Places to work while drinking / eating

For a number a reasons I recently moved my business into a home office. Two days a week I'm pure stay-at-home Dad, three days a week I concentrate on my business. When answering email, writing... whatever... I'm simply more productive outside of the house. And now that I don't have an office for the time being, for the last couple of weeks I've been bouncing around from coffee shop to coffee shop in order to keep myself out of the house and head in the computer.

I know there are other home-office types here. I'm wondering if anyone has found some particularly productive locations for working with a laptop or reading, while at the same time having a decent cup of coffee or a sandwich. I bring my own Internet with me, so that's not needed for my purposes. Mostly I need, well... a library with good food and drink. Simple.

I'll throw out my suggestions that I've found decent within the last two weeks, all somewhat near my Evanston home. I'm mobile and willing to travel certainly. The more I travel, in fact, the more I'm able to hit new lunch spots.

Cafe Ambrosia - Evanston (only in the mornings, afternoons too bustling with Northwestern students)
Starbucks - Main and McCormick in Evanston
Starbucks - On Foster just west of Kedzie
Metropolis Coffee

Suggestions are appreciated...

- Mike

Vella Cafe

UrbanBelly

The Map Room

Quenchers

Excellent food and coffee at the first. Terrific noodles at the second. Great beer list at the third and fourth. Free wi-fi and relatively quiet surroundings during the daytime at all four.

I really like Swim Cafe, although they close at 6pm daily. They have great paninis, and are generally not too busy on weekdays.

Swim Cafe
1357 W. Chicago Ave.

If Starbuckses work for you, Mike, the one at Howard and Western isn't too bad. It's unfortunate, but the dog/mexican/subway place, which wouldn't be a bad place to work has terrible food.

Near the Evanston area, I'd suggest maybe Eng's? I don't know how they'd react to somebody setting up shop, but I've never seen their dining room full...I'm sure Deta would be happy to have you as well - the new space is huge and empty.

JermAngela wrote:I really like Swim Cafe, although they close at 6pm daily. They have great paninis, and are generally not too busy on weekdays.

Swim Cafe
1357 W. Chicago Ave.

I second Swim Cafe. Sit in the banquettes along the wall, you can plug into the outlets in the base of the banquette. Swim also has a good line of desserts and individual-sized ice cream in interesting flavors.

In grad school, I spent plenty of time at the Bourgeois Pig at 739 W. Fullerton Parkway. Cozy interior, decent outdoor space. Food better than it has to be. I haven't been there in years, but it was part of my daytime rotation (I, too, am far more productive out of the house).

I also liked the Intelligentsia on Broadway, with its huge communal tables. A nice bright space that's pretty quiet during the day.

I so wish I could work out of the office. Many of my work colleagues with different positions do. But, no, my government office insists that editing can only be done on paper, and thus I must wait for interoffice mail to deliver me hardcopies, which I markup and send back to their authors. Track changes is frowned upon.

Ronna

A pedestrian solution, but maybe that's OK: The Borders at Lake and the Edens has a very nice, sunny area of comfy chairs to get something done in. I use it for that a lot. Now, how decent are the food and drink? I'll let someone else be the judge of that. But the thing that particularly recommends this place above some others, as I say, is the voluminous amount of natural light, the quiet (the other people there tend to be old, which has its advantages), and the spacious arrangement and comfort of the seating. All these factors make it an above-average place to concentrate and get work done, as places to get work done go.

Excellent suggestions so far, thanks all. In fact, I'm at one of MHays' suggestions at this moment by coinkydink.

riddlemay wrote:Now, how decent are the food and drink? I'll let someone else be the judge of that.

It's a cost-benefit analysis, really. Since I'm mostly interested in being productive, the culinary offerings are honestly secondary considerations. This Borders sounds like a good spot that I'll visit soon. Every place can't be an Urban Belly or Swim Cafe (never been, totally going to both spots next week.) But since I feel obligated - if not required - to spend some money on drink or food, I always prefer something good as opposed to bad.

Wishbone.....I was there last night and they had a sign that said Free Wi-Fi. Not sure about the West Loop location, but in the Lincoln Avenue location, it's there.

