When reviewing a cafe or coffee shop, the Trimethyldioxypurist's typical modus operandi is to order a straight-up cup of good ol' American drip, nothing fancy -- a good benchmark to measure the general quality of a shop with its peers.

However, when a cafe's claim to fame is that it introduced the West Coast to espresso, it's an appropriate time to stray from the formula.

Caffe Trieste is in the heart of North Beach (609 Vallejo at Grant), but it may as well be another world. And the price of an espresso ($2.60) is pretty cheap for a virtual trip to Italy.

And -- please don't think this too hyperbolic -- it was pretty mind-blowing.