Art, Literature, and Coffee: Worth the Drive

The Coffee Gallery
2029 Lake Avenue
Altadena, CA 91001
626-398-7917

I don't usually leave my Echo Park radius, but this morning I made an exception and zipped over to The Coffee Gallery in  Altadena. (A quick ride from the 2 to 134 which becomes the 210 and then up Lake street.) Why? For the IWOSC Satellite meeting.  The Independent Writers of Southern California group offers their informal "satellite" sessions at various locations throughout greater Los Angeles. I chose the Altadena meeting because I simply could not stomach the idea of driving the 10 freeway west during commute hours. Altadena took 20 minutes.

The Coffee Gallery is a cozy space, tucked in the corner of a larger building and benefiting from direct morning sun streaming through a picture window. At night the venue is known for its live performances in its Backstage room.  This is also the area where the IWOSC held its meeting.

Clearly plenty of locals frequent the cafe. The single staff person making coffees and ringing customers handled the crowd efficiently.  A smile would have been a nice touch, however, I did feel attended to, even while waiting in line.  He was not hurried and had a smooth system of taking orders, making coffees, and ringing us up.  Kudos for customer service.

I ordered a Double Americano and a muffin, which totaled $5.00 (plus $1.00 tip).  I thought that was fair for a complete breakfast. My comment on the coffee is that it was much too dark of a roast.  The "burned" taste even surpassed Starbucks' level. For an espresso drink, and all of that concentrated coffee flavor, I would have preferred coffee flavor. Sorry Panache.  My oatmeal walnut muffin was delicious and filling. Not homemade...I am curious where the baked goods came from.

All in all, the Coffee Gallery and the IWOSC group were both worthwhile discoveries. Now, if I can get a group started in Echo Park (ie. no driving involved) my dreams will have come true...that is an exaggeration.

This is a bad image!  The interior is much cozier than my photograph.

Price: $$
Total Points: 21
 Total available points: 25 (5 each)
Ambiance: 4
Interior: 4
Product: 3
Staff: 5
Parking: 5
Price: $=least expensive $$$=most expensive