LA Mill Coffee

So, it's my first food blog ever. And where better to start than at the brand new LA Mill coffee. Mrs. Marvin and I went there bleary eyed at the last moment, promising to only go if we found adjacent parking. I should mention they have parking in back I failed to notice with my sleepy eyes...
After being somewhat taken a back by the decor, we were pleasantly surprised by the immense coffee menu and the friendly staff. We opted to start small with a shared pot of Dark Roast Clover coffee. Which I have to say was likely the best cup of coffee I'd had since we were in Japan last year. Which is funny since this L.A. Mill coffee is vaguely Japanese in it's feel and design.
Ok, so we ordered a few things after finding out some items were unavailable during the "soft opening'. Whatever. We started with the Not Quite French Toast. It was buttery and sweet and wonderfully crisp and satisfying. Probably our favorite. For my main dish I had coddled eggs with mushrooms and a bit of bacon which looked quite beautiful but were so very salty I almost thought there must have been a mistake. I struggled to finish it and decided it was not for me. Mrs. Marvin had eggs too since the sandwiches were unavailable. Decent and I was looking forward to our next meal there.
So, cut to our next visit. We decide that we must have the science class experiment looking Siphon Brew coffee prepared table-side. I should mention that we'd been out quite late the night before and I was in desperate need of caffeine. A nice and very talkative gent came over and began the ritual, explaining the process where water is heated from below and then passes to the above container blah blah blah. And then I notice all the coffee including the grounds traveling back into the pot. Ruined. Attempt number two. Carefully prepared and...also ruined. Next they call in reinforcements for a third attempt.
Now, I should tell you that there was an article in the LA weekly that very day with this very same guy pictured in the article going on and on about how skilled he was, how much training they require etc.
He assured us that this would be the last and final perfect siphon brew. Not so. Embarrassingly, he couldn't do it either and at this point we aborted since our food had arrived and gone cold during this time. A Clover pot and some chocolates were comped for our trouble and the manager apologized profusely but it was a bit too late. I guess that's why you don't see this process very often. It's hard. I imagine they are still working out some kinks and refining their service and menu.
We've been back a few times since then but only for takeout coffee and pastries. I've been ordering the Black Onyx coffee which is rich, dark and great with chocolatey notes without being sweet. And I bought some organic espresso beans to use at home which are quite good as well.
We'll give the dining room another try sometime soon but for the moment it's takeout or nothing.