26 Oct Food for Thought: Sipping Java at Recently Opened Crema
By Dorothy Maras-Ildez
Following the outstanding Edible Monterey sponsored Pessagno Wine Pop Up
dinner at La Crème a couple of weeks ago, I decided to give their off-shoot,
Crema, Pacific Grove a try for coffee one morning last week. Arriving at around
11 a.m, I jetted up to a great parking spot right at the front entrance at 481
Lighthouse Ave. (375-1300). They are currently open daily from 7 a.m.-2 p.m. and
have plans to expand the hours to include tapas and a wine bar in the near future.
The place looks fabulous, warm and inviting. No corporate feel here, but don’t
mistake that to mean that it isn’t clean, well-run and friendly. I was greeted before
I physically got through the door with a “Hi! Welcome to Crema” from an
employee who was obviously on a break but didn’t shirk the duty of greeting a
guest. Bravo!
Some nice looking baked goods were calling my name but I resisted and ordered a
Café Americano. Served hot, prepared beautifully and full of flavor, this was the
best cup of coffee I’ve had since I learned what a real cup of coffee tasted like
while in Italy. Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting fur- nishes their organic beans and you
can tell the difference. The coffee was smooth, had a great chocolatey mouth feel,
back-notes of cherries and a perfect crema. Go fig- ure…the place is named Crema,
after all .
Just FYI, Chef Jon Moser of La Crème upstairs is now preparing his soon to be
famous sticky buns to be served at Crema. Don’t miss a chance to feel welcomed,
appreciated and support this fledgling business.