Cafes
Mad Dog Cafe
Mad Dog Cafe sits on a lonely stretch of road, just past Gerrard and Logan. From the outside it doesn't look like much — just two plastic patio chairs and a friendly dog tethered on a leash waiting patiently.
When I pay my visit, right away I am greeted by a smiling barista named Adam standing behind a long wooden counter at the rear of the cafe. At first I was a little confused about whether or not I just sit down and wait for service, or order from the counter. The cafe has a diner-like feel to it — cozy booths & and lots of big tables. There is even a wait station that just needs a POS. The barista tells me that the kitchen isn't fully operational yet, and that they hope to have much more than just coffee & pastries very soon.
Regardless of whether or not they are a diner or a cafe, they're doing something special with coffee. Right now they are offering two local roasters; Detour Coffee out of Dundas for their espresso; and Merchants of Green for their revolving single-origin drip coffee offerings. They have an eye catching two group Elektra 60 espresso machine complete with dark wood handles and a modified Mazzer Robur grinder with timed dosing. I can tell right away that they take their coffee seriously.
I ordered an espresso and I was impressed that Adam served me up a glass of water to prepare my palate, and he was able to answer my questions about the coffee that he was carefully pulling. They don't have saucers or spoons which is too bad because I really like stirring my espresso before sipping.
"We're serving Punch Buggy Espresso Blend roasted by Detour Coffee Roasters," he told me while carefully tamping the coffee into the portafilter. "It's a blend of Brazil for the sweetness, Ethiopian for the acidity, and El Salvadoran for the rich cocoa."
The espresso tasted sweet, nutty, and not too bright. A very balanced shot served in a classy glass demi-tasse. They always offer 21 gram double shots or 10 gram single shots for all of their espresso drinks, and they steam their milk to 145F so that it doesn't lose any sweetness.
They also offer pastries from the ever-popular Circles & Squares and they serve their vast Tea Emporium selection in a french press. Right now they're doing home-made soup & sandwich combos for lunch as they prepare to roll out more hot food in the near future.
The prices for their espresso drinks reflect how many shots you want. A single shot of espresso is $1.75 and a double shot is $2.50. A single shot latte is$ 3.50 and a double is $4.00. Their loose leaf tea is $2.00 or $3.00 depending upon the size of the french press, and tea bags are a $1.50. Their drip coffee comes in small ($1.50), medium ($1.75), and large ($2.00) sizes.
Mad Dog Cafe also offers free Wi-Fi with a password and soy at no extra charge. They are open during the week from 7am to 6pm, and on Saturday from 9am to 6pm.
Discussion
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noun
a person who serves in a coffee bar.
ORIGIN 1980s: Italian, ‘barman.’
Seems reasonable to me.
At any rate, glad to see a new coffee spot in the 'hood.
I'm with Susan.... there's no difference between a barista making exotic, unbelievably delicious, intricately prepared coffee concotions, and the high school student manning the counter at my local Timmy's.... all you pretentious latte-lapping, bike-driving pinkos make me sick...
I'm with all those who think this is a great addition to the 'hood. Haven't visited yet, but I will soon.
It would be easier for the layman such as myself if the reviewer just said what they offer, how good the service is and rated the overall quality of the establishment instead of trying to using fancy industry jargon most people aren't familiar with.
My 2 cents.
And coffee waiter doesn't make sense. Let's call Adam a Barista-Waiter and boom: I'm happy.
And if I'm ever in the east end I'll swing by.
Thanks for the posting, blogto!
A paying job is a job - owning a cafe is a career, and if you can support yourself for 10 years doing it, you're good at what you do.
Seriously. Grow up.
also,Owning a cafe is a career, but anyone can steam milk & get your order.
I live in San Francisco, barista's get as much respect as someone working at Mcdonalds, seriously if youre past 30 & all you have accomplished is steaming milk & talking orders, i'd just laugh at you.
You're ignorant and uneducated in the world of coffee, I get it. The words "pour over" and "v60" mean nothing to you. A portafilter probably makes you think of the John, and you would never consider picking out flavours in your heavily sugared espresso drink.
But, I should let you know that you sound like a moron, commenting on which you know nothing about.
