409 Alvarado St., Monterey

241-6064, www.caffetrieste.com

Trieste has the history and classic Italian coffee to meet snobby standards. But they’ve also got a bang-up bargain: If there is a pocket of change on your person and you’re in Monterey, you should be sipping up on this. The cafe shares things with its peers—WiFi, cookies, iced options—but doubles as a full-on restaurant too, complete with pizzas and pastas. It’s hard to find a seat sometimes, but for the true espresso hound that doesn’t matter, as we stand there, shoot it and leave only about seven quarters lighter.