I was having dinner on Sunday night at Burma Superstar in the Inner Richmond (review will come up in the next few weeks), when my friend and I got to talking about different neighborhoods. One we started to talk about was North Beach.
North Beach, for me, has been the entryway into San Francisco. A friend of mine has lived for years in an apartment on Stockton near Chestnut and I've crashed on her couch time and again before I moved here. Then, when I did move to the Bay Area two friends of mine were living at that apartment and I ended up crashing there again from time to time.
I always liked to walk from her place down Stockton, past the big church where Marilyn Monroe and Joe Dimaggio got married, along Washington Square (pausing to watch the tai chi practitioners), up Union Street, along the shops of Grant, and arrive at a place that's survived the test of time.
It's 50 years since they introduced the West Coast to espresso, and Caffe Trieste is still going strong. Yes, it's overrun by tourists, I know that. But if you have a chance to go by during the day and sit and just observe, you'll see the tourists flit in and out. What remains and what sits there for hours on end is a true neighborhood of San Francisco originals.
There's the painter, the crazy guy, the two guys who always bicker, the bedraggled looking hippie who just happens to be a famous poet, the woman with the dogs, and on and on. There's true cameraderie amongst these lost souls, who find family in a coffee shop in North Beach.
This little coffee shop in this neighborhood made me realize San Francisco is very different from most other cities in the US. There's a real European aspect to this city. Sure, the architecture reminds some people of Europe, but to me it's the people - especially those that gather here. It's the pace of life, it's the wanting to connect with others over, simply, a cup of coffee.
This post should be about lunch, but the food's so-so. Maybe this will do? They don't have non-fat milk, so order up a real cappucino, sit back for a couple hours, and enjoy.
North Beach, for me, has been the entryway into San Francisco. A friend of mine has lived for years in an apartment on Stockton near Chestnut and I've crashed on her couch time and again before I moved here. Then, when I did move to the Bay Area two friends of mine were living at that apartment and I ended up crashing there again from time to time.
I always liked to walk from her place down Stockton, past the big church where Marilyn Monroe and Joe Dimaggio got married, along Washington Square (pausing to watch the tai chi practitioners), up Union Street, along the shops of Grant, and arrive at a place that's survived the test of time.
It's 50 years since they introduced the West Coast to espresso, and Caffe Trieste is still going strong. Yes, it's overrun by tourists, I know that. But if you have a chance to go by during the day and sit and just observe, you'll see the tourists flit in and out. What remains and what sits there for hours on end is a true neighborhood of San Francisco originals.
There's the painter, the crazy guy, the two guys who always bicker, the bedraggled looking hippie who just happens to be a famous poet, the woman with the dogs, and on and on. There's true cameraderie amongst these lost souls, who find family in a coffee shop in North Beach.
This little coffee shop in this neighborhood made me realize San Francisco is very different from most other cities in the US. There's a real European aspect to this city. Sure, the architecture reminds some people of Europe, but to me it's the people - especially those that gather here. It's the pace of life, it's the wanting to connect with others over, simply, a cup of coffee.
This post should be about lunch, but the food's so-so. Maybe this will do? They don't have non-fat milk, so order up a real cappucino, sit back for a couple hours, and enjoy.
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