One of the San Juan Bautista feral roosters
San Juan Bautista is one of our favorite towns and it is only forty five minutes from home. It is a place we will be visiting more often in the future because Tom’s father, Don, and his wife Arlene have bought a home there. Normally we visit San Juan (as it is affectionately called) early in the morning and we are back home in San Jose by lunch time. This time we stayed overnight so were able to spend more time there.
(Click on the photos for larger versions)
Our first stop today was to visit the home of Dmitri and Kathy Fridman. In 2007 Dmitri posted a comment on our first San Juan entry. At that time he invited us to come and have a look at his roastery and sample some coffee. Several times I tried to set up a visit but could never get the timing right. This was the first time we have been able to arrange a meeting.
Dmitri and his wife Kitty live about 5 miles outside of town and Dmitri gave us directions on how to find their place. Don and Arlene came with us and the road we traveled was completely new territory for all of us. It was a stunning ride along Salinas Road, with wonderful views of the surrounding countryside. The road climbed steadily uphill and soon we had a marvelous views back towards San Juan. When we arrived at Dmitri and Kitty’s home, the view was spectacular with Monterey in one direction and Salinas Valley and Hollister in another.
Top Dog was the first to greet us, closely followed by Dmitri. We admired his sheep. They only have a
Vertigo Coffee's roaster
few and they are a breed which do not need to be sheared. (Forgive me Dmitri I don’t remembering the name of the breed – I knew I should have written it down.) Dmitri built a separate building to house his roasting business, which is called San Juan Bautista Roasting Company and the coffee is called Vertigo. Check out Vertigo Coffee. Inside was his pride and joy, a German built cast iron roaster he bought on Craig’s List. He told us of his journey to becoming a passionate roaster of coffee. He started out by experimenting at home with a small roaster as he was dissatisfied with the taste of the locally brewed coffee. Friends who sampled it liked it so much he roasted more for them and over the years his roasters became bigger. Now he has a flourishing business in the area, selling to local restaurants and online.
Kitty came out to join us and the six of us spent a wonderful couple of hours talking, listening and watching Dmitri roast some coffee beans. It is a very hands on operation and Dmitri cannot wander very far while the forty minute process takes place. First the roaster has to be brought up to the correct temperature before the the green coffee beans are placed in the hopper at the top. The temperature was closely monitored the whole time. At one stage he extracted a small sample for us to smell. The beans smelt of fresh baked bread and nothing like coffee at all. When the roasting process had finished, the beans were emptied onto a revolving screen and channeled down a shoot into the bag. I’m sure there was a lot more to the process but I was enjoying chatting to Kitty.
Dmitri then started to brew some coffee and I was amazed at the meticulous way he went about it. Brewing coffee is a serious business for Dmitri and everything from the equipment he uses to the temperature of the water is important to him. The coffee we saw being roasted was an espresso called Monks Momentum. It was not ready to be drunk but we were given some to take home with us. We sampled some other coffee and I was very proud of myself for drinking it almost black. Normally my coffee has to be a half milk/half coffee.
Dmitri and Kitty are soon going to open up a coffee shop on 4th Street in downtown San Juan, almost next door to the Post Office. We wish them all the best and will certainly pop in every time we visit San Juan. We all thoroughly enjoyed our visit. Thank you Dmitri and Kitty for making us welcome and for giving up so much to your time.
Clam chowder cook off. We tasted several and they were all good.
Time to get some lunch so we drove back to San Juan. Downtown was busier than I’ve ever seen it but considering we are usually long gone by lunchtime, that was to be expected. There are several places to eat but we decided to try out one of the saloons. There are two to choose from, Mom and Pops and Daisy’s. There are very close to each other but we chose Daisy’s because a lady stopped us outside and said if we were hungry they were having a clam chowder cook-off and for $5 each we could eat as much as we wanted. Well, who could resist such a tempting offer, especially when you are hungry.
Inside it was buzzing. The judging of the 12 entries had just ended so we had arrived at the right time. I never realized how many different ways you could cook clam chowder and I sampled three of them, steering clear of the spicy ones of course. I spoke to a couple of the cooks and they were very pleased to talk about their entries and what was in them but both had ’secret ingredients’ which they kept to themselves. A table was found for us at the end of the bar and we were well looked after and all of us enjoyed our lunch. We stayed to hear the results and the commentaries were very funny. This group of people hold many different cook-outs during the year and all monies go to charity. Today’s went to the local firehouse which is manned by volunteers.
We spent a quiet afternoon pottering around the house but in the evening we walked into town for dinner. Our choice was the Cutting House Steakhouse on 3rd Street. We had to wait for a table but that was OK. On the walls are individually designed, quirky cattle brands. The building itself is made of brick and over the last 150 years has been a grocery store, a brothel and, from the early 20th century, a bank. It is reputed to be haunted by several ghosts, the most colorful being “The Lady in White’ or Deanna, who ran the brothel and died when when she fell down the stairs on her wedding day.
After a pleasant meal we sauntered back to the house. Another interesting day in great company and we looked forward to being woken by roosters in the morning.
February 22 2010 | Neighborhoods and Special Places | 3 Comments »
We drove into San Juan Bautista at 7 am and the sun was shining, which was pretty amazing as fog was
surrounding the area. South of Gilroy we hit light fog and it looked thicker ahead. We were convinced San Juan Bautista would be blanketed in fog.
