Elixir Espresso Bar (Westfield UTC) and Elixir Espresso and Wine Bar (Westfield North County)

Thank you for (once again or first time) stopping to read mmm-yoso!!! a blog about food.  Since Kirk is vacationing, Ed (from Yuma) decided to also take some time out for a road trip and Cathy is staycationing in San Diego, walking around malls for today's post.

It really has been years since Either The Mister and I have ventured into a Shopping mall.  This year, we decided to make our daily walks a bit more interesting and that's worked out.  

We went back to Westfield UTC with the intention of stopping here for a respite. This rather large kiosk is in  between the Banana Republic and Anthologie stores (and on the way to the parking garage-which was the only reason we noticed it). It opens at 7 a.m. Mon-Fri and at 8 on Saturday, 9 on Sunday...before the mall opens.  

You order and pay at one window, find a seat and your order will be called when it's ready.Peeking inside, you can see the crêpe machine and to the right is the espresso machine.  That's all that is on the menu here...coffees and crêpes.Calabria Coffee is what's used, and it is excellent and artfully prepared.  [That's a small latte above ($3.50)]Since it was early, we decided to share a breakfast crêpe ($5.25).  The description is simple 'ham, egg and cheese'...so I assumed the egg would be scrambled, cheese melted in and sliced deli ham would be laid on top and the crêpe would surround it, like a burrito...but no!

Notice the edge of the egg over the edge yet baked within the thin pancake-like crêpe.  The ham was *really* good- a smoked ham, cut in chunks, not slices.  The cheese added a good tangy flavor with gooey melty component.  Far more than I expected at a mall kiosk.  Wonderful food here. 

Elixir Espresso Bar  La Jolla Village Drive 92037 (858)   Open daily 9-8 website

 
The weather started getting warmer a few days later, and we decided to go walking at an enclosed (air conditioned) mall.  Westfield North County mall it was!Traveling down the third set of escalators, I noticed this large open eating area from above and was surprised at its name when we stopped to look. Elixir Espresso AND Wine Bar...The menu board was similar, yet had additional food items, and in the seating area, the clipboard menu was most interesting...Sandwiches, bakery items, gelato and wine, all out in the open part of the mall.  Crazy.  We had to.First, we ordered a Viennese crêpe ($4.75) Simple, filled with honey and cinnamon (and served on an appropriately sized and shaped plate, although I thought the hot dog liner paper was a good way to serve the outdoor crêpe at the outdoor kiosk). This was a nice way to enjoy a sweet crêpe.

The clipboard menu had a 'Flatbread' section on it...and the Pears, Bleu Cheese and Coastal Cheddar ($10.75) sounded nice.

Wow.  Thinly sliced pears overlapped and covered this freshly made, soft yet baked to a light crunch flatbread.  The toppings of the Bleu and Cheddar, melted in and melded with the bread and pear and this was wonderful.  If we had ever thought to do this at home, a nice glass of wine would accompany it.  

We have learned to stop and enjoy our breaks and so far, we have been really pleased.   

cc has been to the downtown location of Elixir, which has an interesting past...

Elixir Espresso and Wine Bar 200 Via Rancho Parkway Suite 9000 (Westfield North County, in front of Nordstrom and bottom of escalator) Escondido 92025 (760)741-1488 Website

Comments

[Sandy]

I have passed the coffee kiosk at UTC many times, but never took a closer look. Thanks to your post, I will stop by next time. Same with North County Fair (I think I recall seeing the kiosk because of the wine bar).

[Faye]

I often get mesmerized by the crepe scent here when I stop by that Anthro store in UTC. It's a cute kiosk but the crepes always looked skinny for some reason. I have seen their Escondido set up and thought it was awesome.

[Cathy]

We only noticed the kiosk because it was open before most of the mall was open that morning, Sandy. (The ice rink has early lessons, so the parking area had cars...but nothing else was open until we starting walking back to our car). Finding not only the same name, but also a wine bar literally in the middle of another mall...well that was just fascinating.

The crêpe pans are larger than elsewhere, Faye..so the crêpes may look skinny, but are quite substantial. The Escondido location is amazing and nothing I ever expected to see (or consume) in such a setting. Quality.

[caninecologne]

Crepes with coffee is a good combination. I don't think thry crepes downtown.

[Cathy]

It just seems so right, cc. We will check out the third location of Elixir when we do our downtown walk.