I wrote kind of a dumb amount of my dissertation at Mishka's Cafe and the Delta of Venus in Davis. Mishka's has a thin row of seating at the front with a 'no wo

I wrote kind of a dumb amount of my dissertation at Mishka's Cafe and the Delta of Venus in Davis. Mishka's has a thin row of seating at the front with a 'no work' policy - including no reading except for newspapers - and then a huge area of grad students on laptops. Delta's much less structured, has a lot more ambient conversation, and has a real (and excellent) kitchen which I imagine rounds out their business nicely. So, yeah, it's a pretty easy habit to get into as a student. These days, I mainly get my solo research in on weekends, and spend a few hours in a local coffee shop. I tip generously, and occasionally buy a pound of coffee to keep things on the up and up.