As we left the highway and entered the town Tom said ‘turn the clocks back 20 years’ and it’s true. Straightaway we encountered the first chicken, ambling across the road in front of us. Before too long we had seen at least another 20, either in groups, pairs or on their own, wandering around.
(Click on the image for a larger version)
The main street, Third Street, was almost deserted. All the cute little shops were closed and may be open by 11. We passed the Mission Cafe with the Open sign in the window. Last time we were here it was closed so we will come back later for breakfast. We decided to take a walk beforehand to take advantage of the sun. Who knows when the fog will roll in.
We headed towards the Mission along Mariposa Street, walking along the side of the Plaza Hotel and the two story outhouse at the back. The building is looking a bit dilapidated and in need of a new coat of paint. At the corner of Mariposa and Second Street is a small park and I walked across the road to check it out. There were a few chickens scavenging around and in one corner is an old settlers cabin but as the park doesn’t open until 10 I’m not able to get a closer look. There is an old rustic seat on the outside of the park at the crossroads which I had never seen before though, from the look of it, it has been there some time.
While I stood there taking photos, someone behind me said ‘Good Morning’. I turned and there were three young men, two of them in identical smart black and white pin striped suits with white shirts and white dress shoes. They looked so out of place there. I discovered that there 14 more young men around wearing the same suits. They belonged to a Mexican band from Santa Cruz and they have just cut their first disc. The reason for their visit is to take photos for the cover of their album and they were just off to Salinas to take more photos.
Tom was taking pictures outside the Mission so I wandered past and paused in the rose garden, peeped through the gate to the cemetery and gazed at the stature of St John the Baptist, raising his arms to heaven. At this time of the day, with the early morning sun blazing down on him, he looks glorious.
At the back of the Mission, alongside the original El Camino Real, are overgrown concrete bleachers. At one time El Camino Real was the route linking all the Californian Missions with Santa Clara Mission to the north and San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo – which was the headquarters and second Mission to be built – to the south. I climbed over the metal guard rail and walked along the bleachers amongst the brambles. Along the way I helped myself to a few blackberries. They are past their prime and were small but also very tasty. I am sure there were good pickings to be had a few weeks ago.
I sat down and started to write but spent most of my time gazing over the farmlands and especially a field of golden sunflowers in the foreground. The sun was still shining but the fog was out there in the distance.
After a while I walked back and found Tom. I told him about the sunflowers so we took a walk along the old road to get closer. Tom wandered off and I found some more blackberries. There were some bigger fruit here but all out of reach. If only I had a walking stick with a hooked handle.
It’s time for breakfast so we walked back to the Mission Cafe (see Breakfast Blog).
Afterward we took a walk along Third Street, where the shops were still not open. I noticed there were a few empty shops and the Inca Line one of my favorites specializing in goods made with alpaca wood – was gone for ever. Also missing was the wooden statue of the top half of a man wearing a read hat outside the Casa Juan de Anza House on the corner of Franklin and Third Streets.
The only shop open is the San Juan Bakery where we bought a French loaf, which was still warm from the oven and smelt wonderful, and an along poppy seed pound cake.
There are many more people around now so it’s time to head home. It’s been another wonderful morning, going back in time, in the magical San Juan Bautista.
August 27 2008 | Special Places | No Comments »
The Mission Cafe in San Juan Bautista is again open for business. This time last year it was closed and forlorn but in March 2008 it reopened. Many times in the past Tom and I have had breakfast here. My first visit was in February 2001, just half an hour after Tom had proposed and I had accepted. A few years ago the cafe was for sale and we ventured down the path of make believe and imagined buying the place and running it. What better place to live than San Juan Bautista? To be so close to San Francisco, the ocean and everything we love so much about California but living in this quiet, rustic, community is almost irresistible.
Now it has a new lease of life. Inside it looks almost the same. The stools at the counter are new as is the bar but the layout is identical. It is not a large diner but it’s compact. In the front window is a large table for 6. Along the side are 4 four-seater booths. In the middle are 4 small tables for 2 and there are ten places at the counter.
Decorating the walls are lots of old photographs, some of San Juan Bautista views and a few portraits. There are a few other knick knacks on the window sills.
I ordered my normal oatmeal – $3.95 – and added toast – $2.45. Tom ordered Huevos Rancheros with hash browns – $9.70 and, of course, he had coffee.
The place was bustling but there were no queues. Mind you, it is only 8 am so maybe there will be people waiting later. Music was playing in the background. Our server was very pleasant and efficient. There was a nice happy, relaxed feeling.
Now to the food. My oatmeal came in a large, round bowl – it looked just like a small pudding basin but I doubt whether that description would be understood by many in America. Back in England it would be understood as they are used to steam our hot treacle sponges and Christmas puddings. The milk, in a small stainless steel jug and the brown sugar, raisins and, would you believe it, honey, in small plastic containers came on a medium sized plate. I saved the honey to have on my toast instead of using the prepacked runny marmalade and jams already on the table. The oatmeal tasted great – nice and creamy – but it could have been a little warmer. Tom’s Huevos Rancheros and hash browns covered his plate. He said it was spicy but that was due to the excessive amount of Tabasco he put on it because the stopper was missing from the bottle. His comment after though was ‘great’.
The restroom was unisex, large, bright and clean. It was much better than the restroom in the previous version of the Mission Cafe. The only decoration now is a small black and white photograph on the wall near the sink. The water was nice and hot, which pleased me.
Our verdict – we’ll come again.
August 21 2008 | Breakfast Log | No Comments »
