Let’s have a another cup of coffee

Here’s five more coffee house favorites where brews and views are good to the last drop

Lauren Passero, owner of Kensington Café, prepares a lot of lattes.

By Jennifer Kester

Rebecca’s, A Coffeehouse
Located in the heart of South Park at the corner of Beech and 30th, Rebecca’s looks like it could have been plucked out of San Francisco’s Haight Ashbury, circa 1968. Posters fill the windows, many of them in the vintage psychedelic “Jimi Hendrix” style. They advertise such happenings as “Everybody Must Get Sconed,” an evening of the music of Tom Baird, Jodi Graham, Singeron, and Jim Earp that will fill the coffee house with acoustic guitar on Nov 18 at 7 p.m.
Bohemian also kind of describes owner Rebecca Zearing, 58, who graduated from high school back in 1969 and is quite proud of her flower-child coming-of-age era, “when people really cared about things.”  She says her former high school speech teacher is one of her regulars, and he says that teaching just wasn’t as much fun after 1973, when students were more “mushy” in their passions.
Zearing remembers a coffee house near San Diego State called “The Back Door” that she frequented after high school graduation. “You’d go through this funky door and then downstairs to a basement,” she recalls. “I saw Abby Hoffman there and Angela Davis. Abby Hoffman couldn’t sit still for five minutes; he was in, out, in, out. But it was fun, exciting. You could have coffee, tea and listen to beatnik poetry. And that’s the atmosphere I wanted to create.”
Rebecca’s has been on the same corner for four years, and the previous 13 years was right next door.  “I remember my girlfriend shaking me when I first saw the building and knew I wanted to lease it,” Zearing says.  “She shook me and said, ‘Do you really think you can make a go of a coffee house across from a thrift shop called Seek and Find?’”
Short on credit, Zearing’s friends helped her raise the money for the coffee house and its expansion through “coffee futures” — six customers came in and set up a big board and people could buy in at certain levels, from King and Queen on down. And some could have coffee for life.”

Zearing says that her customers are the best thing about her coffee house. “I even have two of them that are feuding,” she says with a bit of a giggle. “The vegan guy who looks like he belongs on a Greenpeace boat got in an argument with this kind of feisty gay guy who walked in with a Starbucks cup. He protested that it wasn’t right, and they got into it. That’s the thing, there are tons of opinions and they all get aired here.”
Every Friday and Tuesday, jazz musicians play from 7 to 10 p.m. The second and fourth Sundays of the month it’s “Off Beat” open mic time from 5 to 7 p.m., described by Rebecca as poetry, fiction and “alternate universes.” There’s a Monday night knitting group starting up and crafts are part of the mix. Open mic night and family jam is every Thursday at 8 p.m. while Wednesdays feature Tracy Johnson, an acoustic guitarist, singer and songwriter.
Rebecca’s is open 24 hours on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Here the specialty is the homemade scones, filled with fresh local ingredients like berries and cherries and lots of rhubarb in the summer months from the North Park Farmers Market, which bake in the ovens daily. Rebecca’s soups also feature seasonal fresh ingredients, like eggplants and squashes, ditto from the farmer’s market.
Rebecca’s, A Coffeehouse
3015 Juniper St.
South Park
(619) 284-3663

Filter, A Coffee House
Steve Price will tell you that the number of students living in North Park and Hillcrest is often underrated. “We have a lot of students from State and the community colleges who need a place to study who hang out here,” says the owner of Filter. “We’ve got free Internet and the space where they can spread out and feel comfortable.” On a recent mid-day visit, students with books, laptops and lattes were sprinkled throughout the large and deep venue.
The place is big — cavernous in fact — and has kind of a lived-in feel. You’ll find a seating arrangement that will suit you fine, whether it’s the round cafe tables in the front, sofas and loveseats that you can sink into, wood tables for two or the big community table in the back.
It’s also a little on the dark side, which might be just what you want for a late-night dessert stop with a date. But my favorite thing about Filter lies in the back corner:  a Ms. Pac man machine, with its funky sounds transporting me back to the ’70s as she eats up the steps until she cherry bombs out.
The place has a lot of good desserts, most notably their chocolate cake. But I spied crème brulee; the server pulled it out, and warmed it up with a torch that gave it that nice caramelly crunch on top. Filter has been a part of the North Park street scene for only the past 18 months and has had its beer and wine license for the past six, but already the place is a late-night hit, remaining open till the wee hour of 2 a.m.  People will sometimes wait 15 minutes to get a seat at Filter late at night – 6 p.m. is when the action starts picking up. On Saturdays there is live music, but Price describes it as “chill quiet music,” that still allows people to talk.
Price, who also bartends at Rich’s in Hillcrest, says his coffee house is heavily engaged in giving back to the community. Group meetings are a natural for Filter, where groups can meet at the communal table in the back of the house, allowing the shop to be open to the general public at the same time. Possibilities, a club for HIV positive men, meets on Wednesday and Saturday mornings; gay men’s fraternity meets on Sunday nights, and political religious discussion group on Thursday. There’s also a photography group, two women’s professional groups, and a board gamers group.
From month to month, you’ll find that Filter’s interiors take on different looks. That’s because the large coffeehouse is also a venue for local artists, and each month on the 15th, the art is completely switched out, allowing an opportunity for a new crop of artists, four or five artists per show, to have their works seen by the community.
The coffee house also offers a lot of healthy food including eight varieties of Panini’s, makes smoothies and now carries gelato. But Price is especially proud of the espresso, lavassa, which is imported directly from Italy. And for patrons who like a refill (or two or three), they’ll be pleased to know that Filter will run a tab for them if they’d like.
Price has been in the restaurant business since he was 15, and has also worked on cruise ships. He’s adamant about great service and says, “Why are we such a hit?  It’s our staff. They are awesome.”
Filter, A Coffee House
4096 30th St.
North Park
(619) 521-0533

