Hook Me Up: Remedy Coffee in Oakland

It's a rainy Sunday morning in Oakland, but luckily I've gotten lots of sleep because of daylight savings time. So I had a lot of energy and didn't want to just stay in my apartment, so I strolled down in the rain to the Temescal neighborhood and now I'm at the Remedy Coffee House on Telegraph Ave.

I've seen and heard about this place for awhile, but never really came with my laptop to check it out. In fact, it's been awhile since I took my laptop out to see the world, so it's pretty happy right now for the change in environment.

Some of my friends were skeptical of Remedy because it had that pretentious, trying-too-hard-to-be-cool interiors for a coffee house in Oakland, but you know me. I'm all about the aesthetics and I go for all the stylish, hip decor.

And apparently I'm not the only one as I entered and the place was pretty crowded, even for a rainy Sunday morning. I grabbed one of the last stools by the window (squeezing by the people on the coffee club chairs adjacent to the window) and settled down.

Remedy sells a lot of baked goods, which looks like they make themselves. But unfortunately they don't have much else like sandwiches and stuff. And it is lunch time right now for me, so I'm a bit hurting for more.

They really promote the fact that they sell Ritual coffee. Not sure if they're affiliated with Ritual in the Mission District in San Francisco but the vibe here definitely feels like any coffee house you'd find in the Mission, with Oakland's version of the hipsters.

The coffee are all brewed to order with this pretty looking drip setup.

Now about the decor, it's definitely that funky coffee house style with a real sense of Oakland, with a big Telegraph Avenue street sign above the counter. One of the more unusual statements is this Pacific Bell phone booth in the middle of the room, turned into a little cubby hole.

Here are some nice, eclectic lamps right above me by the window.

Since I'm hungry, I did get a slice of the frittata ($3.50) and a pot of Yellow Mountain oolong tea from Teance (just a reminder: I don't drink coffee, which makes me the odd man out in this crowd of Ritual coffee drinkers). The frittata was tasty, although a bit squishy. But I guess that's expected from this traditional breakfast bite. I do love the oolong tea, just nicely brewed with loose leaves instead of a tea bag. I hope they give refills because I'm going to get another pot in a bit.

Despite being so packed and the fact that someone just decided to turn up the music when Elvis came on, Remedy turns out to be a nice remedy to the dreary weather right now.

Remedy Coffee
Location: 4316 Telegraph Ave., Oakland
PH: 510.922.8455
Food: Baked goods
Coffee: Ritual
Tea: Teance
Wi-Fi: Yes, free (no password necessary, just look for "Remedy hearts you!").
Outlets: A few along the long wall
Restrooms: Yes
Seating: About 30 plus small desks, lounge areas, etc., also a garden patio in the back
Cleanliness: Good



Other coffee houses I've visited:
Haus Coffee
Gaylord's Caffe Espresso
Cafe Dejena

Summary only...

Hook Me Up: Haus Coffee

Today is the last day of my holiday break before I have to go back to work, so I thought I'd do the one thing that I promised myself to do during my vacation, which is to go to a coffee shop and do NOTHING. Yes, I have to schedule in time to do nothing.

So this morning, on a really beautiful winter day in the Bay Area, I packed up my laptop and headed to this coffee house in San Francisco's Mission District that I always walked by and wanted to try. It's been awhile since I've taken my laptop out of the house, and I've been feeling guilty that I haven't been letting it live up to its destiny of being a mobile computer.

So here I am at Haus Coffee on 24th Street. This place is a real minimalist temple to coffee. When you walk past it, you just notice the clean wood designs but don't see any signage other than a sandwich board. Inside is pretty much the same -- clean open space with clear windows to let in the Mission light.


There are natural wood tables and chairs that are like a showroom for some Scandinavian design firm. And the high ceilings with plain beams just continues the simple theme.

Haus serves up Ritual and De La Paz coffee, but most of you know I don't drink coffee (I know, makes it hard fitting in the laptop scene). Instead I'm having a Mighty Leaf organic breakfast tea ($2) with a blueberry muffin ($2). (They sell just a few pastries that look like they're from La Colombe Bakery.)

There's also a large patio in the back that looks like a popular spot during the summer (and maybe later today since we're supposed to get up to the 60s here). (I just went to the bathroom and noticed the sofa/lounge area has this cool quartz fireplace on the wall.) I really dig the simple surroundings because it makes it feel serene despite the hard rock music piping through at an audible but thankfully not intrusive level.

