On the corner of Eagle Rock Boulevard and Fair Park Avenue lies a haven for plant and coffee lovers alike. Wandering through the iron gates of Creature’s Plants and Coffee, you’ll be struck by the large outdoor spaces, plant life, and beautiful orange and white buildings. Stepping into the first building, you’ll find yourself in the coffee shop.
The coffee shop itself is a small building, with a small menu to go along. Behind the counter, which sports an elegant pastry case and an espresso machine, are employees working to make sure the long lines of people are getting served their coffee. Inside, seating may be hard to find, but you'll find an abundance of tables outside. There is also additional seating inside the greenhouse, in case you feel like eating among the plants.
However, when I went, accompanied by ERHS ninth grader Simone Modina, there were no available tables in the greenhouse, so we drifted to one outside. When we stepped inside to order, a line already creeping out the door had formed. I looked over the menu while we waited and after about ten minutes, I was at the front. You can choose to “skip the line” by ordering online from a QR code, but I suspect the combination of online orders and in person orders was why the line was crawling by so slowly. I ordered a Cacao Frappe and a berry lemon pistachio madeleine, $7.85 and $6.25 respectively. After a tip, my order came out to be over $17. Simone ordered an iced matcha latte and a ham and cheese croissant. Our pastries came out quick enough, even with Simone’s getting warmed. But it was the drinks that took the longest time. We waited 20 minutes for our icy drinks.
A week or so later, I took another trip over to Creature’s and had a very different experience. I went there on a Wednesday afternoon, right after school. There was no line at all, and I ordered a vegan chocolate chunk cookie and an iced tea lemonade for a total of about $10.50. There were still no tables available inside, and it was much too hot that day to sit around in the sun, so I ate and drank on the go.
Cacao Frappe
The cacao frappe is described as a “blended ice drink made with organic espresso, coconut milk, and sweetened cacao”. When it came out, 20 minutes after I’d ordered, much of it was already melted. I didn’t like the taste at first; I found it to be too bitter. I was disappointed, since it cost me $7.85. I also didn’t enjoy the little cacao shavings that adorned my drink, as they were bitter and disrupted the texture of the coffee. But, as it melted more, something turned, and I decided that I liked it much more as a melted frappe than a half icy one. In the end, the drink was just okay, and very overpriced.
Matcha Latte
Simone ordered an iced matcha latte, and as a lover of matcha, she was disappointed. The nice green shade and frothy top proved to be deceiving. She said that it was more latte than matcha, and that the matcha was merely what was making the drink green. The matcha latte was just a little less than the cacao frappe at $7.75.
Iced Tea Lemonade
Priced at $5.25, one of the cheaper drinks at Creature’s, the iced tea lemonade was my favorite thing I’ve tried there. It was light and refreshing, and perfect for a hot afternoon.
Berry Lemon Pistachio Madeleine
Madeleines are usually small shell shaped sponge cakes, but these madeleines are large and circular cakes with a berry jam in the center and pistachio crumbs on top. It was sweet and spongy and the jam in the middle came as a nice little surprise. It cost $6.25.
Ham and Cheese Croissant
Simone also ordered the ham and cheese croissant, warmed. She thought that it was really good, but a bit overpriced at $7.25. Her only complaint was that there could’ve been a bit more filling of ham and cheese.
Vegan Chocolate Chunk Cookie
This chocolate chunk cookie is large and flat, with chocolate in every bite. However, despite never thinking that I’d say this, I didn’t like the chocolate to cookie ratio. There was a bit too much chocolate in every bite. Before I knew it, it was melted and a big mess for $5.50.
After eating and drinking our selections, walking around, and checking out the store, a tall building selling seeds, gardening tools, mugs, and more, a table opened up in the greenhouse. It was nice to drink our coffee and talk among the plants, and really brought home the whole “creatures” idea. There are also lots of plants outside that seem to be reasonably priced, although I could only see a price for one kind of plant: $1.75 for two inch assorted succulents. While it was nice to hang out there for the morning, it doesn’t seem to be the ideal hangout spot for the student. Instead, with its convenient location down the street from Eagle Rock Elementary, and prices outside of a typical teenager’s range, Creature’s Plants and Coffee seems to better suit the needs of the parent. Still, even if you can afford to grab a drink here, you might spare yourself long wait times or lack of indoor seating by strolling over a block or two to a different Eagle Rock coffee shop. In the end, I think that Creature’s is just too expensive.
7.50 is crazy for a latte honestly