It's quite possible that no place in the country it's size, is as bereft of "coffee culture" as Las Vegas. We have a second home near there, by Lake Mead in Boulder City, NV and we are huge coffee culture people who travel the world, Melbourne (I partly grew up there), LA, NYC, SFO, and all the flyover country places where good espresso is exploding. We are in Boulder City right now enjoying boating on the warm waters of Lake Mead and it was quite literally not until yesterday that my wife stumbled upon this Sprudge article about PublicUS in Las Vegas. http://sprudge.com/publicus-97938.html Within minutes of skimming over the article yesterday, we piled the girls (3 and 7), into the car and were on our way across town to go there. For what our opinion is worth, PublicUS is as good as the best place we can ever remember going. They offer their "house blend", which has pleasant brightness instead of all chocolate and carmel to cater to milk drinkers, as well as an SO that rotates as they run out of it. Many good places do those things though, but the espresso is as good or better than any I remember. They weigh both the dose and the output, as is also becoming de rigeur at the high end. The machine is a three group Van der Westen with no paddles. They barista starts and stops the extraction with buttons, cup on scale, and does not use the volumetric capability. Anyhow, none of this is particularly unique, except that the finished product is very much in the upper echelon.

The thing that separates PublicUS further from many other American cafes is it's "Australia-quality" food options. The food quality is off the charts. The pastries too.

The most remarkable thing, to us, as erstwile Las Vegans (Californian beach towners who adore the desert wilderness), is how Vegas has gone from zero, to as good as it gets, in almost an instant, thanks to PublicUS. A lot of our fellow Californians travel to Vegas for various reasons here and there, and now, if you are into espresso, you needn't have to do without until you are home again.

-Peter

I think a lot of what made PublicUS so great came from Cole McBride, the US barista champ that set the standards there. Unfortunately he isn't there any longer and hasn't been for some time. Those are some mighty shoes to fill.

pcrussell50 wrote:It's quite possible that no place in the country it's size, is as bereft of "coffee culture" as Las Vegas. We have a second home near there, by Lake Mead in Boulder City, NV and we are huge coffee culture people who travel the world, Melbourne (I partly grew up there), LA, NYC, SFO, and all the flyover country places where good espresso is exploding. We are in Boulder City right now enjoying boating on the warm waters of Lake Mead and it was quite literally not until yesterday that my wife stumbled upon this Sprudge article about PublicUS in Las Vegas. http://sprudge.com/publicus-97938.html Within minutes of skimming over the article yesterday, we piled the girls (3 and 7), into the car and were on our way across town to go there. For what our opinion is worth, PublicUS is as good as the best place we can ever remember going. They offer their "house blend", which has pleasant brightness instead of all chocolate and carmel to cater to milk drinkers, as well as an SO that rotates as they run out of it. Many good places do those things though, but the espresso is as good or better than any I remember. They weigh both the dose and the output, as is also becoming de rigeur at the high end. The machine is a three group Van der Westen with no paddles. They barista starts and stops the extraction with buttons, cup on scale, and does not use the volumetric capability. Anyhow, none of this is particularly unique, except that the finished product is very much in the upper echelon.

The thing that separates PublicUS further from many other American cafes is it's "Australia-quality" food options. The food quality is off the charts. The pastries too.

The most remarkable thing, to us, as erstwile Las Vegans (Californian beach towners who adore the desert wilderness), is how Vegas has gone from zero, to as good as it gets, in almost an instant, thanks to PublicUS. A lot of our fellow Californians travel to Vegas for various reasons here and there, and now, if you are into espresso, you needn't have to do without until you are home again.

-Peter

Did you notice if they still feature Velton's coffee as they were going to originally?

Sorry mate, that was something I didn't notice. I roast my own for the most, so one of the gaps in my espresso knowledge is in the area of top notch pro roasts. I'll certainly report back the next time I go there though.

-Peter

PublicUs = Cole McBride. He is a magician behind the wheel (lever). Accompany his coffee with killer food and a vibe like nothing else in Vegas and presto, PublicUs. Every year for work I go to Vegas and we stay on the strip. Everyday, I pay $36 in Uber fare for a round trip to PublicUs and I look forward to returning again-and-again, year-after-year.

It appears that Cole McBride has moved on from PublicUS.

That's a bummer to hear. But it's still an excellent place. Both food and espresso.

-Peter

yakster wrote:It appears that Cole McBride has moved on from PublicUS.

Say it isn't so!!