LA Mill's artful coffee

An ordinary cappuccino or latte seems so, well, dull, compared with the offerings at Silver Lake's LA Mill Coffee Boutique. Owner Craig Min brings a sense of fun and fantasy to the art of coffee, not only roasting his own beans, but also serving up a coffee menu that runs to pages. At this hyper-cool cafe, you can indulge in a cup of joe brewed to order in a pricey Clover machine, a perfect espresso or latte. Or a glass of coffee infused with orange and set, literally, on a pedestal. But my favorite is the Japanese siphon, "performed" by a waiter who boils water in a glass receptacle over a Bunsen burner until it rises into an upper chamber filled with ground coffee beans, mingles and then falls back into the bottom as perfectly brewed coffee. But LA Mill doesn't serve only coffee or pastries. There's also a menu of delicious breakfast dishes, salads and sandwiches conceived by Providence chef Michael Cimarusti plus ingenious desserts from Providence pastry chef Adrian Vasquez.

LA Mill Coffee Boutique, 1636 Silver Lake Blvd., L.A., (323) 663-4441, www.lamillcoffee.com.

Photo: Coffee is poured at LA Mill Coffee Boutique in Silver Lake.