Posted by TheShot on 08 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: Local Brew
This café is something of a neighborhood favorite for its quirky atmosphere and ridiculously cheap (though not that great) coffee. Inside there’s found art everywhere — plus painted café tables, a couple of seats from movie theaters (with cup-holders), juicers on display, wine for $9 a bottle, and a few outdoor sidewalk café tables under [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 22 Jul 2007 | Tagged as: Home Brew
A Peninsula people-watching Mecca, typically filled with large crowds throughout the day and skirmishes over available outdoor tables. It’s been that way here since I first entered this place 15 years ago. They have large indoor and outdoor seating areas, local art, occasional musicians, and obligatory patrons in bike shorts.
One of the most indelible memories [...]
Posted by TheShot on 29 Nov 2006 | Tagged as: Local Brew
This popular neighborhood café deserves the attention. They have shown a tremendous amount of consistency over the past few years; I can tell when an age-old review on CoffeeRatings.com still nails the espresso at some establishment over a year or two later. The price of a single espresso may have risen 40¢ since 2003, but [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 25 Nov 2006 | Tagged as: Café Society, Consumer Trends, Local Brew
This old school, Calabrian-themed Italian pastry shop once had a touch for good espresso under its longtime ownership. They owner had been using Graffeo beans religiously since 1985. However, by 2006 they switched to Lavazza beans and began making inferior espresso (though the two aren’t exactly cause-and-effect). I’ve been unable to confirm with certainty, but [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 13 Nov 2006 | Tagged as: Foreign Brew
Back in July we reported on Illy’s strategy for opening licensed Illy Espressamente cafés across Europe. During my travels in Portugal last month, I had the pleasure of encountering my first one in the unlikeliest of places.
In the perimeter wall of the recently remodelled Praça de Touros do Campo Pequeno bullfighting arena, this fully owned [...]
Posted by TheShot on 27 Jun 2006 | Tagged as: Local Brew
Yes, this one is one of the classics. It’s a bright North Beach café that’s been open since 1988. They have many small indoor café tables with a lot of that “Cinzano”-like print art, clean surfaces, and East-facing glass windows. They also have an adjoining room that’s available for a lot of overflow on [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 18 Apr 2006 | Tagged as: Local Brew
A popular, often crowded, slow, and somewhat under-tabled and under-staffed Parisian-styled café that strongly emphasizes French details. (It changed owners in March 2004.) A somewhat confused system for getting a table when they are busy — you’re not sure whether to grab a table yourself, to ask to be seated, etc. Black & white photographs [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 07 Apr 2006 | Tagged as: Local Brew
This cafeteria-like spot opened along Trinity Place in late 2005. Heavy Illy branding, some Italian staff, and italianate sandwiches. This is the first location this small chain brought west of NYC.
It has a massive amount of metal outdoor seating along Trinity Place and a long indoor space with window counter and booths. Why there is [...]
Posted by TheShot on 29 Mar 2006 | Tagged as: Local Brew
This small Middle Eastern café near the TransBay Terminal (technically in the Bechtel Building) is easy to overlook. But that’s where I hope Web sites like this one come in.
In addition to their espresso bar, they have a full-service deli … and they also offer one of the few decent falafel sandwiches in the area. [...]
Posted by TheShot on 23 Mar 2006 | Tagged as: Local Brew
This expansive Peet’s Coffee & Tea outlet has plenty of window counter seating for sipping your morning latte, reading the headlines, and listening to a tape loop of classical music “greatest hits” playing overhead. Additionally, there’s a good amount of public indoor seating in the connected atrium of the 101 Second St. building. They have [...]
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