Campbell Coffee House (Campbell, CA) – Here’s to the first tasting (I hope there are more haha) of the year at Campbell Coffee House! It’s always fun to hang out with other bloggers and creatives while everyone does their thing, while getting to try delicious food. I’m also always interested in how marketers decide to work with bloggers – it’s nerdy, but interesting for me since I work in content for my day job as well. 🙂
It was a ridiculously rainy day that Saturday, but thankfully CCH is in a brand new complex and has some parking – especially important if you’re bringing your kids to this community focused cafe. There is also parking on the street if needed, thankfully, so you’ll be able to find something. Once you get inside, you’ll admire the cute space inside. There’s a decent amount of seating at their really nice wooden tables, a wooden counter space (with a long strip of outlets!) that overlooks the kids’ play area, and a new large standing bar they just put in recently. It’s a lot of neutrals and wood textures, but it feels cozy and homey.
Back to the kids area. There’s an entire space for kids to just have fun and play! It has a little gate and a separate entrance, which I think is good because the kids can’t wander off and random strangers can’t easily get in there either. It’s such a cool concept for families and the community to have this communal space to get together for a play date or other possible events!
The baristas are helpful, friendly, and know their coffee and menu. I’m becoming that person that will ask for the staff’s recommendations when I can’t decide, so it’s always nice when everyone’s knowledgeable (and happy!) about the place that they work. It also indicates to me that they’re working in a positive environment 🙂
Though this is a coffee shop, they have a sizable menu with great offerings – which is what I was invited to come and try. Their menu is perfect for a weekend brunch date or if you get hungry while working. They also paired a few coffee options with the menu, which was really cool and it made me go out of my latte comfort zone and try new things! Be proud of me, guys, it’s a big step.
First, we had Organic Strauss Yogurt with House Granola and assorted fruit. I’m a big yogurt person and enjoyed this. I liked the jar it came in and the presentation, but if this is the intended size for a regular customer (not a tasting or private event), I would think it’s too small. I really liked the granola, it wasn’t too sweet so I didn’t feel like there was unnecessary sugar in it. I think this is a nice healthy option, but I likely wouldn’t order this if I’m eating out (unless there are no options that fit my dietary restrictions) just because this is something I can easily make at home.
Next, we had the Haas Avocado Toast with a Glaum Organic Brown Egg, sea salt, clover sprouts, radishes, and olive oil. Now we know I love my avocado toast! I think people like to think you can’t go wrong with an avo toast – but they’re totally wrong. The bread is always the deal breaker. Luckily, Campbell Coffee House uses Acme bread, which is always a thick, hearty slab with all these nooks and crannies – perfect to soak up that poached egg. I also appreciate that there was ample avocado here, and you get some nice crunch with the radish, crust, and sprouts, while the sea salt gives it some seasoning. I really enjoyed this and would’ve eaten the whole thing but the third course was already out by the time I was done taking pics of this one lol.
The first two dishes were paired with a Gibraltar. The Gibraltar is similar to a cappuccino, with espresso and steamed link, but served in a smaller glass cup (about 4.5 oz) versus the slightly bigger cappuccino cup. I also just learned (while researching this definition), that this coffee drink was created by Blue Bottle in 2005! Kinda crazy how Blue Bottle has set the standard for a lot of newer and local shops since i’ve definitely seen it on other menus. I found that I really like Gibraltars – it’s pretty smooth, small, and creamy with steamed milk (which I need). I didn’t even end up adding sugar (mostly because I was focused on taking photos), and found that I didn’t miss it!
Okay, back to the food. This next dish was probably my top favorite – the Banana Brioche Pudding French Toast! Wow, that is a mouthful – and so is the actual dish, ha. It comes with a Vanilla Bean Maple Creme and a Satsuma Orange Chantilly. I think this was my favorite of all the dishes I tried. Generally, French toast is always a personal favorite and it was made even better with the bread being brioche!
It’s the perfect thick, sweet bread to use for a dish like this. The creme and chantilly were so good! It gave the prefect additional flavors and texture to the dish. I was very close to finishing this one and then remembered I had to eat more food! I would definitely come back for this one. Pairing the simple, more bitter drip coffee with this was smart and made perfect sense to balance out the sweetness of the french toast. Again, no sugar added to the drip coffee and I really liked it. I think I’m beginning to like bitter coffee now. Idk who I am anymore.
Next up was the Smoked Salmon Toast Point with Dill Creme Fraiche, Picked Anise Onions, and Capers. I will be honest here, this was probably my least favorite – not because it wasn’t good or anything, but because I’m not a big smoked salmon fan. I’m not a fan of smoky flavors OR salmon, so together it’s never something I would seek out lol. However, I did try some and it did taste pretty good, especially with the pickled onion and the dill creme fresh. Everything had vibrant flavors and felt really fresh, which is what you want out of a small plate like this.
Then we had Tomato Basil Bsique with a White American Grilled Cheese Crostini and micro basil. I loved how these were served to us in the coffee cups! It was super cute and love their dishware. Not sure if this is how it’ll be served to every customer, but I liked the presentation – and it was a reasonable portion after all of the food we already ate. I did think that the crostini would come on the side instead of as a crouton IN my soup, so I wish that was a bit more clear. I would prefer to be able to dip it in if I wanted, versus it already being in the soup, getting soggy, and then not experiencing the grilled cheese. The soup was really good though, creamy and hot just the way you want it on a rainy day.
And finally, there was the CCH Dagwood. I had a feeling that “Dagwood” was a reference that i didn’t know off the top of my head, and after a quick Google search, it’s super obvious! It’s referring to a sandwich made in the Blondie comics. It’s literally like the picture – a bunch of meats and breads layered together to look amazing. This “Original DAG” has Salami, all natural Turkey, Applewood Smoked Bacon, Ham, Pepperoncini, and Avocados in between slices of toasted Acme Levain bread.
Now, this is an epic sandwich. However, I do not eat pork, so I didn’t try it. It looked really good with all the layers of meat and avocado and bread – what’s not to love? This is CCH’s signature sandwich, and one that you should definitely get if you (eat pork lol) and really want something hearty for a meal. I feel like this would pair great with an iced coffee or something.
Overall, it was such a fun time at Campbell Coffee House, getting to meet the crew who makes the food and coffee, and learn more about their intent behind this venture. It’s always exciting to see community based businesses pop up – especially in areas that seem to lack it. I can’t wait to see what else CCH does next!
bay-food.com 