Lestat’s Coffee House
Don’t let the rooftop gargoyles scare you off from a night on the town at Lestat’s, named after the vampire of an Anne Rice novel.

The coffee house has grown from one “bay” to three along Adams Avenue.  While the main entrance to the coffee house is filled with plush Victorian-era furniture, an annex on the corner allows for more tables and has almost a library feel to it, while “Lestat’s West” is the entertainment venue. One needs to exit the coffee house and enter the western venue, and while there is often a cover charge, you’re more than welcome to bring in the coffee drinks and food. Here’s a spot that never closes and has live entertainment nightly on the “Gregory Page Stage,” honoring the San Diego singer/songwriter who frequently plays here. Mondays are open mic nights. Sign ups begin at 6 p.m. and performers have 10 minute slots from 7 to 11 p.m. Tuesday is “Comedy Night with Mal Hall from 9 to 11 p.m. and a writer’s drop in group is every Thursday from 5 to 6 p.m. Louie Brazier, whose job description is “booker, sound man and manager” is the guy who puts all the happenings together. He’s a guitar techie whose long career in the music business included stints on the road with Heart and fixing guitars for Eddie Van Halen.  Brazier attracts local favorites like Page, Alfred Howard, Greg Laswell, Pete Thurston and Reeve Oliver.
Diedrich’s coffees are the featured brews here, with Ghirardelli espresso mochas leading a cast of hot drinks and the Polar Bear, a blend of white mocha and vanilla with ice, leading the cold pack. There are also sandwiches, quiche, salads and soups on the menu.
You’ll find some decadent looking desserts here, all made on the premises, including giant homemade cupcakes, a steal at just $3.25.
Lestat’s
3343 Adams Ave.
Normal Heights
(619) 282-0437

Cafe Cabaret
I guess the word to best describe this coffee house is pleasant. It’s not the biggest (with perhaps 10 tables and a Victorian velour-covered sofa), not open the latest (hours: 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.), doesn’t have the most extensive menu (great Panini’s, excellent croissants, chicken salad and hummus/eggplant with pita bread are my picks) but it has a quiet charm about it.
There’s a lovely little patio with a water fountain feature at the side, should you wish to have a quiet spot to journal outside. Or, should you wish to use your computer out here, you’ll find there’s a power outlet.
This coffee house is on the quiet side, so if you wish to get away from the hustle and bustle, then head over here. The gals behind the counter are most hospitable.
There is a sign that request guests make a purchase every two hours, and this seems to be a most reasonable policy.
Oh, did I mention their chai tea? Excellent. Reason enough to go there. Best I’ve had this side of the Boulder Deshanbe Teahouse.

Cafe Cabaret
3739 Adams Ave.
Normal Heights
(619) 284-1819

Kensington Cafe
Most people will tell you that their favorite seat at Kensington Cafe is outside, where they can watch people mill about the respectable little hamlet of Kensington. The “it” corner of Kensington has seen quite a parade of coffee houses parade by, in the fairly recent pass with the Kensington Coffee Co., still legendary for its arrogant and rude servers, replaced by San Diego Coffee Co., Tea & Spice at Kensington. Today, you’ll get a warm welcome by Lauren Passero, whom locals agree is the nicest person to own the shop in heaven knows how long.
She’s also a savvy business owner who realized the potential to extend the coffee house reputation into a wine bar by night.
Passero reports that the happy hour (4-7 p.m., seven days a week) is building a following, which is understandable with beers at $3, wines at $3 to $5, and tapas (hummus and flatbreads, pizza, sautéed mushrooms, bruschetta and s’mores) are $4 to $6. Yes, s’mores. At the Cafe, they bring the marshmallows, graham crackers and candy bars plus the fire to your table and you roast your own.
Passero also added some pizzazz to the Cafe’s breakfast menu, most notably a “Honey Gone Nuts” waffle that features bananas, candied walnuts and honey on top of a large waffle, breakfast scrambles, like the tree hugger (mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes and feta).
But while it’s got great food, this is a still a coffee house, too, where they steam up milk for lattes and offer free wifi. This coffee house’s hours are rather sedate –Monday – Friday, 6 a.m. – 10 p.m.; Saturdays, 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.; and Sundays, 7 a.m. – 9 p.m. – but, we understand; this is, after all, Kensington.
Kensington Cafe
4141 Adams Ave.
Kensington
(619) 640-0494