Caffe Trieste, 601 Vallejo Street |
Once
a favorite hangout for Jack Kerouac
and his Beat cronies, and with the best beans in town roasted right next
door,
Caffe Trieste is the ultimate Bohemian coffeehouse. Says neighbor
Melvin Caesar Belli, "San Francisco is where gourmet coffee began long
before the Buck from the North." Nowhere is the City's legacy as a haven
for coffee lovers better celebrated than North Beach and Caffe Trieste.
Family owned at 601 Vallejo Street since 1956, Caffe Trieste is especially
atmospheric on gray days when locals ramble in for a warm-up while tourists
beg off for the convenience of chain stands. The enthusiasm of the staff
here is authentic. Any doubt of that can be dispelled by showing up on
Saturdays, when strains of opera with accordion and brass lovingly compete
with the aroma here to delight the senses. A mural
inside that depicts a Sicilian port scene is also authentic and dates to
1957. |