I'm another home office worker, but I hate trying to work alone in most cafe's, restaurants or bars. I can't see how anyone gets anything done in a place like Ambrosia. Too much posing and social bustling, but I'm easily distracted. The Globe Cafe, in the Orrington, Evanston is a secret workplace - ghostly empty, with wifi.

A nice quiet bar during the day is a great lunch break - just about any that doesn't cater to too many daytime drunks will do. If I'm out and about and need a place to settle, I look for something without a tv - a rare thing except for some of the 3-4 more traditional Irish pubs.

In the loop, I'm more apt to head to the top floor (winter garden) of the Library - unless anyone has quiet bar suggestions in the loop.

What I often need is a client meeting place - food isn't always necessary, but a breakfast meeting is nice - Dixie Kitchen is great in Evanston - usually fairly quiet on the weekdays, Wishbone in the West loop works great for this too - and they do have WiFi.

Brother's K Coffeehouse on Main in Evanston is great - a great independent choice against Starbucks with good little food options (baked stuff and quiche-type pies). Unfortunately it's popular in the neighborhood, crowded, what seems all day, and you might get stuck with one of the tiny tables that can only fit one laptop.

I often do client meetings at Prairie Moon in Evanston - tv sound is never loud enough to be distracting and plenty of tables. They don't serve food all day though, stopping service after lunch, until 4. The Globe Cafe is another good meeting option in town.

One of the cafe's I use is Sip, on Grand, near Ogden. Good little sandwiches and a little space upstairs with a couple of couches for a spread out meeting. Sometimes very quiet, sometimes music is a bit much. During summer they have a garden, but it's more likely you'll find me across the street at the Twisted Spoke's roof garden - position yourself correctly under a table umbrella, and yes you can work on a laptop outside.

One more - Medici's in Hyde Park has dark cubby holes where no one can look over your shoulder and a fairly shaded outside patio, away from the street. Fairly quiet until the students come in late afternoonish. No alcohol.

The Globe Cafe
1710 Orrington Avenue, Evanston

Brothers K Coffeehouse
500 Main St., Evanston

Sip Coffee House & Garden
1223 W Grand Ave

Medici on 57th
1327 E 57th St

Panera.

Edible food (the soups are good), decent coffee, free wifi & most importantly, large tables with lots of powerpoints to plug in a laptop easily accessible. If you avoid the lunch rush & Saturdays, you can stay pretty much as long as you want without being asked to move on. There's one near Oakbrook which has become a good midpoint location meeting place for my boss & I on days we aren't going in to the office & the chain is a reliable option when we travel & need to refuel, re-charge & check email.

I work out of the office about once a week. I want to like Swim Cafe more than I actually do. I like it because it's about a 5-minute walk from home, pleasant decor, no time limit on wi-fi, lots of outlets and OK-to-good food and desserts at very reasonable prices. The downsides for me are the 6pm closing time and their teas. I'm a tea-only drinker, and Swim serves Ineeka teas, which for all the fancy packaging are actually very dull.

aschie30 wrote:Swim also has a good line of desserts and individual-sized ice cream in interesting flavors.

FWIW, the ice cream is Nice Cream.

kiplog wrote:One of the cafe's I use is Sip, on Grand, near Ogden. Good little sandwiches and a little space upstairs with a couple of couches for a spread out meeting. Sometimes very quiet, sometimes music is a bit much. During summer they have a garden, but it's more likely you'll find me across the street at the Twisted Spoke's roof garden - position yourself correctly under a table umbrella, and yes you can work on a laptop outside.

I second Sip and Twisted Spoke's roof, too.

The drinks are overpriced and too sweet, but I often like working at Argo Tea, specifically the one just off North Michigan Avenue (closest to me) or the Armitage location (can't always get a seat there though). I like the tables, and they're open relatively late. The food is OK if I have to eat.

I also like the Intelligentsia downtown (love the tea there) and Letizia's (sucker for their desserts).

I've been meaning to try Nada Tea House in Lincoln Park. I'm a fan of green tea drinks, and their food is supposedly a collaboration with Sweets & Savories. They have free wifi but close at 5pm. An architecture geek, I'm most interested in going to check out the Garofalo interior. Thinking I may work there this week...

