"Nirvana Soul is bringing a much-needed jolt of caffeine (and cake batter syrup) to SoMa. The coffee shop near Oracle Park serves creative espresso and tea drinks that are far more interesting than your usual daytime drip coffee pick-me-ups, with ube and sweet potato pie lattes to an excellent pink-tinted chai with rose, beets, and a zingy hit of cayenne. There are also pastries by The French Spot, plus sweet and savory waffles. We like to kick back on a stool while admiring the paintings of Aaliyah, Malcolm X, and Erykah Badu on the wall, but there are also a couple of tables on the sidewalk." - Julia Chen