Road trip to Algoma again

On Monday, Kim and I drove up to Algoma just for the heck of it. Stopped at Cafe Tlazo for a sandwich, soup, couple of beers, espresso (me) and mocha (Kim). I've mentioned Tlazo before...very nice place...relaxing decor, a good lunch menu, satisfying coffees. My espresso was good...tasty and presented in an attractive demitasse...the crema was a tad lacking, but still a very enjoyable follow-up to our meal, along with a cup of their delicious gelato. They do a nice job at Tlazo; it's become something of a "must stop" for us when traveling north along the lake and time allows.

The Havenly Inn

From there we popped in over at Shaun and Brad Schmiling's new B&B, Havenly Inn. If you've read earlier posts on here you know that the Schmilings are owners of the Von Stiehl Winery in Algoma. Shaun gave us a great tour of the B&B, complete with ghost stories... It''s a beautiful place and we intend to take advantage of it sometime soon.

Next stop on the way home was the Flying Pig, where we had another good cup of coffee and some nice conversation, while enjoying the art and garden.

Cafe Tlazo

I went up to Algoma this afternoon for a wine pick-up at the von Stiehl Winery. Tasted a couple of nice Cabernets. Afterwards, on my way out of town I stopped in for a cup to-go at Cafe Tlazo. This is a great little place, very cozy inside, warm color scheme and a real nice relaxing vibe. In warm weather they also have a nice outside seating area. I ordered a 12 oz. cappuccino. It was good...the ratio of espresso/steamed milk/foam was good (for your typical Americanized cappuccino) with foamed milk that was pretty nicely textured and with a lovely color. The taste was very smooth, if just a tad on the light side...very good and rather nicely done, it really hit the spot after my brief wine tasting. The to-go cup was also a cool-looking item, with an attractive french cafe scene. I haven't seen to-go cups like this and it really caught my eye. I do have a textural aversion to smooth styrofoam or paper cups...generally the feel of them is rather irksome to me...but even though this was a smooth styrofoam cup the attractiveness of the cup offset my aversion to the feel.

Cafe Tlazo is one of those great little spaces that make you promise yourself to visit next time you're in the area. I didn't try their brewed coffee or a straight espresso, so I can't comment on those, but their cappuccino and atmosphere made it well worth the stop.