La Jolla Coffee Time

Pannikin Cafe in La Jolla clearly pre-dates the current trend of mass-market coffee houses. First, it has a homey atmosphere inside -- including a working fireplace -- and tiered seating outside with trees and begging sparrows. The glass cases in front of the coffee machines are full of what appear to be freshly-made pastries of the hippie variety: made with whole grain flour, rough sugar, and the like. Also monster cookies that may have just come out of the oven -- they were still on the pan. It's hard to pin down, but the pastries look like the kind that used to show up at potlucks in the 70s. I opted for the not-so-retro croissant.

I'm grateful to my friend for suggesting this as a meeting place, where we sat and talked for quite a bit of the afternoon.