Joule Coffee
Baroida – Papua New Guinea V60 Pourover
Cinnamon Roll
Banana Date Muffin
Snickerdoodle
Croissant French Toast with pure Virginia Butter and Maple Syrup
Ashe County Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuit
Grits with Cheddar
Frustrated by the closure of nearly every restaurant in Raleigh, including every single barbecue spot worthy of critical acclaim, it was once again in Ashley Christensen that faith was placed for early lunch and although mostly empty thanks to the weather warnings playing non-stop on television and radio the trip to Joule Coffee was every bit worth the careful drive as each item tasted was amongst the city’s best, even if our hipster-chick server seemingly could not have cared less
Obviously the sort of place targeting trendy clientele, the stripped down décor with tiled ceiling and exposed pipe seemingly lifted from any coffee bar in Brooklyn or The Mission, it was mere moments after self-seating that a menu was dropped off and speaking as though she were a ventriloquist in a library the days pastries were quickly summarized, a trio to start us off while the kitchen worked on hot items and the barista tended to a steaming pour-over of cocoa and syrup accented brew.
Always the sort to fancy sweet over savory, particularly as the breakfast menu was still offered on our arrival prior to 11pm lunch, it was a sticky cinnamon roll and buttery Snickerdoodle that the indulgence began and although deciding which of these items was better would be a chore neither of them came close to the stunning date-sweetened banana muffin, an absolute bargain considering heft, texture, and flavor at a mere three dollars.
Eating slowly as we sipped coffee and chatted about how exactly to spend the intervening hours before a Hurricanes game against the Isles when nearly everything was closed it would not be long before another three plates arrived tableside and opting for two savories alongside one sweet the quality of each item was every bit on par with the pastries already enjoyed, a batter-dipped croissant fried golden crisp with a sidecar of pure maple syrup worthy of ‘destination dish’ status while the fluffy biscuit and creamy grits, both decorated with cheddar, were also must orders – my grit-loving mother claiming that the sizable $5 bowl was perhaps the best she had ever tasted.
http://ac-restaurants.com/joule/
