Portland Cafe/Xurreria: 180

What: 180
Where: 2218 NE Broadway St.
When: 8am-4pm
Honeys Heart: All the churros! 

Doug and I ate lots of delicious savory dishes during our trip to Spain a few years ago and with all those tapas to try, we didn't save much room for sweets. Our sampling was limited to nun cookies in Granada, marizpan in Toledo, and – the winner by far – churros with drinking chocolate from a small coffee shop in Barcelona.

All about those churros:

So, when we heard that Ataula's Jose Chesa and Cristina Baez were opening a xurreria next to their highly anticipated paella restaurant, Chesa, I was pretty darn excited.

Last night, we got a sneak peek of 180 and let's just say you should be pretty darn excited too.

Here's what's on the menu:

Xurros (aka Churros)
Made to order, these traditional xurros are fried at about 180°C (hence the shop's name). Order 3 for $3.75, 6 for $5.75, or 12 for $10.75 (go for a dozen- it's the fiscally-responsible choice).

Xurros Bañados
Xurros Bañados are traditional xurros served with a coating of xocolata and finished with Jacobsen’s salt. Guys, these are SO good.

Housemade Dipping Sauces
The $4 cup of drinking chocolate is obviously the way to go, but the housemade sauces are also really tasty. Choose from caramel/peanut butter, marshmallow cream, and a special seasonal sauce. At the tasting, the seasonal sauce was lemon curd and it was amazing.

Fillings
Filled xurros can be stuffed with traditional crema catalana, dulce de leche, or housemade crema de xocolata.

Xuixos
I'm so bummed we didn't try these when we were in Barcelona- but these are another traditional Catalan pastry that are rolled in sugar and cinnamon, filled with crema catalana, and look similar to a croissant. We didn't get to try any of these but I'll fix that soon.

Café
The shop will also offer a selection of coffee drinks including Spanish classics like Cafe Bombón (espresso with sweetened condensed milk) and Cortado (espresso cut with a little warm milk). Coffee is also served with a variety of milk options including a locally-produced hazelnut milk (which I learned is much more sustainable than almond milk.)

180 officially opens tomorrow (Friday, Jan 29) and they're giving away free churros from 8am-4pm while supplies last. See you there!

Seattle Coffee Shop: QED Coffee

What: QED Coffee
Where: 1418 31st Ave S, Seattle, WA 
Honeys Heart: Mexican Mocha & Fresh Ginger Chai

Last Sunday, my friend Matt opened his very own coffee shop, QED Coffee, in the Mt. Baker neighborhood of Seattle. 

Matt has been roasting coffee for a few years now and the coffee shop means that QED finally has its own homebase.

Matt was a math major, hence the roaster and shop's name. As Matt explains it, "QED is a statement of completion used at the end of mathematical proofs. It signifies the conclusion of a specific intention- essentially saying ‘I have achieved what I set out to do and I am ready to share it with the world.’ That is exactly what QED Coffee is about. Through the art of roasting, we strive to showcase the best flavors a coffee has to offer, and we are ready to show it off, one cup at a time." 

I'm no coffee expert so while I think Matt's coffee is awesome (particularly the cold brew), it was especially cool to hear neighbors stopping in for the first time and already raving about how good Matt's coffee is.

In addition to all the coffee shop basics, QED's specialties include a Mexican Mocha made with Ibarra mexican chocolate and a Fresh Ginger Chai, aka one of the best chais I've ever had.

QED also serves pastries from local bakeries including Mighty-O Donuts and Macrina Bakery (the parmesan rosemary ham biscuit- soooo good).

Congrats, Matt! I'm so proud of you and I can't wait to come back!

Sweat & Sip: Vega Dance Lab, Water Avenue Coffee, and Canteen

Katie just got a new job at University of Portland (woot, congrats!) and had a week off before starting so we headed over to Vega Dance Lab's Wednesday morning cardio funk class for our second installment of our "Sweat & Sip" series.

What: Vega Dance Lab
Where: 1322 SE Water Ave 
Honeys Heart: Cardio Funk

Katie danced growing up, was the captain of the UP dance team, and has been a Winterhawks Rosebud dancer for the last two years, so needless to say her dance abilities far exceed mine, but thankfully cardio funk is fun and funky and I didn't feel too bad!

The class starts with about 15 minutes of light cardio to warm up, some strength building, and stretching followed by 45 minutes of learning a routine.

The great thing about going to a dance class is that it doesn't feel like a typical work out class and the time flies because you're constantly learning new eight counts, but you still work up a sweat! I also love that you get to spend time at the beginning and end stretching, which this girl needs to do more of.

What: Water Avenue Coffee
Where: 1028 SE Water Avenue 145
When: 7am - 6pm Daily
Honeys Heart: Soy Latte

I still had to work post dance class and Katie had some projects, so following our fitness we decided to grab coffee and tea at Water Avenue Coffee - it was only 10am after all! I ordered a 12 oz soy latte and Katie got an iced tea and a pumpkin muffin.

Water Ave Coffee is small, but still has some nice spots to set up your computer and enjoy a tasty coffee. I love getting coffees "for here" and getting the delicious, creamy foam!

What: Canteen
Where: 2816 SE Stark St
When: 9 am - 9pm Tuesday - Sunday, Closed Mondays
Honeys Heart: Fresh juices and smoothies! 

After we got some sufficient work time in, we needed to find something more substantial to eat so we headed to Canteen, which serves up healthy and delicious bowls, salads, fresh juices, and smoothies. We shared the Bangkok Bowl ($8) with avocado curry, red curry peanut sauce, brown rice, aduki beans, broccoli, red cabbage, kimchi, and black sesame seeds. I liked the spice and tang the kimchi brings to the bowl!

Katie and I also ordered smoothies, which were so tasty and filling! Katie went for the Orange One ($4 sm) with banana, orange, vanilla, almond milk and dates. So creamy and fresh. I opted for the Ginger-Berry ($4 sm) with strawberries, blueberries, fresh apple juice, and ginger. I could drink one of these every morning!

Next up: Kettlebell! 

Sweat & Sip: 

• Burncyle & Pink Rose