Write Around Tampa

Buddy Brew Coffee
Hyde Park
Tampa

Hyde park is one of the most beautiful, hipster, artistic, sections of Tampa. How could I not come here and write?

Quality and pricing of food and drink:
Some nice food selections here, breakfast and lunch. I got The Classic, which is egg, ham and swiss on ciabatta. I got an option of chips or fruit; should have taken the fruit. The chips were a handful of broken Ruffles dropped onto my plate. The sandwich was delicious though, and it ran me $9. I got a non-coffee beverage, the Caramel Steamer. Also delicious. Everything together ran me about $16 after I tipped my friendly barista.

Are there enough outlets?
There are some, yes, but this place is always crowded which means the plugs will be taken by fellow writers. Come fully charged.

How’s the wifi?
Smooth and fast, password protected and posted at the counter.

Will my muse come out?
Not gonna lie, she was a little intimidated when we first walked in. I heard her whispering in my ear I don’t like this place, I don’t like this place. There were very few available tables and everyone but me just seemed to belong there. Lots of young pretty people and older men, none of whom need day jobs. Yes, there were writers bent over their laptops, all men. But the counter section against the wall was empty so I told my muse to suck it up, buttercup. We can leave after I write this critique you are now reading. I’m glad we stuck it out. Now that I’m sitting I feel calmer (true, the place has also thinned out quite a bit; I could move to a table but I’m comfortable at my own little slice of Buddy Brew) and not so much the last person chosen in dodge ball; or the first one hit with the ball.

How long can I park it?
They close at 8pm so as long as you can stand it. Hyde Park is so interesting, however, you might want to spend some time walking the streets and perusing the shops. You’ll probably accrue more ideas than expel actual writing.

Final rating: 4 out of 5 laptops

Rachel Remick’s fiction and non-fiction stories have appeared in various magazines, among them Rosebud, Bluestem and ellipsis . . . literature and art. A frequent contributor to women’s magazine Sasee, her writing has also been published in several volumes of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books. She lives in Tampa, Florida.