Free Coffee! (are we nuts?)

One of life's conundrums is coffee. How so? I love the smell of roasted coffee beans. Squeezing a bag of roasted coffee and taking a good sniff of the escaping aroma is one of life's pleasures. But once brewed, the coffee one drinks does not taste anything like the smell of those roasted beans. That's the conundrum. How could something that smells so good, not taste as good as that?

We've had several customers ask if we serve coffee. Coffee is a very personal thing and what might be great coffee to one person might not be so great for another. (That explains why there are so many coffee places around, and coffee brands in stores.)

I've been serving a special coffee at my recording studio for many years; our studio clients LOVE this coffee. To me, this coffee system makes coffee that tastes more like roasted beans than any other coffee I've ever had. So with that in mind, I decided to "test the waters" of my coffee at Random Acts of Breadness!

Last week we started  giving out several demitasse cups of our special coffee for customers (who were coffee drinkers) to taste. The response? So far, it's been all thumbs-up!

Like our artisan breads, great results come from the purest ingredients. For coffee, there are only 3 elements: the coffee beans (roasted and ground a certain way), the water (a major factor often overlooked), and the process used to brew the coffee (drip, French Press, espresso, etc.).

I decided to continue the complimentary coffee taste-testing this weekend (and possibly beyond) to expand our survey. So do come in this weekend for your free brewed-to-order demitasse (takes about 30 seconds) and let us know how this coffee rates in your universe.

Once  we make this a menu item, we'll be able to create a "Burbank Breakfast" combo with coffee, sourdough bread with nut butter and jam.

By the way, this coffee tastes so good, with its naturally-formed crema foam top (see the above photo), that no one who's tasted it so far has asked for cream or sugar!

Ready for a taste of Breadness Coffee?

See you this weekend!

A Toluca Lake Classic is Back...

The Tolucan Times newspaper has been around in one form or another going all the way back to 1937. I became aware of this local paper after moving to Burbank from Los Feliz. The Snow Queen Ballet, an original wintertime production for which I composed the music, was featured in the paper by the entertainment editor at the time, Joyce Rudolph. It was a free paper, black & white newsprint, local vibe. At some point, it faded from view. But thanks to the efforts of Gino Renzulli and his team, The Tolucan Times is back: bigger (10.5" x 15.5"), more colorful and better than ever! And it's easy to read thanks to printing on a white newspaper stock (instead of the light grayish paper used before).

Gino came to Random Acts of Breadness last August to let me know that The Tolucan Times was starting up again and asked if we would like to advertise. Not yet having an issue in hand to see what it looked like, it went on the back burner for a few months. Then, randomly (the story of my life...) I saw a copy in our house. Wow. It looked great, a big step up from the version I remembered. I wasted no time in contacting Gino to place an ad.

This is the biggest ad we've ever placed, so I created a new design to take advantage of all that real estate! And since residents of Toluca Lake and the adjacent areas of the Burbank Equestrian neighborhood and Studio City still embrace tradition (the studios and stars that built this city had much to do with that), I created a campaign centered around that concept.

The Tolucan Times has a circulation of 10,000 and is available at newsstands and selected retailers throughout the Toluca Lake area. (We ran out of the copies we gave to Breadness customers last week but we should be getting more in soon.) Complimentary copies are also mailed to households in Toluca Lake, Burbank and Studio City.

Most of the stories in The Tolucan Times are about the people of this area (or written by people from the area). Past issues included articles about William Shatner (by the author of a new book about Shatner's life) and Bob Gurr (famed Disney Imagineer). This latest issue has a special feature about the artist doing the restoration of the iconic "Bob" statue that stands in front of Bob's Big Boy Restaurant on Riverside Drive.

So jump on The Tolucan Times train and experience the magic of a real hometown good news paper...

Father and Friend... 

When Father's Day comes around I like to feature this music video that most people have never seen or heard. The song, "Father and Friend," was written by Alain Clark, a Dutch singer/songwriter of some renown in Europe, but virtually unheard of here in the States. Besides being an awesome song, he features his father singing it with him, on the record and in the video. This is a one-of-a-kind classic feel-good song about their relationship. Click/tap the image to see/hear the magic...

This weekend I'll be drawing the winner from the entries we received for the Father's Day Breadness Bundle Giveaway! One of our entries will receive the above ensemble, personally delivered by myself on Sunday afternoon. Our social media wizard, Elizabeth, will be there with camera in hand to capture the surprise presentation, the results of which will be posted next week! 

In the meantime, come to Random Acts of Breadness and we'll help you put together a most memorable presentation for whoever's on your gift list this weekend...


This Week's Breadness...

Here's what breads are available this week:

> Artisan Sourdough Country Loaves (full-size boule, batard, petite and bread bowls)
> Cinnamon Raisin Maple Pecan Sourdough Loaves (full-size and petite)
> Artisan Sourdough Crisps (4 Flavors: Naked, Tuscan Herb Olive Oil Infused,
   Applewood Smoked Olive Oil Infused, Cinnamon Raisin Maple Pecan)

Order the above (and any of our other artisan products) at breadness.com/#shop. If a product is visible in the online shop, it's in stock. If you don't see a product in the online shop, it's sold out (but we might be making more, in which case the counter will be set to the available quantity).

Also, we can slice your bread(s) different thicknesses. Our most popular are Medium (about 5/8") and Thin (about 3/8") but we can do in between as well. Just ask! If ordering on line, enter your slicing preference(s) in the Special Instructions box during Checkout.

And Remember... we also carry the finest and freshest Organic Olive Oils from Ojai, Aged Balsamics from Modena, Keto-friendly Nut Butters from Yemetz Family Farms and NuttZo, Jamazing Jams from Laura Ann in Eagle Rock, Solar Grown Honey Spreads from Clif Family in Napa, Tasty Tapenades from Lisa Grabow in Pasadena, and the Best Butters from Raw Farm in Fresno.

Do we ship? Absolutely! 
If you (or someone you wish to gift) live within 120 miles of Los Angeles, we can ship on Wednesday or Thursday (via UPS Ground) and in most cases your Breadness Box will arrive on Thursday or Friday. Place your order before Wednesday morning here. If you live outside of So Cal, we can now ship 2-Day Air (or Ground service) on Wednesday (unsliced bread) for Friday delivery (orders that require 2-Day Air shipping must be in by Wednesday morning!). Join our growing list of nationwide customers who look forward to receiving their Breadness deliveries on a regular basis!

Connect with us...
Random Acts of Breadness is located at 2214 West Magnolia Blvd. in Burbank (2-1/2 blocks east of Buena Vista on the south side of the street). Come to the bakery and sample our artisan wares, or order on line for bakery pickup, or have Breadness delivered or shipped to your door. You may also order by phone at 818-562-7303 and pay when you come pick it up. We're open Thursday, Friday & Saturday 12 to 6 p.m. and Sunday (Father's Day!) 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.