Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Wi-fi Watering Holes: The Novel Cafe

This is one of the larger wi-fi watering holes I've seen -- it not only has two downstairs rooms, but an upper floor too. And it needed the space; on the Saturday I was there, it was bustling with people pounding on their laptops and on the various desktops provided. There are work-desk-sized tables, but they're in short supply; most of the tables are little ones that can scarcely fit a laptop, a drink, and some food. Electrical outlets are plentiful. The place is also a used-book store, although I didn't see anyone buy any literature while I was there.

The food is the usual sandwich/salad fare so prevalent at WFWH's. The coffee drinks and chai are pretty good.

The cafe also has a pretty good parking situation. It has metered bumper-to-curb parking in front; and it's within walking distance of various public metered parking lots on trendy Main Street in Santa Monica.

One big deficit: The cafe charges for wi-fi -- up to $6.99 for a day pass, which is just a little less than you'd pay at a Starbucks. One wonders how many of the patrons were paying for the wi-fi, and how many were merely taking advantage of the multiple unsecured wi-fi networks blazing away in the neighborhood. Since so many excellent WFWHs offer free wi-fi -- including several in Santa Monica -- you have to either really like the place, be real desperate, or be on a company credit card to want to pay for it.

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