I have makes a big deal of telling me that my tea is hot and to be careful.  It's gotten to be a bit of a joke between us.  She doesn't work many evening shifts, so I don't see her as often as I used to.  Anyway, she was working Halloween night.  She went through the regular routine of telling me to be careful, because the tea was hot, we both laughed, and she went on to the next patient.  I left the tea sitting for a few minutes to cool, like I usually do.  Finally, I picked it up and took a sip, and it didn't taste right.  I said out loud, "this tea tastes funny."  One the the nurses heard me and said, "oh, is it a little off?"  I said, "yeah, it tastes like coffee."  The DSW had given me coffee instead of tea, so I suddenly had something new to tease her about.

[Charlie B53]

I am Guilty of order off the menu.

Shrimp fettuccine usually comes with a garlic cream sauce.  I like mine very 'wet' and have them add an extra portion of Alfredo Sauce plus extra shrimp, clams, and lobster.

It's VERY Good!

And they do charge me extra for it.


A couple of local places I regularly order a BLT on Wheat Toast.  Now on Hemo I have to leave off the T but I always ask for an Egg, and a thick slice of sweet white onion and extra lettuce, and do not cut it in half, leave it whole.

One of those places I don't even have to ask any longer, the Ladies know what I want and just handle it.  Both are Sweethearts.

[Riki]

It's so cool when you walk into a restaurant and you don't even have to order, they know what you want. *G*

My friends and I do breakfast on Tuesday mornings.  It's gotten to a point where the waitresses have our table ready when we walk in.  They know where we sit, and they know who sits where, so they have coffee and tea set out in the right spots

[Simon Dog]

It's so cool when you walk into a restaurant and you don't even have to order, they know what you want. *G*

What is even cooler is when you walk into a restaurant that just opened and this happens because the server recognizes you from the place where they used to work.

[Riki]

It's so cool when you walk into a restaurant and you don't even have to order, they know what you want. *G*

What is even cooler is when you walk into a restaurant that just opened and this happens because the server recognizes you from the place where they used to work.

That could easily happen here.  I live in a small city, and the servers tend to bounce from restaurant to restaurant sometimes.