What, you haven’t heard of Buena Vista Café?!? That’s impossible! Buena Vista
Café has developed an international reputation for one of the best Irish coffees outside of
Ireland, and is a San Francisco institution.
Especially on cooler days, both tourists and locals fill this watering hole looking
for mostly one thing: a creamy, warm and potent Irish coffee. They serve an average of
2,000 a day – more than 30 million since they started serving them in 1952 – which leads
to quite the show when the bartender lines up ten glasses and fills them all at once.
The secret to an authentic Irish coffee is getting the cream to float at the very top,
which is harder than it sounds. Pulitzer Prize-winning travel writer Stanton Delaplane
brought the idea back to the US after drinking one in Shannon Airport, in Ireland, which
led to a series of experiments with Buena Vista Café owners Jack and George.
They eventually hit on the right recipe, and with ample mentions in Delaplane’s
popular travel articles, it became an international sensation that continues to bring people
in to this day.
Smart work, boys!