Aldo Coffee Company

Day One

A few glitches here and there, but hey, we're still practicing.  Megan, Andi and Lois are doing fine at the La Marzocco and making drinks to order.  But we're still figuring out where all the touchpad buttons are on the cash register.  We'll smooth that out going forward.

Great reviews on the espresso.  Great reviews on the panini, especially the bread.  And we already have one customer acting as our ambassador.  He's going up and down the street telling the other businesses to visit.  Can't beat that kind of advertising!

Open for Business

We're open!

Limited hours for the first few weeks while we fill in some shifts and practice. 

Schedule for now:

Weekdays:  6:30am-6:00pm
Saturdays:  7:30am-6:00pm
Sundays:    8:30am-4:00pm

And... 1/2 price espresso drinks through January 5! 

Come in and give us a try!

Our Breakfast Bakery

"All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast." - John Gunther

"I went to a cafe that advertised 'Breakfast Anytime', so I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance." - Steven Wright

Muffins                                          $1.50
Two varieties of muffins daily, fresh from our wonking huge convection oven.

Cinnamon Rolls                            $1.50
One variety of cinnamon roll daily, fresh from our wonking huge convection oven.

Scones                                           $1.50
We've got those too, but not every day.  Also fresh baked.

Sfogliatelle                                    $1.50
And why not?  That plain Einstein Bros. bagel with two tablespoons of plain cream cheese averages 390 calories.  Which is the same as our sfogliatelle.  And you know which one tastes better.  So live a little.  Besides, the sfogliatelle has orange in it.  Vitamin C.  It's BETTER for you.  And yes, they're fresh from our wonking huge convection oven.

How to order a sfogliatelle: 
Do not be intimidated by the word.  To pronounce sfogliatelle in proper Italian, you'd say "SVOY-lee-ah-tell-eh".  If you're from Jersey or Long Island or simply imitating Paulie Walnuts, you'd ask for a "SVOY-lah-tell".  Or, you can simply point to it and say, "I'll have one of those things."  Our staff will know what you mean.  Most of them can't pronounce it either. 

Bagels                                            $1.00
You know the terrible things we just said about bagels two paragraphs up.  Forget you read that.  We serve authentic East Coast water bagels from Mediterra Bakehouse, chewy and dense in true NYC fashion.  Choose from blueberry, everything, cinnamon sugar, honey wheat or fennel raisin.  And you can have them toasted on the panini grill.

Aldo's Panini Menu

We've replaced the old menu with this one.  Open it and download away.

Note:  On Windows, you may need to wait a couple of seconds for a little icon to show up in the bottom right.  Once you see it, click on it and it'll enlarge the graphic to letter size so you can print.

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Notes from the Panini Guy:
- enjoy a Pellegrino Aranciata, Limonata or sparkling water for a true Italian-style lunch. And don't forget the cannoli...
- ask for your panino "hot to go" and we'll wrap it in foil after heating it on our panini grill
- all panini are designed to be grilled, however, the chicken and tuna salads may get very hot, so please be careful
- our breads use wheat flour.  If you are allergic, may we suggest a salad instead?
- nuts and/or traces of nuts may be present in all foods served at Aldo Coffee Co.

Telerama Wireless Internet

Wireless internet access at Aldo Coffee Co. is provided by Telerama.

Your existing Telerama account will work when you accessing the internet at Aldo Coffee Co. 

If you don't already have a Telerama account and wish to access Telerama Wireless Internet from our shop, simply choose the Telerama signal on your wireless network menu, open your browser and (in most cases) you'll be taken to a sign up screen.

You can choose either the daily rate of $4.95 or a monthly rate of $29.95 ($9.95/month for students) if you plan to use wireless internet access frequently.

For more information on getting Telerama Wireless Internet to work for you, visit Telerama's support site.

Where's Aldo?

If walking:
We're at 675 Washington Road in Mt. Lebanon.  That's two doors north of the old Denis Theatre.  Or right across the street from Quiznos the Market Place deli and Caruso's Pizza.  We're the ones with the big brown and orange awning.

If arriving by car:
Here's a map, courtesy of Mapquest.  There is street parking and a parking garage just three doors up the street (which features $1 parking on Saturdays through 6pm).

If arriving by trolley (the "T")
Take the trolley to the Mt. Lebanon stop.  Head up the steps to Washington Road.  Turn left.  We're five doors down from the parking garage.

If arriving by parachute, asteroid or Stuka:
Aim for the big roof of the old Denis Theatre in the center, then go two roofs north. 

Aldo?

If you ask Melanie how we chose the name "Aldo" for our coffee store, she'll tell you it's an old family nickname.

Hah.

Here's the real story.  We were deplaning in Auckland and my ears hadn't popped back from the descent.  Plus the roar of the jet engines was drowning out everything.  I was agitated after the 14 hour flight from LA and wanted to get to the hotel as quickly as possible.  Melanie admonished me to "Calm down."  I thought she said "Aldo", which made no sense to me.  So I yelled back, "What?"  And she yelled back, "Calm down."  And again I only heard "Aldo."

So I said to her, "Aldo?"  And she said, "What?".  And I said, "Aldo.  Why are you saying Aldo?"

At this point we were in the terminal and I could hear once again.  When she told me she was saying, "Calm down," we had a good laugh.

Then we bought a golden retriever and naturally named him Aldo.

And that's where the "family" comes in.

