20 Oct Eight Dollar Toast

I enjoy myself every time I go to The Mill, but I feel stupid every time I leave. The atmosphere is great, the staff have interesting looking tattoos, and there’s normally some pretty decent music playing. Setting aside these cooler aspects, though, I have some pretty significant gripes with the place. It’s overpriced, the coffee isn’t as great as you might expect, and they really don’t have much to choose from. You want me to pay you eight dollars, for toast? Really? I’ve worked in hospitality for close to ten years and understand that a lot of the time, it’s a matter of covering overheads and that as a customer you’re, in part, paying for an experience, but there are so many other places nearby that seek to make less of a statement, are not as expensive, and in my opinion, are cooler overall.

Take the Mojo Café & Bicycle Shop, for instance. They make a huge, $6.50 granola bowl that’s covered in beautifully sliced fruit, and interesting fruit, at that. Their veggie bagel is also excellent, their coffee is excellent, the atmosphere and music are great, and the staff are really, really nice and welcoming. You can get a good breakfast for less than ten bucks (not including a well-deserved tip.) The owners are often there, working their butts off too. I’d much rather pour my money into a place like that, than one that serves food and coffee which really isn’t that exciting, is blatantly overpriced, and makes me want to kick myself most times that I walk out the door.

My point is that there’s a lot of this kind of nonsense in San Francisco (in the same way there is in any place characterized by well-developed, food and dining culture) but there are just as many places that find their identity in creating a more earnest experience. I’m not saying to avoid places like The Mill, entirely. Experience them, by all means, but use your common sense and don’t buy into hype too easily. That’s good advice for in general, really. In other words, don’t be a sucker, particularly if you’re on a budget.

P.S. The Mill and the Mojo Café & Bicycle Shop are both interesting places worth visiting, despite how much I complained in this post. They’re on Divisadero, for anyone who’s interested. Plenty of other, cool spots to see on that street, too.