Best of 2001: Best Coffee House Menu Chalk Art

Tyler Jordan at Caffe Calabria
3933 30th Street,
North Park
619-683-7787

Tyler Jordan, who works behind the bar, does it all, from the menu to Italian Riviera and Romanesque scenes on the wall. He did those in two furious weeks, between serving up the black stuff and sharing deep philosophical thoughts with customers. "Two weeks was plenty," he says. "The menus and art I did for the previous place I worked at [Zanzibar] had to be done overnight." The bonus is that people notice his stuff. He gets jobs. T-shirt art, CD covers for rap artists (Coolio) and bands (Lot 13). So why continue serving coffee at Calabria? "I like the atmosphere here. You're always surrounded by creative people."