09/26/07

Formerly cool but not any more

by jamesvaughn

This place used to rock. Now the staff is way uptight, the place is full of creepy friendless types, and the place is filthy and the furniture is the same as it was--which was old so is now rubbish. Plus the wifi is unreliable. We need a new place like this one used to be. There is definitely a quiet popular local screaming for an anti-Starbucks to arise...

• Pros: not a bar
• Cons: Trashy not in a cool way but a garbage way. People who desparately need attention who just take up space and don't drink or eat.

10/24/06

I got busted (and I don't care)

by infophiliac

I'll admit it: I got busted for trying to plug in my computer. It's not a rule I particularly love, but the person who asked me to unplug was polite about it (no "fascist zeal" in sight) and I still love this place. I've heard some fantastic music that was new to me and the coffee is good for the low price. Sure, you can't sleep, but in what other business can you? It's only an issue here because they actually have comfortable chairs, that's more than can be said for just about any other coffee shop. I'll be back and hope this place is around for a long time to come.

• Pros: Good coffee for the price, comfortable chairs, interesting music and people
• Cons: No plugging in your computer, music is sometimes too loud.

10/24/06

Amazing sweets

by b1fin

Amazing case of sweets. PMS cookies that can only make you smile. Top this with a Latte and you are set for at least an hour.

09/16/06

Decent coffee, but loud music, poor staff, and absurd "rules" makes alt.coffee a PASS

by j_elden

At alt.coffee, a list of "rules" warns you, "NO SLEEPING: YOU WILL BE RUDELY AWOKEN AND KICKED OUT" and "DO NOT PLUG YOUR LAPTOPS INTO THE OUTLETS - NO EXCEPTIONS." The staff enforces these, and other loopy (and irksome) rules with fascist zeal, citing "the owner" (they might as well invoke "the leader") when asked why, exactly, patrons can't plug in their laptops. There's a very stiff/rigid vibe about the place, in marked contrast to the very relaxed atmosphere a coffee shop like this one (and in this location) should be cultivating. Go up the block to Cafe Pick Me Up (corner of 9th & A) for superior coffee and outlets for your laptops; go down the block to the Bagelzone (b/w 3 & 4) for an awesome vibe, steady (and unhindered) wifi connection, outlets, AND superior/cheaper coffee (and yummy bagels). Over the past few years, alt.coffee has gone from a chill, reasonable coffee shop into a cheesy, "RULES"-oriented den of stupidity. Do yourself a favor and skip this one - for a coffee shop, it takes itself way too seriously, losing customers in the process.

• Pros: decent coffee, location
• Cons: ridiculous "rules, " miserable staff, often-loud music

09/22/04

Get your coffee and internet fix in one shot--and you don't even need a laptop.

by Kara Zuaro

The Scene
With walls painted a garish shade of orange, totally torn-up couches, and some of the world's ugliest lamps, Alt.Coffee is the perfect dive for the coffee shop set. Decorations include a dead Fica tree, a plastic light up duck, and some noteworthy art, alongside a kitschy kitty painted on a black velvet canvas. Love the look enough to take it home? Plenty of novelty gifts, such as bright-colored candles shaped like baby's heads, are sold out of a large display case in the front of the shop.

The Draw
Free wireless internet access attracts messy-haired college kids, and a bunch of Dell desktops accommodate those who aren't toting laptops. In the evenings, the quiet back room is filled with computer users and feels a little bit like a punk-rock study hall, but conversations abound around the tiny coffee bar as patrons nosh on bagels, pies and pre-packaged sweets.