I have been making the rounds with my laptop in search of spots that offer decent food, drink, and online access. This is part three of my winter wireless wrap-up. (Previously: Le Petit Gourmand; The Stone Boat)
The Rickshaw
The good
- Solid comfort food, including medium wings, burritos, and chicken pot pies
- Cozy stalls, though it is chilly downstairs
- Diverse clientele: I have ended up talking to dozens of people in the food and beverage industry, a guy whose family has a stake in an ice wine facility in China, a guy in charge of wiring all the Olympic stadiums, the GM of a five-star hotel, film makers, journalists, and teachers describing the trials and tribulations of the Chinese classroom, among others
- The NBA package: They have it, so I can watch basketball while I work. With five screens, other sports nuts can also catch their games of choice.
- Fellow laptop warriors: on most afternoons, there are about a half-dozen other people getting online.
- The staff is friendly and generally efficient, though when management is away, service can easily slide down the tube
- The only place in town you can hear Kim Wilde’s “Kids in America” on an almost daily basis
The bad
- Diverse clientele: Along with the interesting patrons, there are some weird people as well as more than a few of the type that loudly want everyone to know the important business deal on which they are working (“I need to crack some skulls to get the equipment in-country, you know how it is dealing with the local ops, man, where would they be without me, yadda, yadda, yadda.”)
- Too many people consuming liquids + one toilet = bladder strain
- It tends to get smoky
The wireless
- Access is excellent, and given the food, cozy seating, and NBA Channel, not to mention proximity to my apartment, The Rickshaw remains my place of choice for going online.
Next: Sequoia Cafe
There are about twenty toilets in the basement of the same building, chief.
Imagine, an occasional noisy braggart patron at a Bar!
You could put that point under ‘Good’ and say ‘at least at the Rickshaw you can tell who is a jerk because they broadcast it to everyone within earshot’(as opposed to keeping a blog!?)
@ BuildHigh,
Twenty? You must be seeing double.
In any case, there are public toilets, just outside The Rickshaw, though they reek and, at last check, were not open.
Re braggarts, we’re talking in the afternoon, and not 9 PM after six beers. After all, this thread is looking at places to get online.
Cheers, Boyce