I know I've seen Haus get crowded later in the day, which is why I decided to hit this spot early to enjoy some quiet time as I wind up the last day of my vacation. Sigh.


Haus Coffee
Location: 3086 24th St. (between Lucky and Treat), San Francisco
PH: 415.826.2554
Food: Baked goods
Coffee: Ritual, De La Paz
Tea: Mighty Leaf
Wi-Fi: Yes, free (no password necessary).
Outlets: Two surge-protector strips on both ends against the wall (bring extension cords if needed).
Restrooms: Yes
Seating: About 22 chairs and a sofa area in the back and more tiny tables and plastic chairs in the patio.
Cleanliness: Good

Other coffee houses I've visited:
Gaylord's Caffe Espresso
Cafe Dejena
Spasso Coffeehouse

Summary only...

Hook Me Up: Tazz Soho (Buenos Aires)

BUENOS AIRES
Happy Columbus Day from Buenos Aires! It's also an official holiday here as well, although I haven't really done the research to understand why Christopher Columbus is honored in this South American country. But I'm sure he "discovered" here, too.

Today has been really low-key because after days of sunny spring weather we're experiencing some light rain and overcast skies. And despite most stores and restaurants being open, the streets have been really quiet and it does feel like a Sunday. So I decided to just hang around doing nothing. But then I got bored so I packed up my laptop and went searching for wi-fi.

I've found that in Buenos Aires, wi-fi is widely available at certain bars. Sure, they're also available at cafes, but also bars. So I decided to see what that experience would be like, which is how I ended up here at Tazz Soho Entertainment Bar in Palermo Soho, a touristy, ritzy area that's just a few blocks from the bed and breakfast I'm staying at.

Tazz Soho looked really cool from the outside. And it is smack dab in the middle of the hip neighborhood (that tries to be New York by calling itself Soho even though there's no Houston Street around). Then I walked in and while there's a full bar, it really is more a Dave & Busters because upstairs is the entertainment section with billiards and games. So combined with the pulsating club music are kids screaming and video games sound abound. What fun. ;-)

Here's a view of the bar. BTW, I didn't mention that I'm blogging this live at 6:48 p.m. Buenos Aires time. Yes, this is considered the afternoon for the portenos (locals) because they're not really going to have dinner until after 10 p.m. So they're just hanging out having snacks and drinking wine. I'm actually the only one taking advantage of the wi-fi access and am the only one with a laptop. They must be thinking: strange American with his odd hours for wi-fi surfing.

So since I'm at a bar, I decided to get a glass of red wine, or Malbec, but ironically they only sell it by the bottle. At least, that's what my waitress told me. But then again, she doesn't really speak English so I had to try to talk to her in broken Spanish and the universal tourist sign language. She eventually said she'll give me wine by the cup, but I wasn't sure how much she was going to charge me for it, so I just got a mojito.

I also got the Tazz special dessert, which is pictured above. I wasn't expecting much, but it was really good. It's a warm chocolate cake with two scoops of dulce de leche ice cream and a sprinkling of nuts. I liked how the cake was fresh and warm and the ice cream was wonderful.

It does seem a bit weird working on a laptop at a bar, but this is the only way I can think of killing time until dinner in another four hours. I still really don't know what Argentinians are doing at this time since they're neither eating nor sleeping. Time for another mojito!

Tazz Soho Entertainment Bar
Location: Armenia 1744, Palermo Soho, Buenos Aires
Food: Sandwiches, salads, pizzas, pasta, desserts
Coffee: Yes, with Bailey's and more
Wi-Fi: Yes, free, no password necessary
Outlets: None
Restrooms: Yes
Seating: Lots in the front lounge area and in back on the first floor.
Cleanliness: Average

Summary only...

Hook Me Up: Cafe Lyon--CLOSED

UPDATE (06/20/09): This cafe switched to a tiny restaurant but it couldn't draw enough diners. So now it's up for sale.

It's been awhile since I've been out and about with my laptop, but I had a free afternoon after doing a few photo shoots, and it's such a beautiful afternoon that I decided to go find a cafe.

I'm at the Cafe Lyon right now near the Rockridge BART station in my neighborhood. It's actually not the first time I've been here. This is a really cute small corner cafe that's not as popular as the ones on Piedmont Avenue on the other end of where I live. So it's nice not worrying about finding a spot.

The spot used to be a juice shop that went out of business and I think it's been a cafe for the past year. They have a few outdoor tables, but the sun is super bright outside, especially if you're worried about the glare on your computer screen. So most people are inside.

