A few places have turned out to be buzz-centers. Caffe Centro on South Park was obviously a place where you could overhear business plans, deployment strategies... Heck, I've seen Visio UML diagrams in their recycling bins.
Since our office moved toward Market St. we've been hitting the north SOMA locus: Caffe Trieste. Step in and overhear discussions on scaling plans for the next few quarters, schema changes, testing strategies... the talk is as rich as the pastries.
Of course it is, there are a zillion companies in the Trieste neighborhood:
These are only the folks I'd recognize. There are definitely a zillion others. Who else have you seen there?As for the coffee... it's great. Yes, Trieste is a local chain. The folks behind the bar at this location keep close contact with home-base (the original location) up on Vallejo St. Stick with the espresso drinks. They know what they're doing.
Look for me: I'll be on the couch with a small latte and a raspberry danish.