Earliest forms of coffee culture in San Francisco began in North Beach (you can find it with a whiff), originally the Italian district of my city. Point your nose toward the giant coffee roasters on Columbus Avenue. (insert virtual olfactory scent here). Do you smell the deep, dark scent of espresso roast? You are walking in the right direction.
Early Italian immigrants transplanted their coffee drinking habits to San Francisco in the early 1800s. The GREAT MOTHER LODE OF ALL CAFES in our town, CAFFE TRIESTE, welcomes you with espresso, free live opera on Saturdays, and a steady, live supply of beatnik poets and writers. Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Gary Snyder all occupied tables here. Their ghosts will scowl at you, but don't be intimidated! Pull up a front row seat, order a double espresso, and get to work on your latest novel. Keep ordering until your novel is finished.
beat poet Allen Ginsberg
Smart Tourist -- house coffee at Nordstrom sky high cafe downtown ; excellent view of cable cars climbing up the street at 90 degree angle
Some people think San Francisco is "Not Safe" for coffee drinkers. I prefer the descriptor, "Not Boring." As in primitive times, when you leave your home territory, you have to be more aware. Be aware of subtle body language and indirect cues in cafes. Certain cafes are "off-limits" to you (yes, YOU!): for example, extremely slow service in North Beach cafes may indicate you are an unwelcome intruder in a Mafia-run cafe. Rude comments about lipstick stains on your coffee cup may indicate the waitstaff's intolerance of straight sexual politics. Stay out of cafes in which clients wear very active pagers, thick gold chains and/or live pet snakes as accessories. Stick to Starbuck's in any location if uncertain of the local politics.
For more trivia, contact Beth Ericson, bericson@eliserver.orst.edu