M Street Coffee in Sherman Oaks
Finally stopped in to the new M Street Coffee place on Moorpark at the corner of Longridge (13251 Moorpark, one block east of Fulton) that I have been watching under construction for the past several months. Who do I run into but Gene Liebenau, former owner of Jinky's, who has just opened this coffee emporium in an easily passed-by location?
The super-nice manager, Andrea McClain, made up for the locational liabilities with a warm and friendly welcome. I decided to just try a cup of coffee - no specialty drinks for the first visit!
Well, the organic Volcan blend of 5 different beans do make for a very nice cup of brewed coffee. Slightly bitter backside, yet very pleasant overall experience. In fact, better than the cup I usually have at Pane Dolce not too far away and definitely better than any cup of brewed stuff from the Coffee Roaster, also nearby. And only $1.50 for a generous small-size.
They also have muffins and, while not a chocolate-lover, Wally biscotti which looked extremely good, yet I did not indulge. Nicely done place, some seating, including a couple of outdoor tables.
Open 7-6pm M-F, and 8-5 Sat and Sun.
carter
Jan 30, 2008 11:17AM
I have been wondering about this place. Has anyone else been? How does it compare to the coffee roaster in terms of baked goods and such?
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Is this a place that roasts coffee or has some special thing going with coffee, or are they just buying beans and setting up a cool coffee shop to hang out in?
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It does no roasting on premises but buys the beans. The selection of baked goods I saw was about 10:30am, so not necessarily representative of those available upon opening. They buy the baked goods from a local, non-chain-type supplier. Don't remember who by name, but it was two male names in the title of the company, and Larry comes to mind as being one of them. Maybe someone on the board could come to me rescue on this issue. Will have to go back soon and try a latte and a baked good, but not necessarily on the same morning!
But while coffee roaster roasts its beans, their cup of brewed coffee is among the worst I have tasted, to the point on a visit about 6 or so months ago, I had to throw most of the cup into the gutter. Just not my thing got redefined. Tooooo bitter/acidic.
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I agree the Coffee Roaster sucks. One big reason is that baristas do not know how to make a double Americano, the only drink I order. My boyfriend says the coffee there is not so good. I worked at Rocky Roasters for a while and he didn't train his baristas. I find the general ethic is make up buck but no quality of product of atomosphere.
I miss the cafes so much from where I'm from, Portland, OR and the attendant lifestyle. I still order my coffee my Stumptown (www.stumptowncoffee.com). I have not found a coffee shop that doesn't overlook a parking lot or a major road or where people know how to relax or where there is no wheeling or dealing, My life has been greatly diminished since I moved to LA.
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My recent Coffee Roaster experience:
Our friend Denise was giving a master dance class in San Francisco for the weekend, and was bringing home pounds of coffee from her favorite "Beanery" coffee store in S.F.. On Saturday I ran out of coffee, so I decided to walk over to The Coffee Roaster and purchase 1/4 pound of beans, to hold me until Denise came home. I walk into the store and there is only one person taking care of everyone. I'm patient and slowly I begin to move up to the head of the line. Then the owner walks in and gives the clerk a hand. Just my luck, the owner waits on me. He walks into his store being busy, and after my patient waiting, all he can see are dollars, so he barks out to me "What do you want". I ask for 4 oz. of beans and he hurriedly dumps them into a bag, which he doesn't even seal. He charges me $2.50, and the next morning when I make our coffee, I can sense that it wasn't even a full 4 oz. of beans. I weigh them and discovered that the owner gave me a "generous" 2 1/2 oz. of beans! This is a place I will not be returning to.
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I'm sorry to hear about your experience @ Coffee Roaster. I go in there quite regularly & am in fact a big fan of their coffee. Also, I've found the cappaccinos & lattes to be skillfully made (and I'm very particular about my coffee, both in terms of bean quality & the cofee/milk drinks). I've found the owner very friendly, helpful and engaging, as are the others who work there. Maybe you just caught him on an unusually bad day; it sounds like very anomolous behavior. In any case, looking forward to trying M Coffee; Sherman Oaks definitely needs more choices in regards to coffee houses!
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Hoping that you are right regarding this being an isolated instance of "lesser than" customer service. Happy coffee drinking to you!
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I actually kinda life the Coffee Roaster but I can TOTALLY see how it's not to everyone's taste. I don't know enough about coffee to describe what it is about their roasting process that is different, but it makes a coffee that is brighter(?) and maybe on the less caramelly/chocolately end of the spectrum? I really am annoyed by my lack of vocabulary on this, but can someone help? Anyway, my wife hates their coffee, but I like it, and I prefer it to almost everything in the area. (I like Peet's for cappucino, but not drip-- too thick and too heavy, too little briskness) Anyway, I will try this new joint.
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I've been now. It was ages watching and waiting for them to open. Andrea was very nice. When I went, they didn't have their baked goods yet, just the biscotti. I spent some time speaking with Andrea, she was saying that it's mostly neighborhood foot traffic at this point. As I was in there, a customer came in suggesting they open earlier, because he's in the office by 7. I'm not a coffee expert, but my latte was nice. I think everything is organic there. They had a good sized smoothie menu as well. I will be back, I'm just a block away and I'm thrilled they have opened. The gift shop that's next door (not affliated with them) is really great for wedding/housewarming type gifts.
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