Central Market & the Blue Bottle Cafe -- San Francisco

San Francisco's Central Market neighborhood flies flags touting its existence and its status as a Community Benefit District. The flag flying effort began in July, in an effort for the Central Market Community Benefit District (CMCBD) to promote the district’s "diverse offerings while strengthening neighborhood identity." Classy.

Little more than a year after the district -- which runs from 5th St. to 9th St. along the south side of Market Street -- was born, it is still rife with street dwellers and the stench of urine. Ah, the inconveniences we endure in the trendy new district where boarded up buildings accentuate the urban chic of coffee houses and tucked away night spots.

Take the Blue Bottle Cafe, off Mission St., down Mint St. at the end of Jessie Alley, it is the epitome of self-important startup culture and the impromptu caffeinated chattiness on which they thrive.

Two walls lined with cheap gray cabinetry flow into pale, off-blue shelving. The shelves hosts an array of pricey coffee-inspired accouterments. A rounded black counter, topped with a high-end line espresso station faces the door.

The baristas wear black and look self-absorbed, inspired by their craft and their attentive, thirsty audience. They don't merely serve coffee here, they serve an experience. That may well describe most of the businesses within the CMCBD, but such an image may not survive an economy less impressed by the experience of service than the value of its price tag.