Best espresso in Las Vegas? - Page 2

Talk about your favorite cafes, local barista events, or plan your own get-together.
pcrussell50
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#11: Post by pcrussell50 »

I get all over the desert southwest, (Salt Lake City, to St. George, to Las Vegas), and now we are in escrow on a vacation home in Boulder City... And BTW, agreed on Firehouse in Bullhead. The wife's grandparents live in Mohave Valley, and we boat on Lake Mohave. We make it a point to stop in at Firehouse whenever we're in town. That said, I have not had the nerve to order an espresso from them for fear it would suck. Maybe I will, next time. Thanks for the tip.

Back to Vegas: Illy. Yep. That's about it. And while I drink espresso with no milk at home almost exclusively, I actually seek out Illy joints when on the road... and only get caps. The espresso is not very good without milk. That said, an Illy cap, is waaay better than rolling the dice, (pun intended) with a straight espresso at some apathetic, unskilled craphouse. At least Illy is consistent in its mediocrity, and drinkable in a cap. Just the thing to fix a hard jones. IMHO.

-Peter
LMWDP #553

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the_trystero
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#12: Post by the_trystero »

I was thinking about heading to Laughlin tomorrow. I've been to Firehouse once, the visit was a disaster, there was a person who didn't seem to know anything about coffee training a new barista, and the trainer was relying on notes from what I assume was her recent training. Maybe things have gotten better since then, it's been over a year.

I'm bummed to see that Coffee Crafters near the college is closed. Their coffee was really good, roasted in house on what I recall was a Diedrich IR-12? I wonder where it ended up? The staff was really friendly and they sold Aeropresses which at the time, 2 years ago, struck a nice chord with me.

Anyway, if I do head out there tomorrow I'll try Firehouse again to see if there are more knowledgeable baristas on staff.
"A screaming comes across the sky..." - Thomas Pynchon

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the_trystero
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#13: Post by the_trystero »

Did indeed head to Laughlin last weekend, just got back. The Firehouse that I had been to a year ago was actually in Mohave Valley, it was a "franchise", and has since closed. Had Starbucks on Sunday and Firehouse today. Cappuccino at each, not enough of a difference to make me want to head out of my way to Firehouse next time.

The veggie quiche was quite good, though, next time we head up to Oatman we'll probably stop in again. And I do love that their Ambex, sample roaster, bulk grinders, and green beans are all displayed on one side of the cafe.
"A screaming comes across the sky..." - Thomas Pynchon

pcrussell50
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#14: Post by pcrussell50 »

pcrussell50 wrote: Back to Vegas: Illy. Yep. That's about it. And while I drink espresso with no milk at home almost exclusively, I actually seek out Illy joints when on the road... and only get caps. The espresso is not very good without milk. That said, an Illy cap, is waaay better than rolling the dice, (pun intended) with a straight espresso at some apathetic, unskilled craphouse. At least Illy is consistent in its mediocrity, and drinkable in a cap. Just the thing to fix a hard jones. IMHO.

-Peter
Quoting myself...

I was in Vegas yesterday, and really wanting a shot of espresso, not a cap. I found a place that uses Illy in those big tins that screw into big commercial Mazzers, in place of the plastic hoppers. on edit: It was Espresso Culture & Cuisine on the South side (9555 South Eastern Avenue), as listed on page 1 of this thread by oconee. I got up the courage to order an a double shot of espresso instead of a cap, (I prefer espresso it it's good. I drink caps on the road, because most espresso you don't make yourself, sucks). I got my hopes up, when the barista pulled my shot, then dumped it out, because she thought it was coming out too quickly. She was happy with her second attempt. I don't know if she fined up the grind a little or tamped harder, (probably only tamped harder). But alas, the shot was mediocre at best. Sigh. If I ever go back there again, I'll only get a cap.

-Peter
LMWDP #553

cafebmw
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#15: Post by cafebmw »

i found it! it's Sambalatte Torrefazione. they have really decent coffee, seriously!
they are out on rampart near charleston in a tacky outdoor mall (think of 'the housewifes of oc').
across from the 'hipster emporium' (no kidding! only in LV....).

there is this wannabe 3rd wave coffeebar in the liebeskind mall at the crystal. nice machine (e61, name (koffe), etc. but the coffee totally sucks

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