Caffe Del Doge, Palo Alto

I go through phases where I obsess about a particular food or beverage. For a while it was oatmeal.  I had to try oatmeal all over the Bay Area. (Four Seasons still may be my favorite.)  I have been eating a daily dose of frozen soy yogurt.  (Fraiche.)  Then there were the drives into San Francisco for Bi-Rite ice cream and Blue Bottle Coffee.

Now, thanks to my French friend Muriel, I need to have a daily soy cappuccino at a local cafe, Caffe Del Doge in Palo Alto.  Doge is not French, it is an Italian company, with Palo Alto being the only location in the United States.  The cafe started in Venice, and while sititing in the cafe, I truly feel as if I have escaped to Europe.  This is no Starbucks, take it to go, drink in the car kind of place.  You want to sit at a table, take your time and drink from a real ceramic cup.  The croissants, which are flown in frozen from France, are a favorite of many of my French pals. (My kids devoured them this afternoon alongside a cup of cocoa) I have to say, the soy milk was sweet and frothy, and even had a design in it!  I am not sure why the coffee is so outstanding, but it truly is.  If you can not make it to Venice for an hour, but find yourself in downtown Palo Alto, pass by the Starbucks, and indulge in a coffee at Doge.

Comments

[M]

My fiance says that their baristas are sent to Italy to train during the summers in order to refine their techniques for us Palo Alto coffee fiends.

Clearly I had the wrong summer job when I was in college!

[Pamela]

It is located on 419 University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto, across from Borders.

[Myrna]

I love this Cafe too for just the reasons you mentioned. Sitting in a cafe with a good coffee is truly part of the experience I miss most about living in Europe. Not to mention those croissants! Now if they only served Angelina hot chocolate....

[Simon]

But is the coffee as good as Coupa Cafe on Ramona? I like to work at the Doge, but the hands down best coffee in town, for me, is at Coupa.

[Maria]

One must need to understand coffee as a substance to understand the difference between Doge and Coupa.

Have the bare essence of coffee which is an espresso, and you will begin to understand the difference between them.

Unfortunately, Coupa is left in the dust.

[Pamela]

I think it is a personal choice, but I much prefer Doge. The soy lattes can not be compared. Coffee seems like an art at Doge, but I know folks that feel that way about Coupa too. We are lucky to have choices other than Starbucks in our town.

[La Mom - an American Mom in Paris]

Bonjour!
I just found your blog. Love it as I'm from the Bay Area too and worked for a few years in Palo Alto during the internet boom before moving to Paris. Your posts make me homesick!
Bisous from Paris.