JasonBrandtLewis Senior Member Joined: 9 Dec 2005 Posts: 6,099 Location: Berkeley, CA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Elektra T1 - La Valentina -... Grinder: Mahlkönig K30 Vario -... Vac Pot: Yama 5-cup Drip: CCD, Chemex Roaster: No, no, not another...
Posted Sun Oct 17, 2010, 8:12am Subject: FOUND! Great coffee in Las Vegas!
Well, OK, maybe "great" is an exaggeration -- how about "very, very, very good coffee"? And please note, I said coffee. In terms of espresso, this place is still pretty much a desert (no pun intended).
The Social House -- a Japanese restaurant, bar, and club inside Crystals (the mall at City Center on the Strip) -- has a Hario siphon setup with (that I could see) seven siphons and three halogen heaters. It's $15 for a 3-cup siphon. The Ethiopian Harrar I had was very nice. I should also mention that they have a 2-group La Marzocco Linea and three Mazzers, so someone there likes coffee! (But I did not try any of their espresso.)
Also in Crystals, ground floor in the back, is a coffee-and-gelato place (I think they sell sandwiches too) called, simply, The Cup. However, they have two 2-group Victoria Arduino Adonis machines, paired with three Nuova Simonelli Mythos grinders. The macchiato I had was quite good, but I haven't had a chance to go back and try it a second time, nor do I know where they source their beans . . .
Cheers, Jason
P.S. "The Cup" should not be confused with -- I swear to God! -- "The Pods," which is a Wolfgang Puck casual eatery with super-automatic Cimbalis . . . .
JasonBrandtLewis Senior Member Joined: 9 Dec 2005 Posts: 6,099 Location: Berkeley, CA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Elektra T1 - La Valentina -... Grinder: Mahlkönig K30 Vario -... Vac Pot: Yama 5-cup Drip: CCD, Chemex Roaster: No, no, not another...
Posted Mon Oct 18, 2010, 6:48am Subject: Re: FOUND! Great coffee in Las Vegas!
I should add that, both of these places being inside Crystals, they are really only convenient -- as a non-resident -- if you are staying at one of the hotels in and around City Center, or if you are shopping at Crystals. I was at the Vdara, but I still didn't go there for coffee -- unless I was there. Vdara has what looked like a K-cup UNIC machine -- wasn't bad; wasn't good; it was mediocre ---> it merely was.
Posted Tue Aug 2, 2011, 1:14pm Subject: Re: FOUND! Great coffee in Las Vegas!
Thank you Jason. I've been out of the loop lately and just realized that I never posted about my search for good coffee in Vegas on my trip last year. Since anyone searching for coffee in Vegas will be led here, I'll just post it now, I found none. Forget about Illy, you might as well go to Charbucks. (do like I do, get an iced coffee, ask for milk and half the pumps of sweetener and pretend to like it). My best hope was the blackcat being pulled at Vosges chocolate. After tasting the shot, I didn't even pay attention to the equipment being used. Perhaps it was the equipment, perhaps it was the barista, it just wasn't very good coffee. Perhaps I'll give it another try if I'm passing by. (they do, however, have terrific higher end chocolate). This all being said, we're staying at the Vdara in a few weeks. I'll try not to let a year go by before I report.
JasonBrandtLewis Senior Member Joined: 9 Dec 2005 Posts: 6,099 Location: Berkeley, CA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Elektra T1 - La Valentina -... Grinder: Mahlkönig K30 Vario -... Vac Pot: Yama 5-cup Drip: CCD, Chemex Roaster: No, no, not another...
Posted Tue Aug 2, 2011, 8:18pm Subject: Re: FOUND! Great coffee in Las Vegas!
I was only there that one time, and that was nearly a year ago, so . . . it strikes me more as a "club scene" restaurant than a lunchtime sushi bar/restaurant. The food was fine, but it wasn't outstanding. I mean I'd probably go if I were again in Crystals and was hungry (and didn't want to go to Todd English's P.U.B.), but I can't see myself saying, "Hey, let's all go to Social House for some sushi!"
Posted Thu Sep 1, 2011, 4:48pm Subject: Re: FOUND! Great coffee in Las Vegas!
Well here goes:
We had a great time in Vegas. Lot's of terrific "foodie" items all over the place, and, as noted by Jason, great coffee at the Social House. The barista's name who runs the coffee bar there is Jonah. Really nice young man, not snobbish at all. And he was ecstatic to have another "geek" stop in. We probably spoke for over 45 minutes and come to find out he knows quiet a bit about coffee, (more than me for sure, which isn't saying much). He poured me the Ethiopian from the halogen powered siphon which was probably some of the best coffee I have had in a long time. Rich, perfectly balanced acidity with notes of tangerine. He then proceeded to pull me a shot from the Linea and it was extremely respectable. (in Jonah's words, it has been pulling "juicy" lately). I do not have the type of palate that can pick up notes or undertones on a shot very easily but I do know when a shot is good and when it is not, this was a delicious and well balanced shot. Jonah explained to me where he sourced his beans from and I believe that he might have done this by mistake. He has plans for Las Vegas and does not want to give out too much information. This being said, I can assure you that they are from a reputable source. The problem Jonah has been having is that his coffee bar doesn't get any love. People on the strip just want to get drunk and don't care about specialty coffee so he doesn't get even close to the business he would like. Because of this, he explained that the coffee I was drinking was approaching two weeks since the roast date as he can't serve enough to have the turnaround he would like, within one week. I'm in hopes that this will change for him as he educates people in the area about coffee. I would encourage anyone who is sojourning to Vegas to stop in and to see Jonah. In my opinion, it will be worth your while. Call ahead first to find out his schedule. If you go in and he is not there he has trained some of the other workers to run the coffee equipment but he admitted that even though they do a decent job, it will not be 100% like it would be as if he was there. The coffee bar is in the front on the right hand side, by the regular bar so it is completely acceptable to walk up and to order a drink, even if you want it to go. But don't bring in any outside food as the management even though really nice, has a strict policy about outside food for concern of lawsuits if any food poisoning were to occur. (we walked in with pastries from Jean Phillipe hoping to have them with our coffee).
PS- I wrote "las vegas" in the search engine and could not bring up this post. Any ideas why? I'd like this post to be accessible for people so that they could find out about the coffee at the social house. Also- I did not try "the cup". I had written them to find out about their sourcing to no avail.
Posted Wed Sep 21, 2011, 7:48am Subject: Re: FOUND! Great coffee in Las Vegas!
JasonBrandtLewis Said:
The Social House -- a Japanese restaurant, bar, and club inside Crystals (the mall at City Center on the Strip) -- has a Hario siphon setup with (that I could see) seven siphons and three halogen heaters. It's $15 for a 3-cup siphon. The Ethiopian Harrar I had was very nice. I should also mention that they have a 2-group La Marzocco Linea and three Mazzers, so someone there likes coffee!
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