Coffee shops, cafs, little nooks in libraries... Free, strong Wi-Fi? (Or absolutely no Wi-Fi, for help concentrating?) Interesting and inspiring passers-by? The exact right type & volume of background music? Really excellent food and/or beverages?

Any place that's friendly or at least tolerate of lurking writers - please share!

My favorite place is in my home facing a window so I can see outside.

After that comes Panera or Starbucks.

I also enjoy our write-ins, although I am easily distracted and having others around I tend to chit-chat. That diminishes word output. The word wars are most beneficial because everyone is quiet and concentrating on writing. I seldom win because I don't type that fast.

So my favorite places are quiet.

I enjoy local coffee shops. Favs are probably Owl & Lark in La Grange and La Briola in...I think it's technicallyLombard? 22nd and Meyers.

And while it's not a fav, I'll go to the Oak Brook Barnes and Nobel sometimes. All those books are inspiring, but they don't have tables/outlets.

I need to get out of the house to trigger 'productive' mode, and long periods of silence eventually get to me. Give me the white noise of chatter (though not a Starbucks espresso machine)

I too enjoy the local coffee shop and or cafe! There is just something about that ambiance...some places have comfy couches or chairs, or free wifi (for when i need a distraction)...and don't forget yummy food and warm beverages!

I like the Rivers Edge Cafe in down town aurora...yummy food and good coffee...same goes for 2 brothers cafe at the round house...though...their food selection is...meh...unless you order from the restauraunt menu...their coffee is pretty good tho. There is Endiro Cafe a few blocks away that opened up recently, and I might try that!

Panera is also a favorite depending on which one it is. Some have a cozy fireplace that make it worth my while...and others are a bit noisier than most...Same goes for Star bucks.

I also don't mind libraries for their quietness...tons of reference books all around...and if they let you bring in snacks...even better!

But all in all, give me the ambiance and feel of a cafe/coffee shop ANY day...while wearing warm leggings and big floofy sweaters, or other writer-esque looks such as leggings, blouses, and scarves...

I can tell you one of my LEAST favorite places to write is the waiting room at the surgery center. The TV is not quite blaring, but most distracting. People come and go. And talk. Thank goodness, I remembered my earbuds. Time to plug in and write away.

Never been to Owl & Lark, didn't even know it existed, but I've done La Briola once and I'm at Oak Brook Barnes and Nobel all the time. Very comfortable and the DO have a few small tables and yes, the books are motivational! I'm with you though, I cant get anything done at home, I need to be out.

My least favorite is on the train. I write longhand and it's just too bumpy. Earbuds are a lifesaver no matter where I write. I need to block out everything so I put in earbuds and turn on a white noise generator and block out the world.

Give me ALL your coffee shop recommendations, I loathe Starbucks but it's the only thing near me!

I really like a library in the morning, when the only other people there are the work-from-homers and the retired guys reading the newspaper. By mid-afternoon when school is out it gets loud. When the weather's nice I like to write outdoors whenever possible, but it doesn't seem to be cooperating with me this week.

I like writing at my local Lombard cafes and bars; Shannon's Deli and The Corner House, Marquette, the Vino Cellar, and Babcock's Grove House, though I'm thinking of spending an afternoon this year back in my old home town of Winfield and spend the day writing at John's Buffet. (Technically it called John's Restaurant and Tavern, but to me it will always be John's Buffet, the Sear's Tower, and Comiskey Park)

Link to Google Map!

Please feel free to add to either the map or the thread, preferably both! I did notadd all the shops for any chains like Panera or Starbucks, but if there's one in particular you like, please share!

Have you tried the coffee shop at City gate?

http://www.hotelarista.com/dining/lavazza-espression.aspx

Or

Catigny? (They have a coffee shop, and you might also be able to write in the restaurant (which is closed, I think.)

The coffee shop sometimes has the TV going, though.

http://www.cantigny.org/visit/dining/berties-coffee

I had no idea Cantigny had a coffee shop! And I've been meaning to check out Lavazza, but last time I checked it wasn't open yet. (Which might have been....a while ago.)