Intelligentsia
55 E Randolph
Chicago IL 60601

Letizia's
2144 W Division St
Chicago IL 60622
773-342-1011

Argo Tea
819 N Rush St
Chicago IL 60611
312-546-4718

Argo Tea
958 W Armitage Ave
Chicago IL 60614
773-649-9644

Nada Tea
1552 W Fullerton Ave
Chicago IL 60614
773-529-2239

dk wrote:and you never know, maybe chicgomike will open a place that perfectly suits his needs

Don't think I haven't considered it...

Today's temporary location is an Einstein Bros Bagel location underneath the Diversey el stop. This one was suggested by the person I was meeting - it's not something I would ordinarily choose. But I must say this is one of the friendliest, well-lit and productive environments I've seen in a chain-establishment. Their bagels are another story... but it's a nice place.

Now we're off to Devon.

Where to work offsite might actually be an interesting/useful blog subject . . .

I went to Nada Tea and Coffee today and found it to be a very conducive environment for getting work done. At any one time (early to mid afternoon) there was a max of 4 people in the teahouse/cafe at once. The atmosphere was very relaxed and calming with classical music playing (softly) in the background and a nice glow being emitted by the diffuse lights. I enjoyed my Hojicha but really loved the cranberry scone. It was rich and moist enough that it didn’t require anything else with it, ie Devonshire cream, jam. Often times I find scones to be bland, dry and tasteless, but as the owner confirmed that the recipe is from Sweets and Savories, it was anything but. I also enjoyed this quote from their website: “Our baked items, including muffins, scones and sandwiches, will create the taste of harmony.”

Another thing that I forgot to add earlier is that my main reason for liking Swim Café so much is due to their Macadamia Nut syrup. Only a handful of places that I know of (Julius Meinl, Pause Café), have this syrup. I don’t highly recommend Julius Meinl for a working atmosphere, as most of their tables are very small, but I do enjoy the food offerings and they are not as busy mid-afternoon until they close at 10pm.

JermAngela wrote:I went to Nada Tea and Coffee today and found it to be a very conducive environment for getting work done.

Thank you very much for the review JermAngela! Now I'm more excited to visit Nada. I had a good feeling about it though. I've never visited or seen plans for a Garofalo space I didn't like.

ChgoMike wrote:Cafe Ambrosia - Evanston (only in the mornings, afternoons too bustling with Northwestern students)

As of today, Cafe Ambrosia is no more.

cilantro wrote:

ChgoMike wrote:Cafe Ambrosia - Evanston (only in the mornings, afternoons too bustling with Northwestern students)

As of today, Cafe Ambrosia is no more.

That's too bad. I only stopped in there once because, though I liked the tea I had, the space felt too much like a student union or dorm lounge for me...kind of like the new cafe in Logan Square with the checkered cafeteria-like floor... I try to cheer on businesses on that block of Evanston, which seems to be on one of those cursed blocks that doesn't get a lot of foot traffic.

BTW, I finally made it to Nada Tea in Lincoln Park. It's my new favorite place to work. The lack of evening hours is still problematic for my schedule, but the space has an amazing, very peaceful energy. It's really beautiful--lots of natural light, high-quality tea (I had a matcha latte), free unlimited wi-fi, lots of outlets, nice lady behind the counter... I worry because there was only one other person there during the 3-hours stretch I worked. I highly recommend it, wish I could visit more often.

happy_stomach wrote:

cilantro wrote:

ChgoMike wrote:Cafe Ambrosia - Evanston (only in the mornings, afternoons too bustling with Northwestern students)

As of today, Cafe Ambrosia is no more.

Yea... I just learned this as I tried to head there this morning. I'm curious to know what happened.

This home-office coffee shop drifting has made me realize that I care about chairs much more than I had ever thought. A place might be visually attractive with a productive environment, but if the chairs look better than they feel - I get the feeling, physically, that lingering is not wanted.

Cafe Ennui in Rogers Park advertises free wi-fi.

6981 N. Sheridan
Chicago, IL

ChgoMike wrote:This home-office coffee shop drifting has made me realize that I care about chairs much more than I had ever thought. A place might be visually attractive with a productive environment, but if the chairs look better than they feel - I get the feeling, physically, that lingering is not wanted.

