While our list of reader-recommended coffee houses to try is growing, we didn't have a chance to cross any places off of it this week. That's because we happened across a wonderful little joint in the Castro this weekend that we really enjoyed.

Spike's is located at 4117 19th Street, right off of Castro. It's a small, clean, and bright space; there are ample beans available and you can smell them from just standing close. The beans are laid out like a candy store, both in glass display counters and in glass jars behind, as if it were an old drugstore or apothecary. Spike's carries Mountanos Brothers coffee, which we had not yet encountered and found to be wonderful. The captions over the beans make for informative reading, describing the blend, the roast, and even the caffeine content expressed as a percentage -- not that we know what "1.33% caffeine" means in practical terms, but pretty cool info nonetheless.