Some times the tables aren’t cleaned, the lads behind the counter aren’t the type to give you that false plastic “Hi, how are you today” service and always seem to be looking a little too serious, which suits me fine, and at times the clientele can be anyone from bums to hippies, and this is the whole reason why I love it. This is not a fancy plastic coffee hut like other establishments, one who shall remain nameless.
I recommend a visit if in the vicinity, to pop in for a coffee. Today I want to be Dorothy, be able to click my heels together, and end up in North Beach, but I’ll just have to wait now ’till my next trip. Could you imagine what it was like during that period, if only? It is also a legend, that Francis Ford Coppola wrote his masterpiece screenplay, The Godfather right here in this Cafe, sweet. Sure, this was the main hangout in the ’50s-’60s for all the beats and most of my favorite writers like Kerouac etc. The great thing though, is the history, the thoughts of the great writers, poets, artists, musicians, who have spent time here, and still do, creating and producing pieces, inspired by the setting, the ambiance. The establishment also owns a recording studio, and, their own record label, brilliant. There is also an old jukebox, with Italian folk music and opera if you fancy sticking something on when you are sitting, sipping, looking out the window. There is the longest running show in the city called The Caffe Trieste Saturday Concert which in the early days started of as a family experience every Saturday, growing and blending in with the local musical talent, and still has shows today, and such a great day just to be sitting there relaxing. The coffee shop is steeped in history, especially in music. It was Giovanni Giotta, who by the nickname “Papa Gianni” introduced the espresso to the west coast, as well as the cappuccino, building a growing reputation, first amongst the Italian community, and it wasn’t long before the general public all over came to drink coffee here and listen to the music. This establishment was set up back in the ’50s by an Italian immigrant family, and it is based on the coffee shops of Trieste in Italy. I don’t know how many people know this coffee place, I’ll give you a little history on it, well, what I know anyway. And I love it.Īnd my love for Caffe Trieste goes way beyond craziness. The city smacks inspiration into my fragile little brain, I’m a walking sponge soaked in this cities historic beating heart. Every-time I spend time in North Beach I write buckets of poetry, prose, and short stories. And one of the main reasons is Caffe Trieste and the whole of North Beach. and every-time I leave I feel like crying, yes, a grown man weeping like a little girl. Now, I have spent so much time in this city, 3 months here, a month there etc.
Yes, my heart is still there, well a piece of it anyway, which I do believe, I have left pieces of my heart in many places, Glebe in Sydney, Treats bar in Hoi-An, Vietnam, on a beach in Nice, France, North shore Vancouver, I could go on, and I’m sure we are all the same, have places where we would love to magically appear to now and again, but, In all my travels, San-Francisco is my favourite city, and yes I hope to live there someday, Could marriage be my golden ticket, hmmm.
Sitting here, looking out my window at Galway bay (and the misery of raging wind and rain), writing, drinking a beautiful cup of coffee, and every-time I drink coffee these days, a slight sadness slaps me, with a longing for Caffe Trieste on Vallejo street in North Beach, San-Francisco, and as I am trying to get this site up and running, get a few posts going, I’ll will weep and sigh about this place today.