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As with many places, the local coffee shop is often the best spot to sum up a town's true flavor. But in Tiburon there is more than one coffee shop and they couldn't be more different.

Right downtown on Main Street is Caffe Acri, which serves espresso drinks to a steady stream of cyclists, casually dressed executive-type men busily working away on their laptops and a well-heeled set of 30-somethings and their families on the weekends.

Down the street in the Boardwalk Shopping Center is Jeannie's Java, a homey little cafe that is second home to old-timers and locals who come in to sip tea and enjoy fresh-baked pastries in overstuffed chairs surrounded by photos of the owner's family.

With its roots deeply imbedded in the railroad industry, ferryboat making and dairy and cattle ranching, it's no surprise this waterfront town with its world-class views of San Francisco has a rich and varied personality.

These days Tiburon is probably best known for two things: Sam's Anchor Cafe and cycling. Riding across the bay to enjoy a sunny afternoon at the ever-popular watering hole, which during Prohibition had a trap door to load booze in from small boats stationed outside the Golden Gate, is a popular weekend excursion for city dwellers.

Sam Vella, an immigrant from Malta, who has historically been referred to as a "restaurateur, barkeep, bootlegger and a scoundrel," opened his eponymous restaurant/saloon near the end of World War I.

Whether it's one too many of the cafe's famous Ramos Fizzes, or simply an overdose of the briny sea breezes, often the cycling visitors forgo their ride home and instead, hop aboard the Blue and Gold Fleet ferry for the six-mile ride back to San Francisco. The terminal is conveniently located a stone's throw from Sam's.

For the more serious riders who wouldn't dream of not completing their ride, the route home includes a scenic three-mile stretch (the Tiburon Historical Trail) that was once an easement for the railroad and now borders a 900-acre wildlife preserve and Audubon sanctuary.

And not to be forgotten is the "jewel of San Francisco Bay," or Angel Island State Park, which is also a short 10-minute ferry ride from downtown Tiburon.

It might come as a surprise to even those who live in the county to know that Tiburon offers much more than its "Ark Row" of upscale boutiques and art galleries. The heritage of this early railroad and ship-building town is well preserved and honored at the Railroad-Ferry Depot Museum in the Donahue Building on Paradise Drive.

The museum actually features a working model of the Point Tiburon yard circa 1910. Thanks to the Landmarks Society, a nonprofit organization that was formed in 1995, several of Tiburon and Belvedere's most cherished landmarks have been preserved and are made available for public viewing. Old St. Hilary's, a mission church, is one of the few remaining Carpenter Gothic churches to survive in its original setting. It overlooks downtown Tiburon and the San Francisco Bay.

Landmarks Art & Garden Center has been determined the oldest structure on the Tiburon Peninsula. The restored cottage, which was built in or around 1870, is representative of Tiburon's housing during the farming-railroad era.

Tiburon became Marin County's newest incorporated town in 1964. Even though the first settlers came in the early 1830s and the post office opened in 1884, Tiburon remained unincorporated for many years. The town was once a vigorous industrial hub that was known not only for building railroad cars, locomotives and ferries, it also linked the North Pacific Coast line with San Francisco ferries.

Perhaps because Tiburon depends on much of its revenue from tourism, there is a friendliness and sense of pride not commonly encountered in most Marin towns—-it's refreshing and sweet. Tiburon has its own International Film Festival that runs in the spring and May is always a busy month as the town will host its annual Wine Festival. Friday Nights on Main also begin in May and include plenty of eating, family gatherings and music on the downtown streets.

Maybe it's time for us Marinites to hop on our bikes and take a little excursion ourselves, just to see what Tiburon has to offer—-and just what our San Francisco neighbors seem to come back for almost every weekend.

FYI

Population: 8,818

Size: 14.5 square miles

Town Council: Tom Gram (Mayor), Jeff Slavitz, Miles Berger, Alice Fredericks and Paul Smith. The council meets the first and third Wednesday of each month in Town Hall

Town Hall: 415/435-7373

Town Manager: Peggy Curran, 415/435-7383

Police: 415/789-2800

Fire: 415/435-7200

Library: 415/789-2665, 1501 Tiburon Blvd. Library hours are Monday, 10am to 6pm; Tuesday through Thursday 10am to 9pm; Friday and Saturday 10am to 5pm; Sunday noon to 5pm.

Chamber of Commerce: 415/435-5633.

Schools: Reed Union School District, 415/381-1112

Web sites: www.ci.tiburon.ca.us/, www.landmarks-society.org