try to avoid drinking coffee in places that have mass media budgets, and my quest has led me to some fairly obscure neighborhoods. The best espresso I've sampled lately is at St-Laurent’s Café Italia, an ancient Italian institution. Bless 'em!

Café Italia is a pure, traditional Italian coffeehouse: an unpretentious, unadorned, and casual space wherein students, progressive professionals, and all those musicians, artists, and social activists can meet and hang out - for hours if they want to. Such a joint wouldn’t need to offer much in the way of food, so long as the coffee and espresso were strong and good. And to avoid pricey rents, we’d point would-be proprietors to the St-Catherine corridor, where a number of vacant storefronts await rejuvenation.

Most important, the spot is proof that a truly great cappuccino need not necessarily come from a sullen barista in an aquarium of attitude. Café Italia holds its own, simply serving Italian coffees, espressos, cappuccinos and prosciutto sandwiches. - K.J.