handsome.

Recently I went downtown to the arts district and tried this new place called Handsome Coffee Roasters. Guess what? It's fantastic! I feel like I'm in a kind of coffee limbo days. I don't care for Starbucks or Coffee Bean...the coffee is bleah and of course, they are all corporate and yucky. And like most good Angelenos, I'll go out of my way to hit the precious few Peet's in the metropolitan area.

But anyone who knows me knows that I feel like Silverlake officially died when Intelligentsia moved into the neighborhood. This idea of taking coffee so damn seriously that you charge upwards of $7 for every individually-brewed cup just gets me riled. Along with the clientele, who are all sporting some combination of handlebar mustaches, children-as-accessories and Boston terriers.

I've really tried to temper my "too hip for the hipsters" attitude and give you a chance, Intelligentsia. But the bottom line is your coffee tastes like dreck, and I always end up walking down to the corner and getting my joe at Casbah Cafe, like I did for so many years when I lived up the street. Or going down to Cafecito Organico down Hoover by the 101.

So anyway, I was pretty much expecting the same experience from Handsome Coffee Roasters. I knew they took their coffee seriously, as the roast it right on the premises. The baristas all flaunt handlebar 'staches--as if it's part of the uniform--but guess what? They were all super-friendly and helpful. After one created the gorgeous latte you see above, he told me his girlfriend just had the design tattooed on her back. Now, there's taking coffee a little too seriously, and there's BRANDING IT ONTO YOUR OWN SKIN. This is commitment. This I can respect.

And the latte was just rich and delicious, not all wimpy and floral-y like a lot of fancy coffee. It's just one more thing that reaffirms my love for downtown L.A. and my excitement for all the amazing places popping up there.