Found Treasure: Vertigo Coffee Roasters

November 12, 2021 – There’s a professional placekicker in the National Football League on the Baltimore Ravens named Justin Tucker. Many experts consider him the best in the game, and some are comfortable calling him the best to ever kick pigskin. 

A few years back word emerged on his side hustle: He’s a gifted opera singer.

Something like that almost doesn’t feel fair, like he enjoys an embarrassment of riches that would be better sprinkled over more people. 

I bring it up in a food-and-drink story because I was searching for a way to do San Juan Bautista’s Vertigo Coffee Roasters justice. A field goal kicker comparison probably doesn’t, as Vertigo’s hidden talents are legion; Tucker would need to be a master painter, top chef, championship race-car driver and an accomplished civil engineer too for the analogy to work.

So the name works in a way some might not expect: Vertigo has a dizzying amount of delicious things going on. But it also fails, because Vertigo Coffee Roasters is so much more than a coffee shop. 

Don’t get me wrong. It is a place to get an outstanding cup of coffee, and one comes free with the purchase of beans whole or ground to order. They do wholesale for shops across Central California, and bag their own flagship proprietary blends as Monk’s Momentum Espresso, a lighter roast Mission Blend and a darker Baroque. 

They also present single origin beans from small-plot growers in places like Guatemala, El Salvador and Colombia. To help celebrate producers and importers meeting their standards for quality, consistency and fairness, they call out specific farmers on their labels.

“Just like you’d see a vineyard designated on a wine bottle,” says roaster Ryan Morris. “It’s our way of spotlighting the coffee and the grower.”

So, yes, the coffee is legit. But it’s all the other elements—including a COVID-friendly leafy patio—that make it a found treasure and a required stop while traversing Highway 156. 

At the top of the talents is a gift for pizzas. The Vertigo house pies are baked in the huge wood-fired oven out front on house recipe twice-fermented and naturally leavened sourdough crust. 

My EMB colleague Shelby Lambert and I were delighted with the nice char and generous pile of toppings on the best-selling Mission Bell pizza with local Foustman’s artisan pepperoni, sausage, sautéed peppers and onions, and green olives. It’s only a matter of time before I come back for the Caprese with pesto and burrata and the sausage-and-mushroom with béchamel sauce.

The pastries are similarly hand made in house using locally sourced eggs and ingredients like Swank Farms tomatoes and Ad Astra Bakery breads. Breakfast and lunch items like the popular breakfast burrito or the Cuban on sourdough ciabatta are all made to order. 

A growing retail section offers things like baguettes and handmade soaps, with cheeses and other goodies—including a whole line of Wise Goat Organics kimchis and sauerkrauts—on the way. 

I asked Morris if visitors are caught off guard by all the plunder.

“Oh yeah,” he replied. “Coffee’s in the name, so people associate us with coffee off the bat. But they are definitely surprised, which is cool.”

Perhaps the biggest unexpected gift is the impressively stocked adult beverage action. 

On the wine side it’s heavy on local finds but also pulls some compelling wines from further afield, thanks to the keen palate and procurement of sommelier Erin Herendeen. 

“Supporting Ryan and his amazing team at Vertigo while they build their wine program continues to be a delight!” she says. “Their seasonal menu makes it easy to bring bottles that partner perfectly for their guests to enjoy on-site, or take away.”

The hyper local craft beer selection, meanwhile, beats a lot of bottle shops.

“The beer and wine is very, very carefully curated,” Morris says. 

Weekend popups spotlight vendors like this coming Saturday’s session with Thistle Valley Farm & Apothecary, a Royal Oaks maker of soaps and body products.

A special wine dinner next week on Thursday, Nov. 18, will feature Mexico City chef Lucas Morris-Lopez pairing plates like mussels escabeche and pork croquettes with biodynamic Herendeen wine finds from Germany and Austria. 

There’s enough things in play that Morris recently added a second Instagram feed (VertigoSanJuan) highlighting cafe offerings, beverage specials and expanding events, so the original (VertigoCoffeeRoasters) can focus on coffee.

The way things are headed, I won’t be totally shocked if the new IG feed announces Vertigo is about to start hosting opera. 

Maybe Tucker can swing by for some beans and baritone. 

More at vertigocoffee.com. For more on the dinner, check out @VertigoSanJuan on Instagram.