When I arrived at about 3 p.m., the place was totally empty except for this woman ahead of me. Since then, the place has filled up where almost all the tables are taken up. People are just following me everywhere! It's funny, like I said, this place doesn't seem very crowded except the peak time around the late afternoon.

They sell a variety of pastries, bagels and sandwiches. But I have to say, today in the glass counter there are two flies buzzing around trapped inside with the food. Now, I don't know if the food in the counter is just for display and they make your order in the back. But it just kind of turned me off. I know in the past I've had a cinnamon roll and it was fine. Nothing spectacular about the food, it's mostly the drinks. They have a nice variety of drinks, including coffee, tea, and even wine tasting on Sundays. They also have what's called a kombucha, which is what I ordered.

I had never heard of kombucha, but apparently it's an ancient drink from the Himalayas. I think recently someone bottled a version and is selling it as a wonder drink. I'm not sure what version they have here at Cafe Lyon, but it looks like they make it themselves. The drink is fermented green tea that's blended with an effervescent juice drink. I got mines with black currant, one of my favorite flavors. It cost me $4 with tax. It is like drinking any other sparkling juice and you barely detect any tea flavoring until near the end when you reach the bottom. It's interesting and good on a super hot day, but I rather stick with my normal black tea and sip away in the afternoon.

Cafe Lyon has this real Spanish feel and the walls are filled with art work by local artists. Because it's close to the Rockridge BART station, it also has one of those flat screens that display the upcoming trains' arrival times. That's pretty cool.

The cafe has a nice cozy feel, but I have to say I come back because the wireless is amazingly fast. I think because it's small so you're not sharing it with a room full of people like other cafes. And you don't need a password, so it's convenient to hook up.

OK, and I have to admit that I come back because the servers are really sweet and one in particular is very cute. Free wi-fi and eye candy, what's better than that? ;-)


Cafe Lyon
Location: 5701 College Ave. (at Miles), Oakland
PH: 510.547.0800
Food: Baked goods, bagels, sandwiches
Coffee: Unknown
Tea: Unknown, loose-leaf
Wi-Fi: Yes, free, no password necessary
Outlets: Yes, alongside the walls.
Restrooms: Yes
Seating: About 8 small tables inside and 3 outside, bar seating too.
Cleanliness: Average

Summary only...

Hook Me Up: Gaylord's Caffe Espresso

Happy Presidents' Day to everyone. I'm chilling it near the hood on my day off, so I decided to check out the cafes near my home in North Oakland. The first place I went to was nice but small so all the tables were taken. So I walked a few yards down to Gaylord's Caffe Espresso, which always seem packed so that's why I thought I'd avoid it.

And when I got here, I was right. It was packed and didn't look like a table would be free by the time I ordered my tea. Luckily, one did so I sat myself down.

If you believe the window, Gaylord's has been serving up coffee since 1976, so it has that institutional feel. What I really like about it is all the funky artwork on the wall. It's this huge space with a bunch of round tables filling every spot. Like I said, it was packed when I got here around 2:30 p.m., but now it seems to have loosened up a bit and a few people have left. But there's a constant stream of people coming in and out so you have to grab a seat fast when you get here.

I'm really disappointed at the food choices here. They just have sandwiches and baked goods. The baked goods really look home-baked, but not necessarily in a good way. I also found that the people here are really not very organized about the line. Everyone's all laid back so some people are standing, waiting for their order but they also look like they're standing in line, and for some reason they look really disgusted when you ask if they're in line, like it's such an assumption on my part. Um, lady, move to the side if you're not in the line and then I wouldn't have to ask. Weird vibe so far among the customer base.

I just got a pot of Madagascar Vanilla tea and a lemon bar that was wrapped up in cellophane. The lemon bar looked weird and the tea steeped too long so it tastes really dark and virtually no hint of vanilla. Luckily I ate before I got here.

Gaylord's has a great wi-fi connection, very strong despite so many people hooked up to it. But you pay for it, $1 per hour, so I only have 30 minutes left and will have to sign off and just work on organizing my photos on my laptop. I like the neighborhood feel of Gaylord's with its mixed group of regulars, but I bet most people come for the atmosphere because it's definitely not the coffee or the food.

