San Francisco Examiner : Front Page
[ February 23, 2005 ]

Eats : Coffee Break
Patty Unterman: Cafe Lo Cubano's got the best coffee in San Francisco.
By Patricia Unterman
Special to The Examiner

I pondered whether we needed one more coffee place in San Francisco as I walked by a bustling Peet's coffee store on the way to Café Lo Cubano in Laurel Village.

Babies in strollers, dogs on leashes, freedom besotted toddlers and their care takers clogged the sidewalk. Monster SUV's jockeyed for parking slots in the almost gridlocked lot behind the strip mall, and all the metered spaces on California were taken. Yes, this certainly was a busy, suburban-scented scene in the heart of affluent San Francisco, but would any of these people frequent a Cuban coffee house?

After one brilliant cafe con leche ($2.50), I knew that this place had something unique to offer. Lo Cubano's cafe con leche, essentially a short caffe latte served in a glass, unfailingly achieves that seemingly impossible balance of strong, aromatic coffee and creamy, frothless, steamed milk, no matter who happens to be behind the coffee machine. I dream about a coffee like this, one only equaled, in my estimation, at Caffe St. Eustachio near the Pantheon in Rome.

In the afternoon I drop into Café Lo Cubano for a cortadito ($2.50), a generous, full-bodied, unbitter, espresso made with a teaspoon of sugar and few tablespoons of steamed milk on top, served in a bright orange cup and saucer. It too is superb—every time. I am in love with the coffee here and moved by the miracle of its consistency.

I relax on the soft leather Eames chair with footstool in the corner of what looks like a tony, '50s, Swedish living room transported to Havana. Others sit at tiny round tables; or on a red suede sofa by a low coffee table on a shag rug; or on stools by a counter that runs along the side window. Cuban music fills the room.

If I'm hungry I eat a hot Cuban sandwich layered with thin slices of pork and ham, jack cheese and mustardy remoulade ($7). Johnny Alamilla, the chef-owner of Alma, who conceived the savory food, found just the right roll for the job. As it toasts in the press, the crust gets crunchy but the tender white insides stay soft and moist.

Crisp-crusted, hand-made beef empanadas ($4), or turnovers, brought in from an Argentinian bakery and warmed to order, make for an excellent snack. The same bakery also provides crisp alfahores, thin butter cookie sandwiches filled with dulce de leche, caramelized sweetened milk.

But to my mind, the food here plays a supporting role to the Cuban coffee. Soon to be replicated elsewhere, Café Lo Cubano works even in a neighborhood of babies. I guess San Francisco can use a few more coffee houses if they make coffee as exceptional as this.

CAFÉ LO CUBANO
LOCATION: 3401 California St., San Francisco
HOURS: Open everyday from 6 a.m. to midnight
CONTACT: Call (415) 831-4672 or visit www.cafelocubano.com
RECOMMENDED DISHES: Cafe con leche, cortadito, medadia—a pressed Cuban sandwich with pork and ham, beef empanadas
PRICE RANGE: $1.50 to $7
WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE: Yes.
CREDIT CARDS: Master Card, Visa, Discovery, American Express

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