USA - home of the bottomless cup of joe! And LA - a city of contrasts. There is a lot at stake in the quest for good coffee in LA (most places you have to explain what an espresso actually is and in the process you realise if you are the one doing the explaining to the 'barista' that a discreet, "Oops, is that the time?! I just remembered I have to be somewhere" and get the jimmy out of there. In greater LA anywhere you go will take you at least 40 minutes drive time so you wanna hope the coffee will be worth it. To date, my only satisfactory coffee experiences have taken place in Santa Monica - Urth Cafe on Main St (they can also be found in Beverly Hills and West Hollywood), Cafe Crepe on Third St Promenade (opposite the Frank Gehry designed Century Plaza Shopping Mall), as well as another cafe half a block towards the ocean from Cafe Crepe, who's name temporarily eludes me (it is small, dark, and serves Illy - you should be able to find it).