I'm mildly chair obsessed, so chair quality weighs pretty heavily when judging cafes. This is something else Nada Tea does well. Their chairs are plastic but supportive and stable. They also have wooden benches with pillows along the wall, which I like, since my posture is usually better when I'm left to hold myself up.

Spending some productive time today at Swim Cafe. The long bench against the wall is quite comfy and the frequent power outlets whisper, "Hello. How are you? Please, have a seat and let me be of assistance unlike other places that have few, if any, places of power. Have some more coffee and discover other speaking, inanimate objects." Good sun and decent music over head compliment the coffee and diverse menu. I've only tried the oatmeal to this point, but the rest looks and sounds pretty good.

I assume from your post that they offered free "special" brownie samples?

ChgoMike wrote:Spending some productive time today at Swim Cafe.

In case you want to do some yoga while you're in the neighborhood, I just saw this yesterday. The Riverwest location of Moksha Yoga is a very short walk from Swim Cafe--the best place in all of Chicago to do yoga.

Thanks for the tip, happy. Although I have, indeed, meaning to give yoga a try sometime, at the moment I'm much more likely to do yogurt - frozen, perhaps with some berries.

I walk past Uncommon Ground on Clark on my way home from my in-office job and most days in the late afternoon I see a few people in there working on laptops. I've only been during peak dinner hours, but it looks like a very chill, low-key atmosphere and I've generally gotten friendly, competent service and food there in the past. It appears they have free wireless, but I can't vouch for it myself. Worst case scenario, you can trot down half a block to Azteca de Oro which I know for sure does (unprotected, as of my pre home-wifi days) though it is much less hospitable to long-term stays, and their food leaves much to be desired. Like, for instance, taste.

Uncommon Ground
3800 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60613
773-929-3680

Azteca de Oro
3731 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60613
(773) 857-6565

ChgoMike wrote:Thanks for the tip, happy. Although I have, indeed, meaning to give yoga a try sometime, at the moment I'm much more likely to do yogurt - frozen, perhaps with some berries.

In which case, you might want to change locations. Make the short drive or quick el ride to iCream--free wi-fi and customizable ice cream (soy, yogurt or sorbet).

My favorite place is Pickacup, a coffeehouse on Dempster in Evanston, just east of Dodge on the north side of the street. It won't be everybody's choice-- it is definitely funky, older used furniture-- couches and comfortable chairs as well as tables with a variety of chairs. It's very relaxed, and never busy. Occasionally I have been there when there was a mothers and toddlers get-together, but that is rare. It's my go-to place when I have to crank out work, because it is quiet, comfortable, there is no doubt they are happy to have people who stay a long time, and the coffee and food are quite decent (good sandwiches, lots of house made things like quiche and brownies, though I doubt anyone goes there for the food). I sit either at a table or a comfy chair in the windows, so it is bright; if those spots are full (only happened once or twice), the rest of the room is a little dark. It is the kind of once-of-a-kind, owner on the premises place that I feel good supporting. But it is definitely a little more off-beat than most of what has been suggested here. (It is open in the evening, but there may be musicians or poets or meetings-- I don't use this kind of place in the evenings, so I'm not sure-- but I'm guessing this is a better daytime workplace.)

Judy H wrote:My favorite place is Pickacup, a coffeehouse on Dempster in Evanston, just east of Dodge on the north side of the street.

I've passed this place countless times, stopped in for the first time this morning. I was the only person when I arrived at about 8:30am. Just as you described, Judy. I found it a really nice environment for doing some reading and writing. I don't think I'd meet with a client here, given the environs, but I can certainly see myself coming back often when I need to get out of the house and put my head into the computer.

Coffee was good. I had the oatmeal this morning and.. well... it was oatmeal. I look forward to trying the sandwiches in the near future.

I've got to meet with a client tomorrow somewhere near the Hancock Building. Does anyone have a recommendation for a place near there where we can do a little work? If not, I'll probably pick her up and drive to Swim Cafe, though I'd prefer to go somewhere closer to the Hancock.