cafe society

If anyone ever taunts me with the words, "typical San Franciscan," that person would be correct in at least one aspect. I'm a hopeless cafe addict, as well as hopelessly selective about where to indulge this addiction. As a creature of habit, I haunt a loose and somewhat disparate group of cafes. Before I write up my repeat victims, I must state that I do not drink coffee all that often. I tend to abuse tea, because the quality of coffee served in this town is largely unreliable. It's hard to screw up brewing tea versus coffee, so unless I go somewhere reliable, tea it is. Why do I prefer hanging out at a cafe, when I can sit more comfortably at home, where the cost of tea and coffee is not dramatically marked up, and where there is actual quiet? Well, I often crave escape from my messy home to clean, pristine working surfaces, where I can put my notebook (whether paper or computer) without fear of reprisal. And you can't bloody well indulge in some people watching/criticizing from home, unless you turn on the tube. If I have to do "nothing," please let me do it at one of the following:

Caffe Greco, 423 Columbus Ave

(415) 397-6261

This North Beach staple on Columbus Street has absolutely the best cappuccino in the city, probably in the Bay Area. There exists no substitute for their signature elegant coffee swirl in the light (volume and substance) milk foam. My cafe compadre swears by their Americano as well. Greco also has the sweetest young brother-and-brother team behind the counter; as the cafe remains busy from early morning till late at night (midnight on weeknights and often 1am on weekends), their friendly efficiency is highly appreciated. Moreover, these kids remove cups and plates from empty tables promptly. The crowd is a good mix of North Beach Eurotrash (including the Parking Mafia), young kids, tourists, and Woody Allenesque couples. Music heard here ranges from the Gypsy Kings (bleh!) to retro Italian swingjazz (hmm...). The interior is clean, bright and basic cafe decor. New batches of the popular, fresh tiramisu are available all through the day.

Cafe Prague, 584 Pacific

(415) 433-3811

A few blocks away from Cafe Greco nearer Jackson Square, this quietly dark cafe is a quirkier choice. As expected, once inside the door you are greeted by the insistent stare of Franz Kafka (Don't get me started on the Czech exploitation of Kafka). This is a good place to hang out and read or write. You can leaf through the American and Czech periodicals in the racks on the wall. Seating is provided by comfy banquettes and wicker chairs. Whenever you find yourself in a soupy mood, head for Prague -- the cafe provides an average of five or six different soups on a daily basis, including the very decent wild porcini mushroom. The menu also includes a solid gulasch served with dumplings, as well as a variety of sandwiches and salads. On certain evenings, Prague will present poetry readings, and they are open till 11 pm.

Cafe Macondo, 159 16th St.

(415) 863-6517

I have spent quite a number of hours in this Mission cafe, pouring my psyche out to my current journal, scribbling away on top of small but hardy, hardworn schooldesk-type tables with their own individual secondhand lamps. During those cold and gray winter days, Macondo exercises the coziest pull on me. Decent coffee served in bohemian mismatched cups and saucers, and very fresh, economically priced sandwiches and salads made upon request. There's also one regular counter guy who often plays the best jazz music. Hangout for wannabe writers and earnest students. If you're "lucky," you can also catch a couple of middle-aged leftwing intellectuals duking it out verbally. Watch the spit fly!

Diamond Corner Cafe, 751 Diamond St

(415) 282-9551

The one decent cafe in my hood that is not a Starbucks or Tully's or Martha Bros (bad coffee alert!). They have ready and friendly service (always a plus in my book). Breakfast is served starting around 8:30am in the delicous form of banana or blueberry pancakes, and on weekends, an additional breakfast item of an omelette or fritatta. Sandwiches and various other readymade items like quiche and lasagna are sold as well, at slightly high prices. I've had their turkey sandwich before and priced at more than five bucks, the coldcut layer was downright skimpy. I can walk down to the Greek deli on 24th and get a slightly cheaper and more solid sandwich. But I like going to this cafe for tea and a croissant, when I don't feel like walking far or driving. They also have a decent minestrone chock full of white beans, something that always meets my approval.

