Ok, so this is my first blog post on my all new website & blog! I’ve also decided to embrace my inner snob and start writing reviews of the various places I dine, and most important, drink coffee! So, welcome to my world of opinions & good luck!
While I still love my Starbucks and the convenience & dependability it offers, after visiting Seattle a couple of months ago and trying a new independent coffee shop everyday of our trip, I have found my self back in LA longing for some latte art. So lately I’ve been breaking out my Yelp app and searching for LA’s best indie coffee shops. Thus far, I have been pleasantly surprised.
During the same trip to Seattle I also tried the best, most amazing almond croissant (and pastries in general:) I ever thought possible. Since I clearly cannot live without these delicacies, I have also made it my personal mission to find a comparable almond croissant here in Los Angeles. So, from here on I will also be reviewing all of the various bakeries I try along the way in my quest!
OK! On to the review:
THE SHOP: Today’s review is of M Street Coffee & Gallery on the border of Studio city & Sherman Oaks. When I walked in I was instantly greeted by a bright and inviting atmosphere. There is plenty of seating and of course, free WiFi. They also are community oriented and display the work of local artists on their walls which is fun. The staff is friendly and knowledgable about their coffee (I ordered my drink with Soy out of preference and the barista made sure I knew that the carmel in my drink had a small amount of dairy in it. Very thoughtful). Finally, M Street is very green (which I LOVE!) their cups are eco friendly, they offer several vegan and gluten free options, and they don’t automatically put a cup holder on beverages! If you do prefer your coffee with a cozy, they have a box where you can give it back so your holder can cozy another cup! 
THE COFFEE: I ordered the Carmel Royal Latte with soy & in addition to the lovely leaf design in my beverage, the drink was AMAZING!!! I like my “fancy drinks” fancy so the fact that it was a bit sweet was delightful! BUT if you aren’t crazy about sweet coffee I would go with a traditional latte. M Street’s espresso is strong but not bitter. They definitely pay attention to the details of each drink and take their time with the preparation. My Carmel Royal was perfect to the last sip!
THE ALMOND CROISSANT: I was pretty excited when they told me that their almond croissant was “twice baked” because I actually had two mind blowing croissants in seattle one of which was twice baked. So my expectations were maybe a bit high. What I am finding here in LA is that all of the almond croissants are really, well “almondy”. They use a lot of grainy almond paste and they have a very strong flavor. Versus the ones I had in WA which were not only the perfect croissant texture (crispy on the outside and impossibly soft on the inside) but the almond filling was really smooth, sweet, and creamy with only a light almond flavor. While M Streets had a pretty descent texture, it definitely had a strong and very grainy filling (they actually put thinly sliced almond in their filling). It wasn’t bad & if you really like almond you would probably love it, but for me, it wasn’t great & I wouldn’t order it again.
Overall, I really like visiting M Street Coffee. I enjoy the “neighborhood coffee shop” feel and LOVE their Carmel Royal latte (as in the thought of it got me motivated to get up and out the door yesterday morning;).
<3 K
