In love and praise of Faye's

Everyone loves ritual coffee. People crow over it, stand in line for it, go out of their way to get to the neighborhood so they can get their fix. I do hear that they were something special with regards to providing a working environment for the laptop crowd...but I'm not a big laptop in coffee shop fan anyways. My bag is Faye's.

Faye's is the novel combination of a video rental store and coffee shop on 18th St. It's between dolores st. and guerrero st. on my way to Dolores Park. I get a latte there just about every morning on my way to letting sake have her jaunt about the park.

Here's how it stacks up in my informal and incomplete neighborhood coffee shop comparison --

DOLORES PARK CAFE latte - $3.50, large size in a large cup, slightly burnt tasting.

TARTINE BAKERY - 3.50, large size is a medium cup, goodish but 5 minute line, I've never been told to leave sake outside when I hold her in my arms as I stand in line.

RITUAL COFFEE -- 3.75, large size is a medium cup, good but 10 minute line, 10 blocks out of my way + a long wait as they prepare the coffee, and they won't let me bring sake in and for some reason she is not happy being tied up to that particular bike rack and barks like crazy. I do like the extra walk up the 21st st hill integrated into my morning routine however.

FAYES -- $3, large size is a large cup, they always let me bring sake in (AND give her a treat to the point that she steers me into the cafe) and it tastes awesome like crack.

Plus, there's no attitude, seldom any line, they have the best prices and they have a chalkboard sign that always has the best nonsensical messages. There's nothing I like better than silly words strung together. One of my favorites was a morning where I walked by slightly hungover and the board read "Want to feel more ok? Come on in."

Also. Everyone who works there knows my order and fills it as soon as they seem me walk in.

When I lost my cellphone at dolores park and someone called to let me know they had found it. The first place I thought of for it to be conveniently left was Fayes! The awesome folks held it in the register for me til I got home from work and could retrieve it. I am definitely not the only one who uses them for such things.

I was in there the other day and someone came in with an envelope for the barista to hold onto until it could be picked up. I inquired, and she said that this was standard practice. They even have a safe full of neighborhood residents' spare keys for when people lock themselves out. She said it had gotten to the point where they were thinking of charging a dollar per key usage since SO many people asked them to do so.

How awesome is that?

I'm off to do my laundry at the laundromat immediately next door, and you can be sure I will have a cup of coffee in my hand almost immediately after I get the clothes in the machine.