A Dream Come True on Prospect Street

By Frank Sabatini Jr.

The new Encanto Cafe in La Jolla Village is off to a flourishing start.

Opened last month by entrepreneur Patricia Paramo, customers are immediately greeted by the cafe’s very definition of “encanto,” which in Spanish means “charm.”

Located across the street from Eddie V’s Prime Seafood and next to Mermaids & Cowboys, the space is bright, quaint and inviting. It is housed within a prime retail-residential structure that offers a sidewalk patio and an outdoor deck. Inside are more tables, where wood flooring, classic molding, and arched windows framed in draperies create something of a living-room vibe.

The menu is loaded with heart and soul, reflecting on Paramo’s bi-national roots and her love of wholesome food.

Born and raised in San Diego, her family is originally from Mexico City. She grew up spending time south of border because of family ties while completing high school at Academy of Our Lady of Peace in North Park, and then earning a bachelor’s degree in international business from the University of San Diego.

Although ever since she was a young child, she always dreamed of owning a cafe.

“I used to pretend I had a coffee shop that served food. Literally this is exactly how I wanted it,” she said moments after handling an already-established surge of morning customers.

An early or midday visit to Encanto Cafe potentially starts off with a robust coffee drink made with a blend of beans that Paramo imports from the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Chiapas. Her top seller so far is Mexican mocha, which uses imported chocolate and the blended beans.

From the made-to-order smoothie category, healthful cocao rises to the occasion in the “Cacao Lover.” It’s a rich-tasting construct that also includes almond milk, bananas, dates, vanilla, cinnamon and honey. Given its nourishing depth of flavor, it comes off as an elixir that can seemingly soothe anything ailing you.

Ditto for the “Protein Boost” smoothie, which brings peanut butter and coconut butter into the equation along with chocolate and plant-based protein powder.

Paramo’s mom, Nory, helped develop the menu. It is tailored to morning and afternoon appetites with choices such as acai bowls, waffles, toasts, flatbreads, salads and sandwiches. Also available are decadent pastries sourced from nearby Parisien Gourmandises.

Hard-to-find molletes is an item from the menu’s “breakfast” section that is equally fitting for lunch as well. It’s a traditional Mexican dish that Paramo has enjoyed from childhood. The plate involves four wedges of toasted bolillo bread crowned with a layer of creamy refried beans, melted mozzarella, and super-fresh pico de gallo. Simple and delicious, Paramo pointed out that people in Mexico like the bread fully toasted, whereby Americans generally prefer it lightly toasted. (I found the former to be most enjoyable.)

If you’ve never had waffles made with almond flour, this is a good place to try them. Their texture was subtly crispy on the outside and wonderfully springy inside. In “traditional” form, they are drizzled with Nutella and coconut cream, and garnished with seasonal berries. You can also choose the cacao version.

Other menu options include the best-selling breakfast croissant filled with eggs, bacon and spinach. Vegetarians are in luck with a sibling sandwich that swaps out the bacon for tomato. There are also toasted artisan breads and bagels featuring a wide choice of spreads, including “herb schmear” and house-made jam—plus Caesar salad tossed in house-made dressing that includes the classic components of raw egg and anchovy.

Sandwich options extend also to the “meat lover on a roll,” which brings together roast beef, turkey, rosemary ham, melted Provolone and veggie garnishments. In addition, there is turkey-pesto, chicken-mozzarella, prosciutto-brie, all-veggie, and more.

Paramo is a shining example of today’s young crop of ambitious entrepreneurs. She also owns an e-commerce jewelry business called Parpala Jewelry (parpalajewelry. com), which she launched 10 years ago.

“I love being in business,” she said. “The most rewarding aspect is that people notice that I thought about every single detail.”

Encanto is located at 1261 Prospect St., Suite 1. It is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., daily. For more information, call 619-321-8906.

At-A-Glance:

Business: Encanto Cafe

Owner: Patricia Paramo

Address: 1261 Prospect St., La Jolla

Hours: 7 - 5 daily

Phone: 619-321-8906 theencantocafe@gmail.com public’s challenges over the past three years have heavily contributed to heightened levels of overall ill health. “People are more depressed, more anxious.” A new approach to mental health, especially, is needed.

