(Reader Note: This post is being saved as a draft as I’m typing it, until I reach WiFi land, although you wouldn’t know it was being saved as such until I told you. Whatever.)
Location: Little Griddle
So, it’s 2013. McDonald’s has WiFi, Starbucks has WiFi, basically every restaurant and café in San Francisco and probably a good deal of the United States has WiFi.
Except that’s not the case. There are actually places in the city that don’t have a WiFi connection for customers. Oh, sure. There’s a chance you could potentially tap into an open network, cross your fingers and hope for the best. Or you could tether from your phone.
Or you could function like a normal human being and enjoy coffee and lunch without the internet. But, come on. Where’s the fun in that?
SF runs on start-ups and tech-obsession. So, what’s the point of stopping into one of these gems?
The coffee, plain and simple. If you’re a coffee snob, this probably isn’t the place for you. The coffee (Zoka Paladino) is simple, no French pressing or cold-brew, single-drip, wait ten minutes for two ounces coffee, but it’s strong, and it’s good, without the bitter aftertaste. Although they have fallen prey to the ‘latte art’ craze which puts some fancy design in your foam for you to Instagram before you ruin it when adding in milk.
Little Griddle is a hybrid diner/coffee shop on Market, directly across the street from the Twitter office. Which, somehow, makes the lack of WiFi all the more weird. However, they’re doing their thing and I stumbled across the place on my way to a café that actually had free WiFi.
And of course, being the person that I am (in a long-term polygamous relationship with my laptop, phone and tablet) almost turned and walked right back out when the cashier told me there was no WiFi. I’m the type that cringes when the muni passes Forest Hill station and deprives me of my precious data connection. So, to spend an hour in a place where I can’t even pull my laptop out and get some work done? Hahahaha, you’ve got to be kidding me. And yet, I did it for you, dear readers. Hope you’re grateful.
Beyond the coffee itself, the restaurant is fun. It lives up to its name, with a maximum occupancy of 39 people. It’s cute and slightly kitsch, referring to their selection of breakfast sandwiches as ‘sammiches,’ complete with the Urban Dictionary definition for the uninformed. Even without the wifi, it manages to be a cool little place, if you get in before the lunch rush.
So, if you’re feeling adventurous or aren’t an internet junkie such as myself, it’s worth the stop for the coffee.
French Press Fancy 