Does the concept of a drive-thru window for your morning coffee sound odd?

Not so odd in Beantown.

It's an interesting juxtaposition.

The Boston and San Francisco areas have many similarities -- they are both port cities with prominent Italian neighborhoods, politics that trend toward the liberal, and a bevy of great museums, learning institutions, and restaurants. Oh, and both had some pretty high-profile stories regarding same-sex marriage in 2004.

Not so similar? The coffee. And how they drink it. At least how a great number of them do.

While most have probably heard of Dunkin' Donuts, you may not know of its prominence on the East Coast. Despite the name, baked goods take a back seat to the coffee, which Dunkin' Donuts sells both by the cup or in bulk. In fact, its Web site proclaims that, "Dunkin' Donuts is America's largest retailer of coffee-by-the-cup, serving nearly 1 billion cups of brewed coffee each year."