Desserts, Cookies & Cannoli

"Leave the gun.  Take the cannoli." - Clemenza (The Godfather)

OUR DESSERTS

Cheesecake
Always one, sometimes two.  Traditional, chocolate, pumpkin or other, baked locally.

Carrot Cake*
So moist you could actually cut it with a carrot!

Fruit Tart*
Kiwi, cherries, orange and other fruits in a vanilla custard tart.

Chocolate Fudge Cake*
Rich, moist and really chocolately.  A dense chocoholic experience.

Amaretti Biscotti Cake*
Amaretto-flavored cake with a cappuccino-cream icing and lots of almonds.

Brownies
Richer than a typical brownie - almost a fudge square.  Baked locally.

Biscotti
Three or four varieties daily from Angela's Biscotti and Mediterra Bakehouse.

Cookies
An assortment of Italian cookies.  Order a dozen and we'll toss in an extra.

Pizelle
Plain or chocolate. We'll dust yours with powdered sugar on request.

Sfogliatelle
Baked fresh in-store daily.  See our breakfast menu for more on this legendary Italian pastry.

Aldo's Cannoli Bar
The only one of its kind in the South Hills.  Build your own cannoli!

*At least two of these will be available on any given day. 

Our Coffees

"Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death and sweet as love." - Turkish proverb.

We feature coffees from Intelligentsia Coffee Roasters.  Our espresso drinks are made with the critically-acclaimed Black Cat Blend (caf or decaf). 

Why Black Cat?  Click and find out...

If your preference is for drip coffee, we offer our custom-crafted house blend in caf and decaf and a varietal of the day, selected for us by Intelligentsia. We also offer a flavored coffee of the day.

ESPRESSO DRINKS

For the Purists...

Espresso
If you appreciate crema, you've come to the right place.  We serve up the critically acclaimed Intelligentsia Black Cat Blend straight and in all of our espresso beverages

Restretto
Like most shops, we currently only use double spout portafilters.  Yeah, we know you can approximate a true restretto, but it's not a "true restretto" unless it's a single basket (which are a pain to work with).  So why do we list "Restretto" here?  So you won't be disappointed when you come in and ask for one ;-)

Americano
Espresso thinned with hot water.  Think of it as strong black coffee.  Really GOOD strong black coffee.

Espresso con Panna
Espresso with a dollop of fresh whipped cream.

Espresso Macchiato
Espresso with foamed milk dollops.

With a little milk...

Capuccino
Espresso with hot, creamy milk and foam.
When ordering, please specify wet or dry if you have a preference.  "Wet" is 1/3 espresso, 1/3 milk, 1/3 foam, "Dry" is a shot of espresso with touch of milk, lots of foam.  If no preference, we'll always pour "wet".

Cappuccino Aldo
An Aldo exclusive: Our sweet Cappuccino with some added spices.

Flat White
For our Aussie friends.  A shot of espresso topped with hot milk, no foam.

With more milk...

Latte
Espresso with hot creamy milk and a touch of foam.

Mocha Latte
We coat the bottom of your cup with Omanhene cocoa, then pour in espresso and hot milk and top with a touch of foam.

Mocha Bianco
We coat the bottom of your cup with Ghiradelli white chocolate, then pour in epsresso and hot milk and top with a touch of foam.

Vanilla Latte
Latte with vanilla flavoring (sugar-free vanilla flavoring also available).

Latte Dolce Aldo
An Aldo exclusive:  Espresso with creamy hot milk, chocolate, caramel and whipped cream.

Breve
Latte made with half and half or heavy cream (less foam, less carbs)

"Behind every successful woman is... a substantial amount of coffee." - Stephanie Piro

"I like my coffee like I like my women. In a plastic cup." - Eddie Izzard

FRESH-BREWED DRIP COFFEES

We change our coffees at least every two hours and usually more frequently.  You'll never get a tired, old cup o' joe at Aldo Coffee Co.

Aldo House Blend
Our house blend was specially crafted by Doug Zell at Intelligentsia.  It's a lively blend of Central American coffees that is medium-bodied and well-balanced with just enough snap and a sweet, pleasant finish.

Aldo House Blend Decaf
The low-octane version of our house blend, but just a little bit fuller.

Varietal or Blend of the Day
Like wine or single-malt scotch, varietals are generally made from a single harvest from a single region and not blended with other beans.  Therefore, each varietal has a unique body and flavor characteristic of the region or terroir.  Our varietals are usually organic, and often Fair Trade Certified.  Blends are usually three or four different styles of beans, melded to create a symphony of flavors.  Our blends almost always include some organic and Fair Trade Certified beans.  We post the varietals and blends we're serving each day on the blog.

Flavored Coffees
We no longer serve flavored coffees.  If you would like a specific flavor in your coffee, may we suggest a shot of one of our many syrups?

Opening Soon.

We're just about there... the espresso machine gets hooked up this weekend and staff training from the kind folks Intelligentsia will follow on Monday.  Here are some construction photos from mid-week.

We had our first team meeting last night as a group.  We believe we've got a great crew who will strive to ensure your satisfaction.

There won't be a "grand opening" until the new year.  A few finishing touches still need to be added - sound system, tv, our big corner booth, and the Telerama wireless, which should be online end of next week.

So we'll be having what they call a "soft opening".  And the first person in each morning gets a free coffee.

We look forward to seeing you later next week.

- Melanie, Rich and the Aldo Coffee Team.