I went to Jane for breakfast. I had Stumptown Hairbender and one of their Brioche pastries, both of which were fantastic. I also stopped by the Bluebottle by the Moscone Center and was thoroughly unimpressed. The espresso was thin and a bit grassy. I'm wondering if it was the barista, the coffee, or both. I'll probably stop by the location in the Mission area later on and give them another chance.

double post

I've found Blue Bottle to be very inconsistent; I've had some very good shots and unfortunately many bad ones. I also saw Linea on your list and I can say the same for them. (I like their blend a lot: nice comfort food style espresso. It has been very good at home, not so much in their cafe.)

Mavelous

Andytown has the best straight espresso in the city (and otherworldly baked goods). Its a pretty space, they have a KvdW lever, but its also a haul. Linea and MA-Velous are both great, but I agree can be inconsistent depending on the barista. Two great places a few blocks away from each other in the Polk Gulch are Saint Frank and Contraband. Either of the Stanza locations, the one in the Mission has a Slayer.

Of the big 3-4 SF roasters, I think Ritual has the most consistent and interesting espresso program. If you go to the Hayes Valley location, stop by Chantal Guillon and enjoy several macarons with your coffee. The Mill on Divisadero is a beautiful space co-owned by Four Barrel and Josey Baker Bread, and definitely worth checking out. The Sightglass in SOMA might be the nicest cafe interior I've ever seen, the espresso is generally good, but nothing to write home about. I'm skeptical your opinion of Blue Bottle will change the second time around.

elusiven wrote:Andytown has the best straight espresso in the city (and otherworldly baked goods). Its a pretty space, they have a KvdW lever, but its also a haul.

Does it follow that they have the best milk drinks, too? Idrocompressos are fairly rare beasts...will have to check them out next time I'm in the area.

Not necessarily, but it's hard to have it both ways. Their espresso blend is a dominated by a heavily fruited Yirgacheffe and they dose in a way that really features the berry/lemon. As a result, I feel like it doesn't cut milk as forcefully as a typical comfort espresso blend. That said, their baristas are really knowledgable/skilled/nice and the milk drinks are certainly high quality. They also do a better job with latte art than most places. For whatever it's worth, they have a unique, popular signature drink called the snowy plover which consists of a shot pulled into a teaspoon of simple syrup, poured into a glass of iced soda water, and then topped with a huge dollop of whipped cream. Not for everyone, obviously.