Cafe Reviews for the Dissertation Writer, Volume 5

Last week Tiff and I tried Coffee XChange, the cafe we wanted to try the night we wound up at the terrible Cartel instead.  Here's the break down:

Pros:

• Open 24 hours.  The late night options in Tucson are pretty few.  So far I think I've only found Epic Cafe that's open til midnight, though I think Caffe Luce might be too.  I appreciate the late night hours, even though I probably would only very, very rarely (or with a very, very tight deadline) make it past midnight.
• The place is big - by far the biggest place we've worked, with lots of tables.
• They've got a pretty big menu, with several actual food options, not just sweets and pastries.
• Free wifi
• It's a local business, and was actually started by a U of A alum.

Cons:

• By far the biggest downside of this place is that it's almost always PACKED, which is why we wound up at Cafe Disaster last time.  I'm quite sure the only reason we got a table tonight is because the semester hadn't started yet.  Any time during the semester it's over flowing with undergrads.
• Tiff was looking for a caffeine free, non-coffee items since she's been having trouble sleeping lately, but the only options were hot chocolate and a weird blended drink that turned out to be a blend of ice, water, milk, and vanilla powder that doesn't completely dissolve.  Ick.

Even thought the "con" list is pretty short, my reaction to Coffee XChange was pretty blah.  The place really doesn't have any personality or charm.  The low probability of finding a table to work at is a huge deterrent, and even the few undergrads that were there that night were pretty annoying.  While sitting at the next table over from a couple on a very awkward first date is highly entertaining, it's not particularly conducive to working.  Maybe we'll go back over spring break, but otherwise I probably won't be back.  Hopefully our next dissertation date is better.