I'm really amazed at how Piedmont Avenue near my home has all these coffee places, but at the same time they all seem so packed. Where do everyone come from? Don't they know it's a holiday? Oh well, I'm down to 20 minutes so got to get going and POST. :) (UPDATE: OK, so maybe it's not $1 per hour of wi-fi. I waited past the hour to see what would happen and doesn't look like Gaylord's wi-fi system can figure out if you've gone beyond your 1 hour allotment, even though that's what it says on the receipt. So I'm just pushing it as far as I can go. You may still see me here later tonight. Ha!)

Gaylord's Caffee Espresso
Location: 4150 Piedmont Ave., Oakland
PH: 510.658.2877
Food: Baked goods, sandwiches
Coffee: Equal Exchange free-trade coffee
Tea: Unknown
Wi-Fi: Yes, $1/per hour (password on your receipt), but really, you can keep on wi-fiing it until you leave.
Outlets: Yes, alongside the walls.
Restrooms: Yes
Seating: About 20 small, round tables and two Pac Man game tables.
Cleanliness: Average

Summary only...

Hook Me Up: Cafe Dejena

I've always seen this cafe on 40th Street while I'm on the bus going to and from the Bay Street Malls in Emeryville. Cafe Dejena is like the only thing around this area, which is right across the street from the MacArthur BART station.

So it's Saturday afternoon and I just finished watching a movie at the Bay Street Mall (it was 27 Dresses for those who wants to know) so this time I got off the bus and decided to check this place out. It was kind of poor planning on my part because I got up late, caught a late movie, and now it's near the end of the day and I just realize the cafe closes at 5 p.m., so now I just have 20 minutes before I have to leave.

Like I said, Cafe Dejena looks like it's the only thing around in this neighborhood. I guess some consider this still the Temescal neighborhood in Oakland. The cafe's structure looks like something you'd see in Southern California with its make-believe Italian villa decor.

The cafe actually sells a lot of different things to eat, from Italian dishes to pastries and a variety of salads. It publicizes Eritrean specialties, which I just asked the people here and they say it's similar to Ethiopian food but don't call it that because the Eritreans and Ethiopians hate each other. Oh my. Anyway, they have a whole lot of food that I need to explore next time when I'm not rushing out.

I ended up just getting this really big blueberry scone and a glass of Tao Lotus green tea, which was nice and refreshing on this kind of warm winter day here in Oakland.

Cafe Dejena looks like it'd be a fun place to hangout on a really sunny day because of all the windows that really let a lot of light in. But the neighborhood, I guess being across from BART, can seem a bit sketchy. Still, it has free wi-fi and that's basically all one looks for when you have a MacBook and digital camera. ;-)

Cafe Dejena
Location: 3939 Martin Luther King Jr. Way (at 40th), Oakland
PH: 510.655.9328
Food: Eritrean, American and Italian delicacies, pastries, salads
Coffee: A variety of Italian specialty coffees, incuding espresso, macchiato, cappucino, latte
Tea: Tao brand
Wi-Fi: Yes, free (no password needed)
Outlets: Yes, pretty much throughout the place.
Restrooms: Yes
Seating: About 12 round tables throughout a wide open area.
Cleanliness: Pretty well-kept

Summary only...

Hook Me Up: A Bon Port Cafe -- CLOSED

UPDATE (01/02/2010): This cafe is closed and a wine bar is open in its place.

It's my last day on vacation before heading back to the real world tomorrow, so I decided to head into the city for some wi-fi cafe surfing. So here I am all the way at the Castro at the A Bon Port Cafe.

The cafe, right at the heart of the Castro across from Cliff's Variety, bills itself as a French-Belgian Cafe, so that means it has crepes for sale! Yum.

When I got here a few minutes ago, it was totally empty and I almost thought it was closed for the holidays. It was a bit dark and only one other person was in here. It almost looked like a pub at some oceanside joint.

Even the pastry counter looked a bit quiet. Looks like they didn't get their replenish orders since the holidays.

But the barista (I think?) behind the counter is very nice and friendly. The only problem is the cafe's wireless connection, while free, is a bit wonky for Mac users, according to the barista. It actually took awhile for my Web browser to recognize the cafe's connection. But after a few minutes, I was online surfing. (Of course, a couple of other people came in after me and they were Mac users too. So when they couldn't connect just now, they asked the nice guy to reboot the cafe's router, which he gladly did. Since then we've all been unable to connect using the free wi-fi. So I'm actually doing this post by using a stolen free-riding wi-fi from someone in the neighborhood. (So much thanks to whoever calls himself "Iliketogetmywheelsturned." Hmmm, maybe a mechanic nearby.)

