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Back Buzz - 18 July 2023

On my recent trip to California in May and June, I went on another multi-day brewery exploration with my friend Mistah Rick. I admit that, although I’m a native Californian who went on many camping and fishing trips all over the state with my family when I was growing up, I had never heard of Auburn until Rick suggested we visit it. He described it as a “beer mecca”, which we learned it certainly is. But of Man and Woman cannot live on beer alone-- they need decent coffee as well. So as we were also visiting my uncle in Sacramento, we decided to spend one night in Auburn.

Located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, Auburn is the county seat of Placer County. Known for its Gold Rush history, the city is registered as a California Historical Landmark. The first people who settled in the area were the indigenous Nisenan. Then in May 1848, a small group of French gold miners stopped to camp here on their way to Coloma, California; but they decided to stay after one of them, Claude Chana, discovered gold deposits in the area. In 1849 the camp was officially named Auburn by miners from Auburn, New York. Sixteen years later the Central Pacific Railroad reached the city, and today there is an Amtrak station as well as an airport. An interesting piece of literary trivia is that Auburn was the hometown of John Steinback’s characters George and Lenny in Of Mice and Men.

At the end of our evening out, as we walked around Old Town Auburn, we walked past The Pour Choice, and we were intrigued by the fact that it’s both a coffee bar and craft beer taproom. So we decided to stop by in the morning for breakfast before continuing our travels. When we arrived at 8:00am, the place was already really busy, with a huge crowd of young people entering immediately after us. Fortunately the cafe and roastery features lots and lots of seating, including a full-sized upstairs area where there’s also a side patio and a front balcony. We were the only two people who chose to sit on the balcony.

For breakfast we both had “savory scones”, which were exactly as they should be: big scones with cheese, chives, and jalapeño peppers. My cortado, crowned with a rosette, was gorgeous in both looks and taste, and Rick’s cappuccino had a most unique rosette. The coffee itself had a really nice oomph! bite, which was just what we needed to start another busy day. From our balcony we could see and hear the trains passing by on the ridge just beyond. Somehow--perhaps it was the iron railings--I almost felt as if we were in New Orleans, except for the fact that we were surrounded by mountains and forests instead of a big city--and of course there were no Mardi Gras beads hanging from the railings. Oh well, if I would have known I’d be having breakfast somewhere like this, I would have thrown a couple strings in my suitcase.

The Pour Choice was opened by Jordan and Melinda Minyard in a building which for 118 years had been the Auburn Drug Company. Besides offering coffee drinks made from single origin coffees as well as 18 taps of craft beers, including some from local Auburn microbreweries, the cafe and bar also serves wines and cocktails. And in addition to the savoury scones, the menu offers a variety of croissants, cinnamon rolls, various kinds of toast and biscuits, salads, deviled eggs, sandwiches including muffulettas, and sharing plates. It seems like an all-purpose kind of place for all-day stops, and since I’d like to visit Auburn again one day, maybe I’ll have the chance to stop in again. In fact, in all honesty, I feel as if I could easily live in Auburn.

Speaking of Auburn, coffee, and New Orleans makes me think of a completely irrelevant but very brief Messenger conversation from last year with an old friend about pizzas and marsupials:

Related Links

• Things to do in Old Town Auburn
• A different story about Claude Chana (Gold Country Media)
• If you're really so inclined, here's a recipe for kangaroo pizza (SBS Food)