A good cafe, caffè, coffeehouse, etc. is a universal living room of world culture. They are places where lives are lived, business carried out, revolutions started, loves introduced, art displayed, music played, novels and movies written, great discussions held…all over a steaming cup or a cold glass. Some of us can always be found here. The Virtual Town Square is graced by the Caffè Pellegrino.
A cup on your table
A European styled caffè where artists, musicians, writers and students from the University like to hang out. There are several tables here:
- John’s Table
- Your Table (Forums)
- The Back Room (Sorry, Invitation Only)
Other Cafes in the World (which serve as John’s living rooms, actually or potentially):
- San Francisco Caffes
- Caffe Trieste: The Godfather of all West Coast Caffes
- Cafe La Boheme (24th and Mission)
- Muddy Waters Coffee House(s)
- BrainWash (Cafe and Laundromat)
- Duboce Park Cafe
- Silicon Valley:
- Coffee Society (Campbell)
- Caffe Frascati: Started as a branch of the Trieste, and then went independent.
- Blue Rock Shoot (Saratoga)
- Big Basin Cafe (Saratoga)
- Cocola (Santana Row)
- Santa Cruz:
- Caffe Pergolesi
- Fins Coffee (Santa Cruz)
- Mr. Toots Coffeehouse on the beach in Capitola
- East Bay:
- Peninsula
- Cafe Borrone – Menlo Park
- The Prolific Oven Coffeehouse – Palo Alto
- Coupa Cafe – Palo Alto
- Printers Inc Cafe – Palo Alto
- Books Inc Cafe – Mountain View
- Red Rock Cafe – Moutain View
- Paris:
- Cafe Flore: A parisian cafe full of literary and philosophical history
- (See other Paris Cafe’s here)
- Venice:
- The Past (R.I.P.)
- The Phoenix Cafe in downtown San Jose was full of life.
- The Upstart Crow in the Pruneyard was the first Silicon Valley Caffe (now relegated to SoCal).
- The Cafe Chameleon on the river in Santa Cruz had a very special vibe.
- Mission City Coffee Roasting Co. (Santa Clara)
- Monsieur Beans (Willow Glen)
- Bean There (There was also a cafe with this name in Derry, which I went to) used to be my local
- Caffe Soma
- Friends don’t let friends go to Tar For Bucks!
Tearooms:
- The Celadon Tea Room in Berkeley
- The Imperial Tea Court Tearooms in San Francisco and Berkeley
- Ten Ren Tea (worldwide)
- TeaGuide: The Original Online Tearoom Directory
- Lisa’s Tea Treasures in the South Bay (where the ladies talk all afternoon)