Jumpin' Java Coffee House, 139 Noe

(415) 431-5282

Yummy, steaming hot chocolate served here, albeit in paper cups, unless you request otherwise. Apparently, the SF Bay Guardian once voted this the cafe most likely to meet nerdy gay men. Yikes! Well, I don't know about nerdy, but a majority of the customers here are definitely male and very probably gay. A refreshing change from the number of Caffe Greco men (usually roaming the North Beach with a pack of other men), who have tried to chat up my cafe compadre and me. Jumpin' Java is my favorite plain and basic cafe. Plain wooden tables, plain wooden bench seating, plain chairs, and lots of warm sunlight streaming through the storefront windows. They serve the basic hot drinks, cookies along with bagels and quiche. No sandwiches, no salads, no soup. Usually friendly service from some quirky and sensitive young boy (who also plays great music, including some 60s and 70s soul that really impressed me one evening). More of a place for reading and studying, than loud chatting.

Simple Pleasures Cafe 3434 Balboa St (415) 387-4022 An unpretentious charmer located far, far out in the Richmond suburbs, close to the Balboa Theatre, Simple Pleasures is a cousin to Mission's Macondo in its homey and cozy feel. Definitely a cafe for seeking warm indoors shelter on any night or winter days. Get a pot of tea to tide you for a long while, and park at your own sofa or school desk to mull over a book of philosophy (I'm such a poser!), or try to decipher the lively Russian conversations floating through so much of this neighborhood.

OK, and one last note about where to get bountiful pots of tea: For the past two years, whenever I passed by Tea & Company, the place was completely packed up with customers, who seemed stationed at their tables for the long term with their laptops.

I finally got my opportunity a couple weeks ago, when I headed there with a friend after 8pm on a weekday. To my unbelieving eyes, there were actually not one, but three tables free. We sat at this rickety one with some legs that you could easily trip over and send your teapot flying. The interior is very bright, almost too bright, in a pleasantly bland and corporate style (some might call it Zen); color photographs of tea plant fields and Third-World tea leaf pickers decorate the walls. Tea & Company does make good on its name's promise -- they only offer tea, no beans here, and an interesting, comprehensive variety of tea at that. In fact, they sell three different varieties of Darjeeling. You can purchase tea leaves for home use, or enjoy a pot of tea for one, or a larger pot for two people at reasonable prices. We shared a big Bodum pot of Darjeeling, which almost served six cups, and generous cup sizes at that.

For all the numerous times when a table is impossible at Tea & Company, keep walking down Fillmore to Sweet Inspiration on the next block of Fillmore. There's also a Sweet Inspiration on Market Street, but this one is quieter and less crowded, while filled with the same drool-inducing dessert cakes, pies and tarts. Most importantly, they serve pots of tea, also via the attractive see-through-and-watch-tea-steep Bodum container. Their selection of tea is more garden-variety than Tea & Company, but you are certain to find a good table all to lonesome yourself. If you're not in the mood for sweets, they also serve sandwiches with names like the Fillmore, as well as a breakfast special. Sweet Inspiration is open till midnight.

Tea & Company World Tea House, 2207 Fillmore St

(415) 929-8327

Sweet Inspiration, 2123 Fillmore St

(415) 931-2815

Gripes about common SF cafe abuses:

For all the frequent complaints about the repetitive decors of Starbucks et al., mom-and-pop cafes tend to follow Cafe Interiors 101 as well: there's the same biscotti jars, the same plain pint glasses used to serve big portions of coffee, the same blackboard with the menu in rainbow-colored chalk. I understand that the majority of cafes operate on the principle of lean and mean budgeting, but sparks of individuality attract repeat visits.

Excess foam on top -- so many cafes abuse the milk foam so much, that you can't even taste coffee until the nth sip... More is not necessarily better in this instance.

Cafes that serve "for-here" hot drinks in paper cups. Starbucks, in particular, is guilty of this, but there are a myriad other offenders (you know who you are). What's the deal here? It should be a simple equation: "to go" equals paper/styrofoam and "for here" equals porcelain. Please, thank you.

Two words: cafe art. Often, amusingly painful and painfully amusing.

Jackie Sun

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