Simply. Fruity. Creamy. Crispy.
The first thing you’ll notice at Cafe De Mama is a deep-blue outlined house next to a conveniently placed Eiffel Tower mural. The weekends here are chaotic – people waiting in line, popping in-and-out to pick up orders and a grand enclave of students spread across a 15-foot bench underneath multiple modestly lit modern art paintings.
Cafe De Mama was opened in Mar. 2020 and is located on the corner of Western and 11th, across from the historic El Cholo mexican restaurant.
Cafe De Mama’s slogan – “Handcrafting 100% all-natural beverages [Just like Mama used to make] !” – is printed high on a plain white wall as well as laminated onto a letter-sized paper for patrons walking in from the back entrance.
They stay true to their slogan by using in-house purees, pastes and having simple yet well executed drinks and desserts.
The two most popular drinks – the injeolmi and black sesame latte– have a very cream-foam like first sip thanks to a secret ingredient that should terrify lactose intolerants – heavy whipping cream.
Make sure to stir for a sweeter taste and don’t be afraid to order regular sweetness because Cafe De Mama doesn’t over-sweeten drinks.
We also ordered the strawberry puree milk, which is also a mixture of only two ingredients – a strawberry homemade puree and milk.
The mixture is a charming blend of sweetness and strawberry infused creaminess that’s so honest to its name it’s hard to criticize. I can’t imagine creating such a flavorful drink with only two ingredients, but that’s the magic behind simple well executed drinks.
Finally, while we usually overlook tea shop desserts as tacky, both croffle’s far exceeded our expectations.
As the name suggests, a croffle is a croissant-waffle hybrid that’s served like a sandwich.
Each croffle has a crispy brown-sugar coated exterior stuffed with either sweet red bean, cream cheese and walnuts, or a savorful combo of injeolmi and strawberry.
Written by Jason Escobar | Illustrated by Rina Shin