Old Crown Coffee Roasters Gave Us Permission to Relax

Tucked under a yellow and blue awning in a shopping plaza on North Anthony Boulevard is a go-to place for students from the IPFW campus. I was invited to meet friends there, and had a slight problem finding it, because the signage wasn't obvious to me. But in the one-story building was an eclectic collection of roasted coffee beans in barrels, art-for-sale, old-time game machines, tables, chairs and a bar.

It's a coffee house, it's a bar. Beginning at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, it's a restaurant. My friend from Fort Wayne said in the summer, the chef goes out to a garden behind the building and pulls fresh produce to cook and serve from the kitchen. The menu changes often, and my friend mentioned a savory chicken pot pie she was served there once.

Old Crown does serve wrap sandwiches, hot sandwiches, and salads for lunch. Normally I would have sampled something such as that, but I was there at a very in-between time and didn't really want to eat. We did have a nice snack of hummus and crackers that went very well with our drinks. One friend ordered a hot coffee drink. It contained pistachio liquor, cream, and a toasted marshmallow whipped cream topping. The house was out of the whipped cream, but the wait staff made a new batch just for us. I took a sample sip of this hot drink and loved it. I immediately wanted to walk out the door and go cross-country skiing.

My other friend ordered the Mochaholic. This was a cold drink featuring espresso, brownie liqueur, vodka, and chocolate shavings on top. This was tasty too - served in a dessert stem, it's in the photo above. $7.

They have a nice selection of beer, but I'm a wine drinker. I tried a California Monte Volpe Primo Rosso, looking for a darker, heavier red from the menu. I thought it was delicious, but it isn't a type I am used to and I discovered I had a headache later. I was probably just dehydrated with the cold. Wine was $5/glass.

Had we stayed a little later, I definitely would have had something from the dinner menu. This week in mid-January they were serving some Asian-themed items. On the menu was a honey sesame shrimp appetizer and a Korean ribeye. I would have ordered the Japanese clams and linguini (typing that just made my mouth water) $16, or the Bibimbap $15, also a traditional Korean dish. This one featured sautéed spinach, scallions, carrots, mushrooms, rice, sauces and spices with a fried egg on top. Leave out the egg and it's a vegan dish.

We lingered and talked. Students and townies seemed to come and go, bought coffee and roasted beans, and worked on their laptops with headphones. There was a little free library box in the front of the window area. I took a photo of the bean roaster, and it's a big, nice looking machine. The batch of beans, this one named Indian Monsoon Malibar, was just coming out of the roaster and it smelled wonderful. I'm glad my friends took me to check this place out. 3417 N. Anthony, Fort Wayne: (260)422-5282.