Cafe Reviews for the Dissertation Writer, Volume 7

Last week Tiff and I tried Shot in the Dark Cafe, which is in downtown Tucson.  In short, there was one deal breaker which trumps all the good things about this cafe - we both left reeking of cigarette smoke.  The cafe part we were in was non-smoking, but the closed off adjoining room (which I think was more bar-like in character) allowed smoking, and the smell permeated the whole place despite the separation.  Anyways, here's the list:

Pros

• The cafe is open 24/7!  Coffee XChange is the only other cafe we've found open 24 hours, and sadly, we're not particularly likely to go back there (though far more likely to go back there than to Shot in the Dark!).  While I'm generally not a night owl, and midnight is usually plenty late for me, I really like that if I get on a roll, there's no reason to stop!  This actually came in really handy as it took me til about 12:30 to finish the section that I was determined to finish that night.
• They had lots of food, like legit meal-food, not just drinks and snacks.  Tiff had a sandwich that looked pretty tasty.
• They use real dishes - I had a chai latte in a beer stein. :)
• Free wifi
• The place was mostly empty!  Weird conversations are probably one of the most distracting things about working in public (or in the office haha), but no worries about that here.

Cons

• The cafe is downtown, which means it can be hard to find parking and you may have to park a couple blocks away.
• While the cafe is technically within walking distance (I run by it regularly in fact), but I don't want to make that walk home in the middle of the night by myself.
• Tiff's labmate who was also working with us reported that the bathroom was pretty gross.  I held it til I got home. :(
• Finally, the smell of cigarette smoke from next door!  ICK!  Get better ventilation people!  For this one reason I won't be back.

The place we're trying this week looks pretty good...including their dessert menu. :)  Let's hope it's an improvement otherwise, too.