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Not bad...very, very slow.

So, yeah...it's for nerds. Computers with gaming. Got it. But the majority of people who go here just want a coffee and maybe a muffin. The staff is super friendly and the coffee is your standard Stumptown brew, but MAN it takes forever to get a drink made. An Americano should not take around 10 minutes to make. It just makes no sense. I've switched to Half And Half for my morning fix. And they've got Courier Coffee with is better. Oh, and the vgan menu is solid, but again, you are waiting and waiting. Tough for those with a timed lunch hour.

Keywords: Just you alone / As a single, With teens, Loud, Cafe / Tea House / Coffee Shop, Vegetarian / Vegan, Coffee / Tea, With a group, Cheap (US$ 5 - US$ 10), Lunch, Breakfast

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Live events, too + All ages

As other tipsters have noted, Backspace has great coffee, lots and lots of computers (even an in-house outpost of the Belmont Computers retail store), great art, etc.

I wanted to point out a couple of other things:

1) Backspace has an increasingly cool live music calendar - I recently saw Little Claw and Magik Markers there (both indie darlings on Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace record label);

2) It's an all-ages joint, which I think is key to the vitality of the Portland Music scene. We have a rich history of all ages / all types music, and Backspace is helping continue that.

Keywords: Other place to discover, Just you alone / As a single, With teens, Authentic, All year, Under US$ 5, In the city, Local, At night, In the evening, Everyone, In the afternoon, With a group, Unique, On weekends, During the week

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Heaven for nerds

Close your eyes and envision this: a large coffee shop (with good coffee and a small selection of pastry and sandwiches), lots and lots of computers where mostly male customers surf the web, work on the business plan for the next start-up or play online games, very interesting art on the wall, a relaxed atmosphere and friendly service.
Got it? Now you know what to expect at Backspace.

Keywords: Other place to discover, Free, Just you alone / As a single, Midday, All year, In the afternoon, Unique, During the week