Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
who, in the evenings, sometimes break into song with a staff pianist. That'll bore
most kids, but there is a kids' menu anyway.
CAFES
This city is packed with 'em. Sometimes it seems as if the people here have no
occupation other than caffeine ingestion. Nearly every establishment offers free
Wi-Fi, which may save you some money, and most of them also serve light meals
that will save you the time and money of having to shell out for an elaborate sit-
down meal. Here are some of the more notable ones, but I heartily encourage you
to find your own favorites based on location and vibe. Some of these places also
serve light meals, some focus on coffee.
$
Established in 1956, at the height of North Beach's artistic fortunes,
Caffe
Trieste
555
(601 Vallejo St., at Grant;
%
415/392
-
6739; www.caffetrieste.
com; daily 7am-10pm; MC, V)
has survived the generations to become what's prob-
ably the most beloved cafe in the neighborhood, if not the city. There may be no
better place in San Francisco to kick back with an espresso and watch the city
scene file by. Coffee nuts count it as serving some of the best brew in town, and
the selection of pastry is homemade. Francis Ford Coppola is said to have written
most of
The Godfather
at the same tables where, today, locals read poetry and surf
the Web. Although it receives its share of tourists, the Trieste is really a friendly
joint, where established customers are treated like gold by the otherwise harried
staff and then spend hours sitting and reading the paper. For a real taste of North
Beach eccentricity, running since 1971, stop by Saturdays from noon to 2pm,
when Giotta family members and their friends pick up the accordion and enter-
tain customers with live concerts of Italian opera songs, Dean Martin hits, and
even show tunes—all for the price of a cup of coffee. Granted, you'll have to fight
the line to get that.
$
On weekend afternoons, people hang out on the heated front porch of the
Mission's
Revolution Café
(3248 22nd St., at Bartlett;
%
415/642
-
0474; daily
9am-1am
;
cash only)
and listen to live music—usually, someone with a guitar, a
harmonica, or both. A modest wood-floored place with only a dark banner to sig-
nify it's even there, the bohemian Revolution feels like the sort of hipster cafe that
the Beat writers might have hung out. It serves salads and sandwiches for $6 and
tomato soup for an unheard-of $2.50 a cup. Music becomes the focus, and seats
scarce, nightly around 9pm. Try the ginger latte ($4).
$
The huge red Probat roaster in the window signifies what makes
Caffé Roma
Coffee Roasting Co
.
5
(526 Columbus Ave., at Union;
%
415/296
-
7942; www.
cafferoma.com; daily 6am-7pm; MC, V)
superior to all the other coffee houses
around. And it takes its coffee very seriously; although a cup of fresh-made
espresso costs $2, if you're foolish enough to order it with a slice of lemon, you'll
be charged $20—the owner, Anthony Azzollini, a third-generation roaster, insists
that citrus masks the true flavor of his labors. Bags of coffee are also sold to go.
This location is smack-dab in North Beach, and the family runs another location
in
SoMa (885 Bryant St., at 7th;
%
415/-296
-
7662).
