I hadn't been down to the Castro in awhile, though these days it seems every time I'm through there on one of my infrequent visits there always seems to be some new building going up on a corner or some new storefront filling in a number of the recently vacated spaces. On a recent swing through gay town I noticed that there are now a fair number of coffee shops rounding out the hood all within a few blocks radius. From the original stalwarts Peete's, Starbucks, Philz and Spikes Coffees & Teas to the now relatively new Reveille and Espressamente Illy, soon to open Hearth Coffee, Samovar Tea Lounge, Morning Due, Church Street Cafe and a handful of other cafe/coffee-ish places where you can get a mug, cup or glass and then sit and while away the hours. The Castro now seems to be rivaling the Mission for these kinds of places. I tucked into one of these specific coffee shop places one day for a few hours to watch the crowd that flowed through and or hung around and I have to say it was quite the lively social scene--almost as if these places are the new bars to meet friends and hang.
I'm not going out on too much of a limb by saying these really are the new gay bars. And to be honest I kind of like that idea. Everything gets brought out into the bright light of day without the smell and haze of alcohol. And for whatever reason, folks seem to be a little more relaxed in the atmosphere these places create. I figure with today's technology, more and more people are getting out of the house and or office and going to these mostly free wi-fi places to work, relax or socialize with their laptops, phones, iPads, whatever and that connectedness keeps people both grounded and a little less uptight when chatting up friends or people around them. I think that's a good thing.
While bars have their places, it is such a completely different arena with different pressure. You have to get all fixed up to go stand around with a slowly warming beer in your hand hoping you catch the eye of someone to either make the one stand connection or if you are lucky something a little more lasting. It's a total crap shoot that if it doesn't work out can blow your whole evening and demeanor, and not in a good way either.
With the coffee shop, part of the appeal is that you don't necessarily go there to pick someone up. You go to hang out, meet friends or surf your laptop which can put one in a more relaxed state of mind and body and leave you more open to chatting up different folks that you might not normally talk to or feel to shy or nervous to make an attempt with. I know sometimes when you walk into one of these places it looks like folks are all up into their computers and not really paying attention to others but that is just on the surface. The place I ended up at was like that in the beginning, but as time went on, the crowd ebbed and flowed through the place and folks who'd sat for a bit seemed to strike up conversations with other folks with laptops--like what are you working on? what do you do? is that website and good? and so on. Sometimes it's like a conversation starter that can help you make a connection. Same with the choice of drink you get. One just needs to look over and say is the roast good? or whatever and off you go. It seems too simple I know, but weirdly it does work the majority of time. Though the what are you reading on the computer seems to be the better of the two just from my observations.
San Francisco is town that can jump on a trend pretty quickly and then have it take to the point where we all become jaded with it and then spend as much time deriding it as partaking. But this whole burgeoning social coffee shop culture I think is an improvement over the usual standard bar drink and cruise affair. Though I have to admit upfront I've been doing the whole coffee shop thing for some time. It used to be only a tiny Starbucks and the larger Peete's here and I used to hand at the Peete's on weekends when I lived in the hood. Though at times the place was too crowded and no seats were available which was always a bummer. Now though, Peete's actually enlarged their seating areas, the Starbucks got a makeover and a handful of new coffee shops have opened to offer one a plethora of opportunity to get out of your house and be a more social animal. And whether you like coffee or not getting out making that human connection is totally worthwhile ones psyche, self-worth or whatever you'd like to call it. If you don't like coffee that's okay I don't either, these places all have tea which is a great alternative. So do yourself a favor and get out there--socialize, surf and liquify--you'll be glad you did.
I'm not going out on too much of a limb by saying these really are the new gay bars. And to be honest I kind of like that idea. Everything gets brought out into the bright light of day without the smell and haze of alcohol. And for whatever reason, folks seem to be a little more relaxed in the atmosphere these places create. I figure with today's technology, more and more people are getting out of the house and or office and going to these mostly free wi-fi places to work, relax or socialize with their laptops, phones, iPads, whatever and that connectedness keeps people both grounded and a little less uptight when chatting up friends or people around them. I think that's a good thing.
While bars have their places, it is such a completely different arena with different pressure. You have to get all fixed up to go stand around with a slowly warming beer in your hand hoping you catch the eye of someone to either make the one stand connection or if you are lucky something a little more lasting. It's a total crap shoot that if it doesn't work out can blow your whole evening and demeanor, and not in a good way either.
With the coffee shop, part of the appeal is that you don't necessarily go there to pick someone up. You go to hang out, meet friends or surf your laptop which can put one in a more relaxed state of mind and body and leave you more open to chatting up different folks that you might not normally talk to or feel to shy or nervous to make an attempt with. I know sometimes when you walk into one of these places it looks like folks are all up into their computers and not really paying attention to others but that is just on the surface. The place I ended up at was like that in the beginning, but as time went on, the crowd ebbed and flowed through the place and folks who'd sat for a bit seemed to strike up conversations with other folks with laptops--like what are you working on? what do you do? is that website and good? and so on. Sometimes it's like a conversation starter that can help you make a connection. Same with the choice of drink you get. One just needs to look over and say is the roast good? or whatever and off you go. It seems too simple I know, but weirdly it does work the majority of time. Though the what are you reading on the computer seems to be the better of the two just from my observations.
San Francisco is town that can jump on a trend pretty quickly and then have it take to the point where we all become jaded with it and then spend as much time deriding it as partaking. But this whole burgeoning social coffee shop culture I think is an improvement over the usual standard bar drink and cruise affair. Though I have to admit upfront I've been doing the whole coffee shop thing for some time. It used to be only a tiny Starbucks and the larger Peete's here and I used to hand at the Peete's on weekends when I lived in the hood. Though at times the place was too crowded and no seats were available which was always a bummer. Now though, Peete's actually enlarged their seating areas, the Starbucks got a makeover and a handful of new coffee shops have opened to offer one a plethora of opportunity to get out of your house and be a more social animal. And whether you like coffee or not getting out making that human connection is totally worthwhile ones psyche, self-worth or whatever you'd like to call it. If you don't like coffee that's okay I don't either, these places all have tea which is a great alternative. So do yourself a favor and get out there--socialize, surf and liquify--you'll be glad you did.
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