Your next caffeine fix arives at AREA IV in Cambridge

The industrial feel of Technology Square in Cambridge is one that suggests busy schedules, long business meetings and other facets of the many different companies who have set up shop in this area. It's definately a place where a good espresso and something tasty would go a long way. Lucky for those who live or work in the neighborhood, Area IV, a coffee-house/soon to be full-menu restaurant opened shop yesterday (May 16th).

A friend and I went down to check it out. The place is so spanking new that it doesn't yet have a sign up, we missed it the first go around.  A pile of wood indicates where the restaurant is due to open a week from now.

However, they do have a few things under control even at this early stage. A lot of their decor is actually from the Persephone/Achilles Project, which closed its doors a while back in South Boston but was conceptualized by the same people (notably, Michel Krupp).  The extendable tables and stools fit nicely in the new space and give it an industrial/workshop appeal.

I particularly enjoyed the upside down jugs and tea pots turned into dangling light fixtures.

Of course, the coffee itself, all locally obtained and freshly brewed is an attribute, as are the staff, who are all trained in coffee-art; a mesmerizing talent that allows for very pretty objects embedded in any beverage topped with foam.

Area IV had other little quirks that I enjoyed, for instance, their collection of old school wooden games really tickled my fancy. You never know when you will be bored into a game of solitaire in a coffee house!

I was also very impressed when I asked my usual question of 'What do you do with your baked goods at the end of the day?'.  Their answer was that they had already contacted Lovin Spoonfuls, a boston based mini-team that goes around collecting surplus food from bakeries and restaurants and redistributes it to the homeless...A+!

Once the restaurant part of this project opens up, this little corner of Technology Square will be quite the favorite for a while.  The real question is whether the place is good enough to surpasse the usual 'new comer novelty' phase in a couple months time!