Spending the long Memorial Day weekend in Pacific Grove/Monterey recently allowed myself and the friends I was with to seek out some new spots. I brought my "standard" list of places, but they also did their own research and came up with some great new ones for any future visitors. One of those places is a coffee shop called Captain+Stoker Coffee.
For those of you not nerdy enough about bikes to know, the name of this shop is a reference to tandem bicycles. The "captain" on a tandem is the driver, the "stoker" is the person stuck on the back. In a sense, the stoker uses their legs to "stoke" the fire of the bicycle engine. Sidenote: this word, stoker, comes to bikes from steam ship or locomotive use - a person responsible for literally "stoking" the fire in the firebox to keep steam plentiful. Well, now that you know where the name comes from, you may understand why there are bicycles on the walls of this place.
Not only do they brew up some great cups of java, but they also have become known for their avocado toast ("avo toast" to some). It contains most things you'd think of and some you might not - Fresh-baked sourdough bread, avo spread, crisp arugula, olive oil, pepper flakes, and a lime on the side to squeeze. Genius. They also have other flavors of toast, like PB+Banana and Cinnamon+Sugar, plus handmade sweets and baked goods. It was almost too much... to get over that, the 2nd day we went back we ordered almost one of everything. Smart.
Even their decor and lighting were cool, IMO...
No joke on the roasting works either, right there on premises...
Everything we put in our maws was tasty. I will be back virtually anytime I'm on the Monterey peninsula. Just go. If you're near, go.
Even their decor and lighting were cool, IMO...
No joke on the roasting works either, right there on premises...
Everything we put in our maws was tasty. I will be back virtually anytime I'm on the Monterey peninsula. Just go. If you're near, go.
