Pho dau Bo - upper James

830 Upper James St. Unit 103
Hamilton, Ont.

This is just a quick note to describe how Vietnamese coffee is ordered in a Pho restaurant. I consider this type of coffee a bit of a decadence because of the richness and sweetness you get due to the teaspoon of condensed milk in the coffee cup. I normally drink my coffee black but the Vietnamese coffee is a treat with rich dripped espresso, and condensed milk.

I understand it can be ordered cold as well so be sure to specify which one when you order. I enquired about the type of coffee they used and it was a bit sketchy, bought in bulk but it's espresso and med./fine grind for the tiny drip machine normally used in Thai and/or Vietnamese restaurants.

The coffee was a bit pricey at $3.50 but yielded a fair size cup and very tasty. It's worth the try when out for lunch and having pho.

Brown Dog Coffee Shoppe, Waterdown

Anyone that knows me well knows that I have a chocolate lab named Seamus. A few years ago Neil and I started to frequent the Brown Dog Cafe in Paris because location-wise it was conveniently located at the end of our canoe route from Cambridge or Glen Morris to Paris. I normally would get dropped off in Paris with Seamus and walk the 7 km to Glen Morris and Neil paddles the opposite direction. It turns out we travel at approximately the same speed, makes for an awesome outdoors experience for all 3 of us. On the best occasions we would meet up after at the Brown Dog Coffee Shoppe. We love the Brown Dog, the vibe is relaxed, the coffee roasted to perfection and they make their own food with a focus on "made for you" apple fritters, not to mention the brown dog tie in with our Seamus :D

The Waterdown location is fairly new to me since starting to work in the town last April. It maintains the same wholesome food, fritters and coffee. The exception with this store is that has broken away from the antique-y building the St. George and Paris locations have, not a problem, just not as cool.

When you order anything other than coffee at the Brown Dog you need to expect to wait a bit, not usually an issue but its not Tim Hortons with a quick "drive-through" speed. On this occasion I ordered soup and coffee. My soup was really good, a tasty zucchini and tomato with herbs and my coffee was excellent as usual :)

1) ceramic mug - $1.75 (medium take out) - 8/10 average price
2)roasted beans - 8/10 in house
3)service - 9/10 quick and friendly
4)accessibility - 8/10 parking lot is close but small
5)flavour - 9/10
6)Eco - 8/10 ceramic mugs available, no soy/almond milk
7)cup size - 8/10 good size take out cups with ore ceramic
8)food - 9/10 vegetarian choices, 1/2 sandwiches and wholesome ingredients
9)local? Not really
10)wifi - available upon request

*lovely, clean and comfortable seating with couches and space for people meeting friends! Love it and the dog references in the store. I just wish I could take my brown dog:)