# Cafe culture!!!!



## ginny (Feb 22, 2012)

What do you look for in a cafe?.......... When and why do you go there?........... Do you go for relaxation or simply as a place to watch life go by?..... Do you have different cafes that you visit according to your mood?


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## Potty (Feb 22, 2012)

I go for the gossip. Nothing is more inspiring than members of the general public moan about everything that matters to them. I've mastered the art of listening to more than one conversation at a time


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## ginny (Feb 22, 2012)

Potty said:


> I go for the gossip. Nothing is more inspiring than members of the general public moan about everything that matters to them. I've mastered the art of listening to more than one conversation at a time


 A hive of inspiration! I'm right there with you :encouragement:


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## theorphan (Feb 25, 2012)

I like quirky places.  Old fashion architecture is a big plus in looking for a cafe.


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## The Backward OX (Feb 25, 2012)

I don’t know if this’d be possible today but back in the 60s-80s my favourite way of watching the world go by was to simply park my car on a busy city street. I got to see (and hear) a million times more stuff than I would have seen (and heard) in a café.


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## CFFTB (Feb 25, 2012)

Someplace warm. Old. Old wood, old smell, old neighborhood. Quiet hum. Not a cafeteria din. Familiar, with friendly faces behind the counter.


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## ginny (Feb 26, 2012)

The Backward OX said:


> I don’t know if this’d be possible today but back in the 60s-80s my favourite way of watching the world go by was to simply park my car on a busy city street. I got to see (and hear) a million times more stuff than I would have seen (and heard) in a café.


 You'd have to be careful where you choose to park these days, but i have been known to drive to the seaside at all hours in the morning-just to watch the sun rise.... many moons ago now!!


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## Gumby (Feb 26, 2012)

Good coffee, nice assortment of peoples and wi-fi are my preferences. Though the wi-fi isn't a must.


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## patskywriter (Feb 26, 2012)

definitely wi-fi … also a broad window view and sweet tea

I've been hanging out at the Blue Coffee Café in downtown Durham ever since it opened six years ago. The front room is where all the action is—the ordering counter, TV, and most of the tables. The back room, where I set up shop, is carpeted, has a few tables and big comfy sofas. It's really pleasant when some of "the regulars" drop by and chat for a bit.


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## WolfieReveles (Mar 21, 2012)

I look for somewhere to disappear. Stockholm has a lot of cafes and some of them are like little labyrinths that vanish into nowhere. You crawl down stairs to the last seat, a worn comfy chair in the darkest corner of a cellar with stone walls, soft lights, and odd furniture from a wide selection of different decades. The customers follow the same pattern, ranging between all ages and social circles, but the environment is calm. There's no noise coming in from the street, and nobody screaming or causing trouble.

I really can't imagine sitting in a car for pleasure, even if it was parked somewhere pretty. The car itself would get in the way of me enjoying the place. Also, in my opinion places like Starbucks should be wiped from the face of the earth, or at least cease to be referred to as "cafe". Then again, I guess that's just me.


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## abuistrago (Mar 21, 2012)

I usually use cafes if, for some reason, I can't work at home, so wi-fi is a must. Also since I've got the nasty habit of smoking, a place that allows that would be a plus. I like a place where I can get lost in my laptop, but also a place that when I finally look up I can get distracted by conversation, scenry and friendly faces. Good music also a plus as well as comfy worn seats.


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## philistine (Mar 21, 2012)

Oddly enough, the coffee usually isn't one of my chief concerns when selecting an establishment. I think I take it as a given that the coffee they serve will be at least 'not bad'.

I like a quiet place; very rarely busy, though usually a few souls knocking about. I sometimes go to have a brew and read for half an hour or so, or simply rest in my thoughts. I'd be greatly irked by elbows brushing past me, plebeians guffawing not one metre away, and the sound of some strawberry-mint-chocolate coffee whizzpot or other crackling in the distance. 

I do have a regular venue, I suppose, though I'll occasionally mix it up.


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## j.w.olson (Mar 21, 2012)

Good sized tables, corners and nooks that you can hide away in, coffee isn't served in paper unless you specifically ask for it to go, wifi, local, etc.

I'll go to a starbucks or somesuch when I can't find anything better, but I've had two favorites otherwise. In my old city in Wisconsin there was a place that sold wine, had awesome twisted bits of metal welded together to make the railings and decor, and had good, solid, worn, wooden tables. Here where I live now, there USED to be a place that sold local organic (and mostly vegetarian) food, had good coffee, and was a used bookstore. It was really my favorite place until they had an issue with the rent and had to close...

I go to cafes for three reasons:

1) Because I want to write, away from the distractions at home.

2) Because I'm with a group of people and we need somewhere to meet -- often as a writing group, or a planning group of some such.

3) Because I'm downtown and I'm hungry.


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## wyf (Mar 22, 2012)

nice coffee, nice cake, free wifi


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## mr_smartiepants (Apr 11, 2012)

wyf said:


> nice coffee, nice cake, free wifi



This ^

Also, I like a cozy kind of relaxed environment where I feel like if I set up camp with a book or a laptop for an hour or two I'm not going to get bitched at by a worker or manager. I also like it when the workers sort of know you since you come in so often so they already know what your usual order is and maybe even when they try to make some small talk. Those kinds of things.


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## Bloggsworth (Apr 11, 2012)

Intravenous fully caffeinated coffee...


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## HKayG (Jun 14, 2012)

I go for the Coffee and a really good muffin.  I like the independantly owned places where they hand make the muffins and they put cinnamon in the coffee.

It's nice because it's more often than not quiet during the week and busy on a weekend so you get the best of both worlds.


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## wyf (Jun 15, 2012)

We all love a good muffin.


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