Café Underwood, a Laptop-Friendly Oakland Hangout

Café Underwood
308 41st Street, Oakland
Phone: (510) 995-6660
Web: www.underwoodoakland.com
Status: Open

Freelancers and work-from-home types, take note: there's a new cafe in North Oakland designed to cater to the laptop-addicted among us. While many coffee shops are grappling with the double-edged sword of free WiFi, Café Underwood, a project by Oakland-based writer and bartender Dominick Scala, is envisioned as a combination coffee shop, beer garden and workspace. Complete with phone booths for private calls and an upstairs mezzanine, the spot hopes to balance both patrons' social and get-stuff-done impulses.

To that end, there's plenty of caffeinated beverages on offer, including coffee and espresso options from Highwire Coffee Roasters and creamy-headed Howling Wolf nitro cold-pressed coffee. A list of local wine and beers are ready and waiting for when it's time to finish up work.

On the food side, the new spot offers an Italian-inspired menu put together by Alexeis Filipello of Bar Dogwood and Stag's Lunchette, with options that include variations on grits, frittatas, sandwiches and a Ploughman's platter of meats and cheeses, with more to come as the cafe gains momentum. A pleasant outdoor eating area makes for a good option to soak up the late summer sunshine, and live music is planned for weekends evenings. Hours are Monday to Thursday, 7am-10pm, Fridays from 7am-1am, Saturdays from 8am-1am, and Sundays 8am-5pm.

· Cafe Underwood Opens in North Oakland [EBX]
· The Double-Edged Sword of Coffee-Shop Wi-Fi [~ ESF ~]