TECHcoffee

Summary:

After checking out just a few of the many coffee shops and restaurants in the La Salle / Lake "coffee corridor"... I've decided the first TECHcoffee sprint will be at Caribou Coffee. (Northwest corner La Salle/Lake)

Report Details:

Set alarm for 5:30 a.m. In shower 5:45. Shave 5:55 - 6:05. Get dressed, download email - 6:10. Out the door - 6:19.

Get to train platform - 6:28. Missed the 6:25 train :-( ... next one at 6:39.

Fire up laptop to type notes so far... will work for the next 20-40 minutes on platform and train.

Some more thoughts... Yup, 6:30... sun is shining bright, rush hour on the freeway is already starting up... Memories of years past, getting up early for cross country or marathon training...

Walked by "The Buzz" coffee shop on my way to the train... Why didn't I just start TECHcoffee Oak Park?... would have been there by now. :-)

Google's Summer of Code came to mind... perhaps TECHcoffee should also only be a summer thing... Timeboxing it makes it a more realistic thing to commit to. One argument of why summer is so nice in Chicago is precisely because it's so short-- you cherish it more...

6:39 board O'Hare-bound Blue line train... _ I'm now "JasonOnRails" (that joke won't get hold old, evah!) _

7:05 exit at Clark...

7:10 First scouting spot -- Cosi - at Northwest corner of Lake/Dearborn

• Wifi available, nice and empty

• opens at 6. Lots of seating (maybe 50-75).

• has lots of great food+coffee.

• wifi vendor "surfandsip.net" - minimum one day pass - $5.

7:18 - Caribou Coffee (Northwest corner La Salle/Lake)

• opens at 5:30, not very big... seats about 25

• wifi signals: tmobile, attwifi

• "cozy" setting. Don't know what that means, but it is.

• attwifi: minimum pass: $3.95 for 2 hours

Jeez, I think the coffee industry knows that this intersection (Lake/La Salle) is the place to meetup. All the El trains intersect here... and within 1 minute walking... cosi, caribou, 2! dunkin donuts, starbucks, corner bakery.

7:28 Corner Bakery (Northwest corner La Salle/Lake, next to Caribou Coffee)

• Lots of seats and tables. (most seen so far)

• opens at 6

• (didn't check on wireless)

7:35 - Starbucks (Southwest corner Lake/La Salle)

• By this hour, Starbucks is already getting pretty crowded. Easily the busiest of the shops visited so far. Seating is getting tight, especially at the few computer friendly tables.

• T-Mobile wifi - Day passes start at $9.95. :-(

After checking out just a few of the many coffee shops and restaurants in the La Salle / Lake "coffee corridor"... I've decided the first TECHcoffee sprint will be at Caribou Coffee.

Features:

• centrally located (transfer to all El lines at Clark/Lake)

• cheapest "single use" WiFi pass on the block - $3.95 pass for 2 hours (attwifi) (But If you're already a T-Mobile hotspot subscriber, though, their signal from the Starbucks across the street bleeds over and looks like it could work at Caribou, too.)

• "cozy" setting -- seats about 25.

Fellow ChiPy John Melesky kindly showed up at 8 to compare scouting reports (he checked out South Loop) and we talked about the idea. +1'd having it at Caribou. We both agreed to meet up again next week at Caribou -- promptly at 6 this time. Next time, I'll have to start my morning routine an hour earlier, setting my alarm for 4:30 a.m. That's hard to do, but I think it's worth it.

Other notes, I didn't have time to check out Allegro Hotel or Citigroup Center, but based on the many options here at La Salle/Lake, plus its central convenience, I think this is the best spot (until proven otherwise).

_ Jason Huggins, 12 June 2006, 1000 CDT _

last updated 3 years ago #