First off, we should thank the powers that be (as SFist Jon alluded to in his recent rant) that we have so many options for good, local, independent coffee places here in the city.

Sunday morning, however, we were a touch overwhelmed by what may have been too much of a good thing.

Our mission? We'd heard wonnnnnderful things about Tartine, the well-known and well-hyped little bakery over at 600 Guerrero. We've told you before how we can't stand lines, but we steeled ourself for that inevitability beforehand.

We could handle it. We believe, as we suspect many coffee lovers do, that a fine baked product can make an average coffee experience a lovely one, while a poor choice of food can destroy a lovely cup. Of course, a nice cup with great baked goods can be transcendent.

As we approached and saw the out-the-door line, we started thinking about crapping out, and maybe visiting one of the many other coffee options at this very intersection. After all, Platanos, with its selection of Cuban coffees, similar to Cafe lo Cubano, is right across the street. Only a few feet away was an interesting place we'd never noticed before, Faye's Video -- a video store with an espresso bar inside it! Talk about cool ideas.

So, for about 10 minutes we just wandered around within this triangle of caffeine-related establishments, unable to make a decision. And then it hit us -- why pick just one?