Are there really that many coffee shops in PE?!? I'm hearing this question from PE residents and coffee shop owners more and more as the number of shops we have visited continues to climb. The PE Coffee Crawl hit #60 last Thursday with our trek to Starburst, located at 50 Westbourne Rd. in Mount Croix. Suffice it to say that the Starburst Fan Club increased in membership by thirteen on Crawl Day. We all just loved this coffee shop that opened for business only one year ago.
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| Meet the Owner Werner Lourens |
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| We started eating even before the pic was taken! |
Starburst owner Werner Lourens started off a number of years ago as a wedding cake specialist and chocolatier. Word on the street is that his cakes are the best in town. Well, his business grew until, luckily for PE, he decided to open a full-fledged coffee shop/deli as well. Let's see.... what can I say about Starburst? ...... Excellent, excellent, excellent Italian imported Pascucci coffee, outrageously delicious cakes/brownies/waffles, unique menu, fun art deco decor, and an engaging staff. Does it sound like I am campaigning for President of the aforementioned Fan Club?
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| Meet the Barista Roan |
Along with being "Home of the Original Brussels Waffle," Starburst's chalkboard menu boasts a variety of breakfasts, lunches, cakes/desserts, and homemade ice cream and gelato. Werner is a self-taught chef. I sampled his brownies, hot custard danish, Greek Chocolate Cake, and the carmelized roasted nut ice cream (served in very cool ice bowls) and have to say that Werner is a very good teacher/student! I'm looking forward to returning at some point to try the pizza baked on river pebbles.
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| Custard Danish |
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| Check out these cool ice bowls! |
An interesting item on Starburst's coffee menu is the "Josephine Baker" ... two shots of Pascucci espresso, a chocolate mousse nipple, and a floating Lindt flower. Thursday's Crawlers, Margaret Zoetmulder, Leanne Waller, June Nash, Gail Darne, Sylvia Mynhardt, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Nomusa Nkomo, Beth Vieira, Fr. Dominic Griego, and Gail and Raymond Griego, enjoyed watching Werner pour this specialty coffee drink at the table, and hearing the story of Josephine Baker, the 1930s celebrity. Five Crawlers ordered the Josephine Baker; the remaining Crawler's beverages were prepared by Barista Roan. It was interesting that this week was the first Crawl where no one ordered a cappuccino. Guess I'll have to order one with my pizza when I return.... what a combo!
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| Werner pouring the Josephine Bakers |
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| Putting on the finishing touches |
The Crawl usually starts around 9:30, with me arriving at around 9:00 to talk to the owner and take some pics. Starburst's hours atr Mon-Sat, 10-6, so I, along with a few early Crawlers, had some time to kill before the shop opened. We strolled down Westbourne Rd. to check out the Catwalk Cafe, now under new management since our Crawl visit in December. The new owner is revamping the shop and is very excited to have the PE Coffee Crawlers re-visit soon to experience the new and improved Catwalk Cafe. At 10:00 we all returned to Starburst.
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| This Week's Crawlers Fr. Dominic, Margaret, Leanne, June, Gail D., Sylvia, Beryl, Gail G., Stella, Raymond, Nomusa, Beth |
In last week's post I mentioned that Isabella's Cafe (Crawl #59) was Fr. Dominic's last Crawl. Well, I was wrong. Fr. D, along with his parents who were visiting from Cape Town, decided to pop in for one more cup of coffee with the Crawlers. Our final send-off conversation with Fr. Dominic wasn't sappy and tear-filled. We didn't reminisce about good times at the Crawl. Rather, we got onto the topic of snakes after Leanne regaled us with a story of a snake that her son, Daniel, encountered in their house. Long story short.... there were some frighteningly tense moments with Daniel vs the snake by himself in the house, and Leanne, who happened to be outside, calling someone to come kill the snake. In the end Leanne breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the carcass of what Daniel said was a huge snake but what Leanne described as "an earthworm on steroids." Well, after that story it seemed like everyone had a snake tale of their own including Fr. D's about a puff adder he saw in the church hall recently. I don't think I'll be staying for tea after Mass on Sunday. Fr. D.... let's hope they're not showing "Snakes on a Plane" as you jet off to Rome this week!
~Thank you to Werner and Roan.... I'm not kidding about being Pres of your Fan Club!
Until next week,
Ellen
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| Artwork by Werner |
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| OOPS....... |