Sean Leonard is a Nurse Practitioner specializing in psychiatric care, based in Serene Health’s Oceanside office.

“I’m a board-certified primary care geriatric nurse practitioner and board-certified psychiatric nurse practitioner,” says Sean. His background in both addiction medicine and psychiatric stabilization, along with TMS, is just one reason Oscar counts him as a vital part of the organization.

“I have been a friend of Oscar’s for over five years in several other healthcare adventures,” says Sean. Coming now to Serene Health through a partnership, furthers my hopes of delivering PrTMS® to the masses. Working with Serene is the piece that had been missing in my profession.”

Putting It All Into Perspective

Every client is seen and evaluated by a psychiatrist, even if their primary issue is physical, and treated according to the psychiatrist’s recommendations. An initial EEG (electroencephalography) is taken, which records spontaneous electrical activity of the brain, for analysis.

A psychological evaluation is done and putting it all together, a personalized plan of action is established, using any of several treatment methods provided by Serene Health. EEGs are taken every week of treatment, so the protocols can change accordingly.

Coming full circle here, the comments from patients of Serene Health’s therapy are emphatic about its beneficial effects on their lives.

Chris Peters knows first-hand the benefits of PrTMS® treatment, not just in seeing the changes in his clients, but experiencing them himself.

After thirteen years as a firefighter, Chris didn’t think the job had impacted him that much, but he woke up one day and everything had just accumulated, piled on his shoulders, and “I just didn’t feel right, didn’t feel like myself,” Chris recalls. “I was in a fog every day. I couldn’t think clearly, couldn’t get thoughts out, and it began to interrupt my home life. I just wanted to sleep.”

He decided to seek help and was fortunate to see a doctor who knew Dr. Murphy and his TMS program. Chris took treatment and by the end of two months, he’d seen amazing results. More importantly, said Chris, his family “… saw dramatic improvement almost immediately. It’s just my belief, but I personally feel every firefighter could benefit from this.”

A police officer from San Diego, came to the MindSet by Serene Health Group with sleep-related issues, including moodiness and irritability. “From the very first session in the van, I felt a sense of peace, as though taking these steps would not only identify some of my issues, but could relieve them. It filled me with a sense of excitement.”

On a lasting basis, he found, “The treatment afforded me the ability to recognize when I was about to enter a high state of stress.” It provided him a type of buffer, and a marker, “… so I could more readily shift out of the ‘red zone’ into a more comfortable tempo. Especially at work.”

By being less reactionary, the officer explained, “I am able to take a tick and process the scene; feel like I have better clarity while making decisions under stress.” And at home, “My wife saw a difference in me and commented on how I was more at peace and easier to be around.”

The need for brain-to-body treatment should be fundamental, beginning with children in sports. Anthony Miller, former wide receiver for the San Diego Chargers, confirms recent news reports that football players (for instance) often pay heavily later in life, for their combative career choice.

Looking back, Anthony mentioned, “… I had three recorded concussions, and they said, ‘when you see stars, those are minor’; and I said, ‘man, I didn’t have just minor concussions—and I had those even in high school’.”

Today, however, he didn’t think he was having more problems than the average aging process seems to include. He also comes from a family of strong cognitive capacities and longevity, with his mother at eighty still going strong, following in the footsteps of her mother who lived to be ninety-eight. But, “… me at fiftyeight,” he admits, struggles with memory loss and absentmindedness.

“At first, I thought it was just me, then I started talking to some of my friends that played football and we realized we were experiencing some of the same conditions, like forgetting someone’s name and it comes to you five minutes later,” and he added with a laugh, “or a couple times I left the oven on and my girl [pointedly] reminded me. I’m not as sharp as I used to be … so I would do block puzzles and other things to stimulate my brain.”

Friend and Chargers’ hall-of-famer, Wes Chandler, put Anthony in touch with Serene Health. “It’s been very helpful to our guys who have played the game, with [resulting] concussion issues, and their overall health.” He attended a meeting in which Serene staff offered treatment which he thought could be beneficial. Anthony appreciated their convenient mobile unit too, which delivered an intensive month