Among the must-dos when visiting San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf[1] for the first time: eating clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl at Boudin’s[2], tasting the chocolate at Ghiradelli’s[3] and drinking an Irish coffee at the Buena Vista Cafe[4].
The Buena Vista Cafe opened in 1916 when the first floor of a boarding house across the street from the end of the Powell-Hyde cable car line[5] was converted into a saloon that also served food. It’s dark wood walls, covered in old photographs, have not changed. A magnificent bar stretches along one wall of the narrow room, with communal seating at the tables scattered throughout.
In 1952 San Francisco Chronicle[6] travel writer Stanton Delaplane suggested to his friend, Buena Vista Cafe owner Jack Koeppler, that they recreate a drink Delaplane had at Ireland’s Foynes Flying Boat Terminal (later known as Shannon Airport). Terminal cook Joe Sheridan had invented Irish coffee in 1943, though there is an argument that the drink was actually invented in 1940 at a pub called the Dolphin in Dublin.
Delaplane and Koeppler experimented for days. Their biggest challenge was finding a cream that could float atop the hot drink. Mayor George Christopher, who owned a dairy farm, suggested aging the cream for 48 hours and then frothing it. When first served to the public on November 10th it was touted as being the first Irish coffee served in the United States, though there is evidence that the drink was first introduced in New York in 1948. Regardless of its origins, the Buena Vista’s Irish coffee was an instant sensation and put the cafe on the map. It helped that Delaplane often mentioned the drink, and the bar, in his columns.
In 2001 the Buena Vista Cafe was bought by current owner Bob Friedman. It serves about 2,000 Irish coffees per day. Bartenders make them en masse by lining up 20 6-ounce tulip glasses, warming them with hot water, adding 2 sugar cubes, Peerless Coffee, a shot of Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey and topping the hot liquid with frothed cream. Along with Irish coffee, the Buena Vista Cafe is also known for its Dungeness crab omelettes and benedicts.
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[1] Fisherman’s Wharf: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=4431 [2] Boudin Bakery: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=3813 [3] Ghiradelli Square: story coming February 21st [4] Visit them at http://www.thebuenavista.com [5] Cable Cars: story coming September 6th [6] San Francisco Chronicle: story coming January 16th
