On 25 Nov 2005 19:07:25 -0800, "Rob" > replied:
>Irrespective of the location, what's been your funniest or worst
>restaurant experience/s you've had so far - as in the food and / or
>service being terrible, or the food and service being fine and very
>good, but something else amusing occurred.

[I posted this after one of our trips to Sandy Eggo. Hopefully it's as
entertaining to read as it was to write.]

Jammer's Java
218 N El Camino Real # A
Encinitas, CA 92024
(760) 942-5282
http://www.jammersjava.com/

Stopping in here was an impulse buy, plain and simple.

In our rush to get down South, I missed packing the daughter-units'
sandals. We needed some and TJ Maxx seemed like the perfect choice:
cheap and throwaway if they didn't work. SWMBO¹ was assigned that
odious task while I waited in the SUV with three very hyped kid-units.

It dawned on me as I listened to Spawn crankin' down on her
sister-units, Alpha and Beta, that I'd missed my morning latte
infusion. The wail that erupted from Spawn as both her sisters finally
explained (in sibling fashion) that they were tired of her abuse and
were now willing to retaliate brought forth the Linda Blaire in me; my
head spun about on my shoulders and I growled a Dad Tone. Dire threats
and a louder voice quelled any further outbursts from the Gallery and
I went back to looking at the coffee shop.

The longer I looked, the greater my impulse became.

It's unremarkable exterior and hidden-from-the-street location gave me
momentary pause but caffeine deprivation soon had me unbuckling Spawn
and ordering the other two out of the car. As we walked the 20 feet
through the deserted parking lot, I reminded them all of how much
shorter the day would be if they misbehaved. Promises assured, the
four of us entered the coffeehouse.

ObHimmel²: The interior was as unremarkable as the exterior. High
ceilings, several deuces with seating for four per table, purchasable
bric-a-brac along the walls... No clientele.

A tall fellow greeted me from behind the bar. Alpha and Beta had
instantly become "bored" and wandered over to a table to play
Rock-Paper-Scissors. The <thwap> as rocks crushed scissors gave me a
simple preview of the remaining day. The menu, posted high on the wall
behind the counter, listed over a dozen combo drinks, all with
different prices and sizes (three) for each. I ordered a large triple
latte.

The gentleman smiled and quickly started making it. He was very
out-going and personable. I started asking about the different iced
drinks on the menu. Beta had grown "bored" with getting hit (again)
and came over to stand by me. During one description, a chocolate
mocha infusion of some form, she perked up and asked if she might have
one. I ordered three. Hyper, caffeinated and sugar-whacked, kids; what
a combo.

SWMBO had long-since found suitable footwear for the daughter-units
and when she saw that we weren't where we were supposed to be, "just
knew where I'd taken them." (Sad: I am that predictable.) To appease
the Goddess of my Real Life®, I ordered her a tea. To my pleasant
surprise, he fill a tea-filter with loose-leaf Earl Gray and poured
boiling water over it and in a cup for her.

I ended up getting a few pastries and those little boxed cereals for
our group. The bagels were fresh. The cereal choices nice (lots of
sugar-bomb-based cereals for the kids to ogle and choose.) Total bill
came to less than US$24 -- cheaper than any $tarBuck$ run by US$10.

I took a sip of my latte. It was excellent! As we were leaving, the
gentleman was receiving quite a regular stream of customers,
confirming that the latte wasn't a fluke.

If you find yourself in this portion of the PRC, just south of
Carlsbad along El Camino, stop in. You /can/ do a lot worse with all
the $tarBuck$ around.

The Ranger

¹ She Who Must Be Obeyed
² ObHimmel: In the Bay Area (of the PRC³), we have a restaurant
reviewer^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hhack that is more interested in the interior
of places than the food.
³ People's [DemoKratic] Republic of Californi[cated]a