The A Bon Port actually has this nice long wooden table where I'm sitting right now. At the end of the table is a whole bunch of outlets if you need to plug in your computer. There's also a nice lounge area where most of the people are seated now.

I ordered a cup of Peppermint Leaf tea and this lemon crepe (which is called the "Picpus") for $4.25. It was all right, nothing spectacular. The lemon flavor was a bit bland, so I mostly got any taste from the powdered sugar sprinkled on top. They offer 9 types of sweet crepes and 10 types of savory crepes. (The savory crepes are most expensive at $7.50 each. They also have sandwiches, salads, and Belgian waffles.)

Once the cafe filled up, it seemed more like a happening place. But the wi-fi is a bit wonky, like I said. Still, it is one of the few cafe-like places in this neighborhood where you can spread out your laptop and surf away.

A Bon Port Cafe
Location: 476 Castro St. near 18th St., San Francisco
PH: 415.558.0893
Food: Crepes, sandwiches, baked goods and Belgian Waffles
Coffee: Moschetti organic fair trade coffee
Tea: Honest brand
Wi-Fi: Yes, free (no password needed but a bit wonky for Mac users)
Outlets: Yes, five available near lamp in the back of the long table.
Restrooms: Yes
Seating: 12-seat long table in the back, and three small tables in the front with additional sofa with coffee table.
Cleanliness: Average.

Summary only...

Hook Me Up: Spasso Coffeehouse

With my new MacBook with wi-fi access, I decided I should be more part of the coffeehouse community, even though I don't drink coffee. So occasionally I thought I'd blog about some neighborhood coffeehouses and cafes with wi-fi connections.

So that brings me to Spasso Coffeehouse, not too far away from my Rockridge apartment in Oakland. In fact, I think Spasso is considered on the edge of Rockridge near Clairemont on the border of Berkeley and North Oakland. I'm there right now writing this post after a lunch of chicken salad sandwich and Mango Ceylon tea from the Republic of Tea. I got here a little before noon and it was already pretty packed in the back with a mix crowd of college students and non-college students (that's me and a handful of other "mature" coffeehouse hanger-ons).

The back room is pretty large, but it's tightly packed with small bistro-type table tops next to each other. By the time I finished placing my order, the only seat was smack dab in the middle of the room, where I felt like I was on display, just like this huge mural that I could see from where I was sitting. I think it's pretty interesting, and adds to the casual, worker-type mentality of the place. Eventually someone left and now I'm sitting right underneath the mural against the wall on this long wooden bench. It's not very comfortable but at least I'm no longer the center of attention.

Here's the typical coffeehouse crowd at Spasso this Sunday afternoon. Overall, this is your typical cafe. My only gripe so far is that it sure takes a long time to get your food. The two servers at the counter are very friendly and nice, but seems a bit overwhelmed by the people coming in. For example, the guy who took my order never gave me my pot of tea. I had to come and get it and it was just sitting there on the counter. That isn't a biggie, except when you're like me and you don't like your tea seeping for longer than 4 minutes max (for black teas). So I didn't know how long this was seeping. Luckily, it's fine. (Or maybe it's not and that's why I feel so wired right now.)

The woman who was making sandwiches got my order for the chicken salad but then when I sat down in the center of the room, I noticed that she was now busy taking orders. So who's making the sandwiches? It was a bit confusing about when they were going to get to it. And with a chicken salad sandwich, you'd think all the ingredients are made and you just have to slap it on a couple pieces of toast and then serve it up. You'd think. It was maybe another 10 minutes before I got my sandwich.

Here's my chicken salad sandwich on toasted whole wheat bread. Pretty straightforward. I have to say, the chicken chunks were pretty nice and tender, but overall it was very homemade. It's satisfactory for my needs, which was basically a quick bite so I could focus more on blogging and working on my Christmas e-newsletter. Time to get down to work!

Spasso Coffeehouse
Location: 6021 College Ave., near Claremont Avenue in Oakland
PH: 510.428.1818
Food: Sandwiches, baked goods and specialty drinks
Coffee: Organic fair trade coffee
Tea: Republic of Tea brand
Wi-Fi: Yes, free hi-speed with password
Restrooms: Yes
Seating: 15 tables in the back, three in the front plus a sofa with coffee table, two outside on sidewalk
Cleanliness: Average. No bus boys so you have to bus yourself, and some customers weren't really nice about that.

Summary only...