We never did make it to Ritual, but we found the Blue Bottle cafe just south of Market Street near the old Federal Mint building. It's a very unassuming location tucked on a side street away from all the hustle and bustle of Market Street. Other than a small sign on the street with a picture of a blue bottle, you might not even notice that there's a shop there. However, once we went inside, there was a line all the way to the door.
The place was hopping, and for good reason. They were serving some really excellent drinks from their La Marzocco machine. I had both a cappuccino and an espresso, which was served as a ristretto. My wife wanted a single cap, but they don't really do those so they served her a ristretto shot in her cap instead. Both drinks were delicious.
The espresso was sweet and carmelly, with a hint of fruit. Sorry my palate isn't sophisticated enough to describe it better. The cappuccino had a nice carmel and chocolate richness to it, with just the right amount of perfect microfoam. Most excellent. We ended up walking half an hour each way to get to the cafe, but it was so good we made the trip several times during our three-day stay. Highly recommended.
