Casa & Cafe Arigato

Happy Monday everyone!

We're back today with another restaurant spotlight, this time we are featuring a half sushi house half coffee shop in the Riviera Village of Redondo Beach called Casa/Cafe Arigato. There's good news and bad news, but lets get started with the good news. 

1. THE LATTE ART

(Green Tea Latte, Caffe Latte, Green Tea Vanilla Latte)

2. THE SUSHI

(Caterpillar Roll & Las Vegas Roll)

Yes, the latte art here is easily the best latte art we've ever seen. The barista who makes these designs is amazingly talented and super creative. There are also copies of latte art books lying around in the cafe, so make sure you check those out too.

Ok, here's the bad news. Both Casa and Cafe Arigato is closing at the end of May and will not be moving to a new location. We were all very bummed about this, because this place was a recent find for all of us. So make sure to stop by soon, and get some amazing sushi and coffee before they are gone!

Love Letter Pizza & Chicken

It's been quite a while since we last featured a restaurant here on Coffeestrokes, but recently we had our monthly dinner at Love Letter Pizza & Chicken in Gardena. We are big fans of Asian fusion restaurants, and this one has fast become one of our favorites. Love letter is a Korean restaurant that specializes in a Korean take on the standard pizza and chicken wings. Similar in taste to a popular chicken wing chain restaurant in Korea, Kyochon, Love Letter has a great variety of fried chicken. 

Here's what we got:

On the weekdays (Monday-Thursday) Love Letter has combination specials. We went on a Wednesday and we ordered the bulgogi pizza and popcorn chicken combination. 

Make sure to give it a try the next time you are in the area!

Poems

On my recent trip to San Francisco, I saw a man sitting on a folding chair in front of the Ferry Building Marketplace. He had a sign that said "POEMS" with an infinity sign under it. On his lap was a green colored typewriter. His name is Zach. 

Zach writes poems for free to anyone who comes up to him and gives him a topic. He writes them within five minutes and a donation is optional. So if you're ever in the Bay area and you find Zach, ask him for a poem!

jam

Yes, I am just about to write a bi-picture snapshot(s). The wee hours of the morning are not a prime time to make this caliber of a decision, so the indecisive route it is. Thinking about it, there's a lot to be said about these two images. The first-- the dismal state of my poor kitchen table, quite forcefully taken over by the incessant wave of "work." The second-- a jar of jam. Argentinian jam, to be specific. It's been the new look for my breakfast toast this week, but also a reminder of the place that it came from-- a place much different than where it stands today.  It's a simple reminder to me to put my own "problems" into perspective, and think of a world other than my own as I finish off my breakfast in the few moments I have before the bell rings, and school starts once again. 

Affogato

Ice-cream and espresso are two Coffeestrokes favorites. Put them together, and you get a dessert called Affogato-- Italian for "drowned." Affogato is best with a scoop of vanilla gelato (today we used Talenti!) and a fresh shot of espresso poured over. Hope you give it a try!

Gulls

Taking it all in, day by day, step by step, and apparently post by post. 

(I admire segulls' ability not to care about anything they do. I actually just like birds. That's all.)

Rishita

All Natural

I still play with leaves. Is that childish? 

Fashion Inspiration: Kristenglam

New York fashion blogger Kristen Lam, of Kristenglam has an effortless, casual style with youthful notes-- simple, but sophisticated. Her fashion photo blog combines the New York landscape, an eclectic mix of the industrial city scene and the beauty of the numerous parks, with her equally unique sense of fashion. She's this month's favorite blogger, and has long been a favorite of Coffeestrokes. 

Here are a few of our favorite posts, make sure to check them out!

Flicker

It was a pretty crowded day at the Huntington Library the Thursday that I visited for an AP Literature assignment. I came to analyze the originals of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales; ended up spending not so much time doing the assignment than strolling the unique, beautiful gardens that attracted so many visitors that day. This walkway cuts through rows upon rows of roses of every variety in the Huntington's famed Rose Garden. In the midst of the crowds shifting in and out of my camera's viewfinder, here's a shot of the flicker of emptiness, of serenity, of peace that so beautifully captures the natural wonder of the rose gardens. 

Love,

Eileen

Germany

From the Netherlands, we traveled about 3 hours along mountainous roads to Heidelberg, Germany. Most can agree to describe our short stay in Germany as a sweltering hot castle-hopping experience. For a city that is generally mild in the summers, our tour landed us on a few of the hottest days of the year in Heidelberg. And during our time in this beautiful country, we explored a few of Germany's most famous castles. 

The quaint city of Heidelberg prides itself in its traditional, non-industrialized aesthetic charm. Years ago, the town square banned the coca-cola umbrellas that patio cafes sported to more natural looking umbrellas of earthy shades. It's a small, but profound difference that preserves the authenticity of German city life, the independence of family business, and the beauty of the town. Heidelberg also prides itself in not only being a popular tourist spot, but a intellectual center of research in many fields of science.

A few hours drive from Heidelberg is the site of the Neuschwanstein Castle, supposedly the castle that inspired Disney's Sleeping Beauty castle. A nineteenth-century Romanesque Revival palace, this castle minimalist exterior housed an equally appealing ornate, lavish interior. 

This view from the highest tower of the Neuschwanstein is a magnificent one. From here, you can see Hohenschwangau Castle in the distance.