Leaf and Bean has been in Pittsburgh's Strip District for nearly as long as I've been gone from Pittsburgh. Many dismal chains try to make a hodgepodge of mass-produced garage sale crap look funky and fun. Leaf and Bean actually pulls it off—probably because it's their crap (and bona fide antiques) they've accumulated over 15 years in the Strip, and this is an aesthetic they like. The win is that all the finer things one may want in a coffee shop—a good breve, a selection of whole beans, a cooler with pop, a TV with the Bucs playing—are cradled in a humble jumble of other “important” stuff.
For someone who has never been to Cuba, Leaf and Bean nails the Havana vibe. Most of the reason, of course, is the Leaf—for someone who doesn't smoke, they sell a huge selection of high-end cigars and are happy when a half-dozen guys sit in the doorway and smoke them. Completing the island atmosphere: the back room is stiflingly hot.
www.leafandbean.com/stripdistrict
