Budgeting for Indulgence // Good Coffee in Little Tokyo

In my first few months of working at East West Players, I bemoaned a lack of good coffee in Little Tokyo. A few months after that, I decided to try out the new coffee shop that took over the space that used to be a Cefiore yogurt shop. And I could no longer claim that there was no good coffee in the neighborhood. 

At first, I sort of scoffed at the idea of fancy LA Mill beans being used in what I think of as a humble Southeast Asian concoction of Cafe du Monde ground coffee with chicory, but Cafe Dulce's Vietnamese Iced Coffee is absolutely wonderful (as Tien noted on her LA Weekly blog, probably the best in Los Angeles proper). At $4.50 after tax, its definitely a once-a-week-or-less indulgence, but one well-worth budgeting for. 

Jar o' goodness sweating

Since I'm more of a sipper than a gulper when it comes to coffee, I bring my own jar so that I can screw on the cap (which I've checked to ensure non-leakiness) and stick it in my backpack as I bike around. Of course, the jar sweats a bit, so I put the jar inside another bag to keep the rest of my things from getting damp. Reminds me of those good ol' days bringing my Pom Wonderful glass to Lost Souls Cafe.