Don't let your unsophisticated coffee tasted or knowledge turn you onto a dick. You can still be a vital person in society without "offering your 2 cents". Now be a good little lad or lassy and run to your local Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts (or whatever is the Canadian equivalent) and leave this coffee talk for us coffee folks. You know, those of us who give a damn about what we drink, where it originates, how it's roasted, the quality of the shot pulled, and the art of the craft.
Everyone else go smoke some pot, screw your secretary or pool boy, workout to release endorphins... And chill out. Your opinion means shit.
Pathetic.
And by the way, anyone who thinks that being a barista just comes down to "pouring coffee" needs to try getting behind a machine and see how they do. Whatever they produce won't be drinkable. Though ultimately being a barista (in the context of Toronto cafes) is somewhat of a McJob, it is a very specific skillset, and one that takes years to develop.
To all those who disparage the barista profession:
I used to be Mayor of a world-class city until last year and since then have found a challenging career as a novice barista at a local indie coffee shop... let me tell you, it was much easier riding herd over a posse of right-wing, mouth-breathing, redneck wackos and starry-eyed, impractical idealists... remembering everyon'es preferences, tamping the coffee just right, smiling and small talk, pulling that dang lever with the just the right amount of tension, creating crema with just the right consistency, the list is infinite and unrelenting... Please show some respect for the hard-working souls who provide you every day with the most important beverage of your life: unspeakably delicious, infinitely-varied, intricately prepared cafe, the elixir of life and liquid food of the Gods ....
Take that, Rod Ford, you simpering, belligerent imbecile....
I'll happily drop by, support a local businessperson, get some great coffee beverage, and pause to use the wifi and have a conversation.
Just my two cents.
Here you go Jasmine. Perhaps there's something else blatantly written in the review you would like to unleash an unwelcome rant about? Or perhaps you, with a supposed open mind about things, being vegan and all, can maybe get your iron-deprived self off the couch and support a local business?
Where I come from, cattle equal income, so why beat up your income?
I was introduced to Johnson (spelling?) and found him to be sharp, friendly and unprentious. There are now two decent indie coffee shops on Gerrard on the east end - that I know of. The other indie shops need tweaking. Pooh pooh the idea of training (on the espresso machine) at your own peril shop owners! Also, Never, never, never let your baristas come to work drenched in perfume or cologne. Do you actually have to be told that?
Having said that, I would like to see all the indie shops on Gerrard work because they have what it takes and there's no reason why they can't. The people I've met in all of them are good people and the coffee is fine.
Back to Mad Dog. l really liked the physical space here. It's comfortable and warm and it just works. I suppose it's sometimes the luck of the draw. There are classy, happening indie shops where the physical space isn't great. That alone doesn't make a indie shop indie, and good. But it's a factor. When everything is in place, including a good physical space (for customers and employees), it's magic.
This bleak as heck corner suddenly is a lot less bleak. Hopefully, It'll spur a few more projects. I see shops that have potential. Regardless, I'm happy for the overjoyed locals. I am seeking to move back to TO, and seeing how I know this part of TO best, I could very well end up in this hood. Now I don't have to fear such a development!
Have never been into overpriced pretentious coffee as I MAKE THE BEST COFFEE...AT HOME
Vegan and trendified cafes on Gerrard east of all places.
I was shocked a year ago when I saw the Starbucks at Jones. Better a independent than a Starfucks
I guess they did the demographics and saw the condos creeping up Carlaw...horrific
Who would of though in this life time.
GERRARD STREET EAST with trendy coffee shops...the condo people wouldn't understand what this means
The change is both bad and good all at the same time
I'll be laughing when the trendy overpriced resturants on Queen to start go belly up
yes Bad name, come on owner you can do better...gees i could of done it free for you.
Sorry I'm over 30 and untrendified/ sans hippy hipster, yuppie so I dont know what pulling is..or some of the other fancy jargons. The reviewer is a twat for using barrista terms that the general public does not know.
And yes when I young we went to DONUT SHOPS, or coffee shops not cafes. What is a demi tasse?..I can figure it out from my grade 9 french, but why should I...or learn Italian for starbucks...i know what grande is from french but what is Vendi?
Was a used furnifure place at one time. The other end looking towards broadview was closed for many years..dont know probably going on 1.5 to 2 decades
I have always ignore the the servers (when I had to go to Starbucks) when they use the Italian terms and asked for small/ medium etc