Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
of Homer, and they've just turned their guides loose with the first group of kayakers of the
day. This is a quick caffeine trip to Jim's before the second group arrives. “Have coffee,
choke down a hot dog, and back to work,” Scott says with a grin.
They each order what they call a Nardellito and what Jim calls a mullata, a double shot
of espresso with steamed half and half. Susan's is served in a champagne glass. It is obvi-
ous that they are regulars.
Twenty years ago Jim Nardelli bought half an acre of land from Halibut Cove patriarch
Clem Tillion. Five years ago he quit his job (“I was a chief mate on the tractor tugs out of
Valdez.”) to become a full-time barista. He follows Scott around the side to where canvas
is stretched over a frame to form a roof, beneath which dwell the bun warmer, the dog
roaster, and a table full of condiments. “These dogs are deli hot dogs. McNeill Canyon
Meats gets them out of Chicago. They're a meal in themselves.”
“Here's a chipotle mustard that's especially good,” Scott says, holding up a bottle.
Why start serving hot dogs in addition to the espresso? “A friend who's a professional
chef told me I have enough customers but they're not spending enough. Instead of spend-
ing $3 each they should be spending $8 or $9 each, three times what they're spending
now. And they will. But a lot of good customers in Homer come over here just for the cof-
fee,” Jim says, and grins. “I tell them that's an expensive cup of coffee.” It's Illy coffee,
grown in Brazil and roasted in Trieste. Jim buys it in hundred-pound lots.
A subject that comes up again and again in conversation with Jim Nardelli is quality.
He's got the espresso making down to a science. “You need the exact amount of ground
coffee, fourteen grams, then you compact it, that's called tamping. That's your job. The
machine's job is to push out the right volume of water at the correct temperature and pres-
sure. The extract time for this particular coffee is 28 to 32 seconds for the double shot.”
Bob and Karrin Halpin arrive with their black labs, matriarch Star and puppy Rosie,
named for Rosie's Bight, their summer home. In winter they live in Bethel, where Karrin
teaches and Bob works contruction. They're at Jim's this afternoon because, as Bob says,
“Jim complains when he doesn't get enough business on rainy days.” They report a big
black bear in Rosie's Bight last night, as well as occasional sightings of a cinammon bear
with two cubs.
