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Starbucks Alternatives: Caffe Trieste

San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood was, half-a-century ago, the epicenter of the beat movement and coffeehouse counterculture. Getting your morning brew at a corporate joint amid all this history would just be shameful.

Instead, sit and have a cup at the first Caffe Trieste, where the likes of Kerouac and Ginsberg would come to wake up, write their mad prose and have caffeinated conversations about morality and life. Opened in 1956 by Giovanni Giotta, aka "Papa Gianni," the cafe was one of the first on the West Coast to serve espresso.

Today it still serves a mean cappuccino in the traditional style and maintains a classic ambiance. The pastries here are also fantastic. Musicians perform regularly at Trieste, and the coffee shop, which now has several locations in the Bay Area, even has its own record label.

You might have to fight for a table, but on sunny days you can easily grab a seat outside or on the steps of the church across the street. If you're inclined to ramble as you sip, don't miss nearby City Lights, a haven of beat literature and make sure to take a stroll through Jack Kerouac Alley.

Related Stories:
· Caffe Trieste [Official Site]
· City Lights Books [Official Site]
· Starbucks Alternatives coverage [Jaunted]
· San Francisco Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Thomas Hawk]