Press

“I received an invite to the opening of a business whose ABC license I was wondering about, ~MA’VELOUS~, opening in the former Quincy’s in the Mid-Market area. Thanks to Grub Street for doing the recon so I didn’t have to: “the place is aiming for an early November opening with a farm-to-table menu from young Sacramento-based chef Tyler Stone. They’ll also be featuring an international wine and beer list from sustainable producers, as well as coffee from Intelligentsia and Ecco Caffe.” Extra points to Grub Street for the funny quip, “No word on whether the name is a tribute to Billy Crystal, or what.” Way to bring back the memories. “It’s not how you feel, it’s how you look!”

“Phillip Ma’s cafe and wine bar, which opened last week, offers more brewing options than Blue Bottle, Ritual, or Four Barrel. Number one is the standard-issue French press, of course, plus  two kinds of pourover (a Melitta-like cone-filter contraption called the V-60, and the Chemex, which uses the same conical shape but slows down the brewing time, bringing out different qualities). Ma has a custom-built espresso machine that allows the barista to control all kinds of pressure and temperature factors, which the pros say helps bring out the individuality of micro-lot coffees. The fifth method uses one of those delicate, lab-equipment-looking Kyoto slow drippers to cold-brew coffee, and the sixth method is the siphon system. (If you didn’t memorize all the press when Blue Bottle Mint Plaza installed a siphon bar, you can read about it on Wikipedia.)”

“At Ma•velous (which had a grand, er soft er, well, some kind of opening last week) they had an opening reception for Eddie Colla‘s “My Life“. (Eddie invited us to the event when evarels was checking out his 606 Ellis work last week and became a fan.) “My Life” is a striking mural across one whole wall of the space that folks should really check out as it is a really cool way to integrate street art with interior decoration. It gives the place a very special atmosphere.

For those who have yet to see all that’s Ma and velous, it’s slick, it’s cool, and naturally, it’s been covered by others long before we got on the scene. A little bit coffee house and a little bit wine bar, it seems like it’s going to fill the void left by CAV and move that show a few blocks up the street to our jolly good hood on Market at Polk.”

“The custom-made espresso machine is a four group La Marzocco built up by Espresso Parts. The four groups, each with its own motor, allow Ma*Velous baristas to dial in different pressure and temperature profiles for the coffees they serve. “Right now, I have one for the Ecco, one for the Black Cat, one for the Wendelboe, and one to experiment with,” explains Ma. The machine has see-through sides and front, with laser-etched glass that matches panels on the booth and a California Walnut finish made from fallen wood. It’s stunning. (As is the entire venue, designed by Adeeni Design Group.)