San Francisco Main Library Cafe

sCANKIEST LIBRARY with a dungeon dining area… and why would you want to eat next to that body fudge encrusted dude scratching at his scabs when you are eating a salad… wHAT A waste OF… oh well… the HOMELESS need a place to share their body funk odors, and when you see one of them washing in the restrooms or shooting up, just get to one of the people maning the desk to get a security guard to call them homeless out of their bathing ritual. Really SCARRY in the corners of a hoped for useful gathering place for knowledge. By the CIVIC CENTER BART station.
Beware of the café… there are other places for imbibing.
The highlight is perhaps the DVD, movie section. Remember to return in time.

I’m sitting at a small table situated in front of a rather large window that overlooks a collection of not very impressive statuary near city hall. I’m in the main branch of the San Francisco public library, going through a bound collection of Rolling Stone magazine — the first 4 months of 1976 to be exact. As I walked through the stacks I was hit by that unforgettable and never-​changing smell that is the exhalation of libraries — aging books, dust and mold. A familiar smell for me. The odour of knowledge fermenting.
This is, quite astoundingly, my first visit to this library. Of course you wouldn’t find that terribly astounding unless you have some understanding of that part of my history which has to do with me spending hours on end in such venues. There was my tiny little hometown library — the garden in which I first cultivated my great affection for books. As a little girl, maybe eight or nine, I remember making the mile walk with a brother or two so that I could wander through the shelves that were twice as tall as me, running my finger along embossed and linen-​bound spines for what seemed like miles on end. It was a one-​stop shop stocked full of alternate realities: unfamiliar and intrigueing people, places and ideas, all mine for the taking. It was a free ticket to new experiences. And I loved it.
I’ve taken comfort in those mostly alphabetically ordered volumes, dear friends to which I was guided by Dewey and his decimal system. They were my entr to worlds to which I would have had no introduction otherwise. To say they set me on my life’s course would be an understatement. Everythng and anything I’ve done in my life can be traced back to a volume dwelling in one of those aisles.
Then of course there was the extensive and ample library on the campus of Michigan State University, nestled among the evergreens and serenaded by the Red Cedar River. That library was always teeming with students — jockeying for space at the study tables. I had my favorite place, buried within the bowels of the periodicals section on the 5^th floor. I sat for hours and hours pouring over magazines from the 1940s and ‘50s — completely enchanted by the naivet of the advertisements of the day. And I somewhat shamefacedly admit that I often carried an exacto knife with me so that I could silently liberate pages that I just had to keep — they had to come home and live with me.
My favorite is the Chicago Public Library — an architect’s delight featuring prairie-​styled interiors, crowned with a beautiful copper flashed roof that has patinaed to the most lovely hue of craftsman green — with magnificent, verdigris sheet metal owls standing guard on the four corners of the roof — looking down on me. They know why I’m there.
Today, as I get my bearings and make inquiries of alternately bewildered and smug librarians, I wonder «Since when did this bastion of knowledge become a refuge for the great unwashed?» Judging by the extreme dishevelment of many of my fellow patrons, and the complete freak show that was the elevator ride to the 5^th floor, I’m guessing people are here primarily to get warm, obviously denizens of the street. And this is alarming to me on many levels. Where are the people like me? Why is learning and literature and the written word so completely out of vogue? It isn’t hip I suppose to handle books any longer. Especially when, in comparison, the internet puts so much information so easily at our fingertips. And in the blink of an eye as well. As far as the library experience is concerned, I suppose the effort of it all is far too much.
But still I like my libraries. I like the stillness. The rows and rows of new worlds to explore. And I like that old, familiar smell.

Meh. I decided on a brown rice chicken burrito. The cashier is nice and chatty, and there’s a variety of meal items, snack foods and other goodies. The burrito wasn’t a great deal – the burrito was about half the size of the one you can get at the taco truck just down the street, even if this one came with chips. It was also unbearably dry, and think that’s because there was no cheese or beans or salsa inside the burrito.
That said, the café is certainly a nice area. It’s quiet and cozy, with booths and tables tucked away for you to read your books (although you must check them out before reading them, darn). Good for people who want to study, grab a bite before leaving the library, or for those looking for a quiet place to escape the occasional weirdness of the library.

I love this place. Great Italian Espresso coffee and inexpensive.
The owner (Mr. Tony …) is very nice, friendly and great to speak with.
The sandwiches and drinks are high quality. The location is very clean. It is a great location for study, meeting and having excellent sandwiches, salads, cookies, etc…
Aside from small business center. I prefer this over other place in the Civic Center area.

This is a nice, clean, spacious place to unwind and have a drink and a light sandwich during a hectic day. Clean and spacious. Very good vegetarian choices. Low prices.

It’s convenient if you’re on a tight study schedule but a little bit of a dungeon. Their minestrone made my stomach stop rumbling, but personally, I think if you’re at the SF Main, you should do it right and go to Burger King, the People’s Palace, across the street, even if you never get fast food in your normal life. When in Rome…
If that’s not enough, here’s a price comparison:
Burger King Library Café
small coffee* $ 0.99 $ 1.45
snackie treats $ 1.00 $ 1.50+
(warm dutch apple pie) (cold cookies)
*that BK Joe is strangely good, like premium gas station coffee

Who knew there was a decent café in the bowels of the library? I was starving there recently, but I didn’t feel like exiting and heading to Gyro King, so I decided to take my chances. OMG! Pesto chicken sandwich rocked! The seating area leaves a lot to be desired, but the food was actually really good. A pleasant surprise. Be warned, though… service is sloooooow.