Cafe Zoetrope in San Francisco is Francis Ford Coppola's flatiron corner cafe in the Sentinel Building, with a small Italian kitchen and house wine on tap.
Tip: The sidewalk tables on Kearny are the seat to want; the cappuccino is the right midday order.
Address: 916 Kearny St, San Francisco, CA 94133
Tartine Bakery in San Francisco is Chad Robertson and Elisabeth Prueitt's Guerrero Street original, with a queue that has not let up since 2002 and a morning bun.
Signature drink: Pour-over with morning bun
Tip: Morning bun and croissant come out at different times; ask the counter when the next bake is due.
Reveille Coffee in San Francisco is the small chain anchored in North Beach, with a corner room at the Columbus and Pacific triangle and a strong maple latte.
Signature drink: Maple latte
Tip: Sit at the Columbus side window; the foot traffic to City Lights makes for the best people-watch.
The Mill in San Francisco is the Josey Baker Bread and Four Barrel Coffee partnership on Divisadero, with $4 thick-slice toast and an open bread bakery in the back.
Signature drink: Cinnamon toast with Four Barrel coffee
Tip: Toast is the order regardless of what else is on the board; the rye-buckwheat is the move.
Four Barrel Coffee in San Francisco is the Valencia Street roaster cafe with a long Probat showroom in back and a no-laptops, no-wifi policy out front.
Signature drink: Pour-over
Tip: No wifi by design; bring a book or a friend, not a screen.
Linea Caffe in San Francisco is Andrew Barnett's two-counter Mission espresso bar, with a 5-second pull style that won out before the third wave settled.
Signature drink: Espresso
Tip: Stand-up service only at the 18th Street counter; ask for the macchiato instead of a cortado.
Caffe Trieste in San Francisco is the North Beach Italian cafe that has poured cappuccino at Vallejo and Grant since 1956, with Saturday opera on the back wall.
Signature drink: Cappuccino
Tip: Saturday at 13:00 for the opera and accordion set; arrive at 12:30 for a seat in the back room.
