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I'm Done With Starbucks

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by Boom_70, Nov 30, 2006.

  1. Oz

    Oz Well-Known Member

    Just saw this thread ... I can't give up Starbucks forever, despite the prices. I have to go there maybe once a month, just because.

    This month, the peppermint mocha will be well worth it on a cold day.
     
  2. Mystery_Meat

    Mystery_Meat Guest

    Had my first Caribou experience today before my football game. Got a large Mint Explosion and a blueberry muffin to see how it approximates my regular Starbucks order (venti peppermint mocha, blueberry muffin).

    Mint Explosion: Not bad. The coffee was smoother than Starbucks; you don't really notice the faint burnt taste of the Starbucks espresso until you've had someone else's. The mint was a little too subtle and soft; I don't think it was peppermint, and I like the bite that peppermint provides, plus it's good for your tummy, and for as much tummy as I have, I'd like to do something nice for it occasionally. I'd like to try the campfire mocha (mocha with marshmallow flavoring).

    Blueberry muffin: Major-league disappointment. The oatmeal streudel topping sounded like a nice addition, but in reality it dominated the muffin. The blueberries were small, sparse and overwhelmed by that fucking oatmeal. The muffin part was dry. Starbucks kicks its ass on this one.

    This had free wi-fi, but I didn't know so I didn't bring the laptop in.

    On my way back I hit two more places in that area for dinner, since I knew I wouldn't have time to stop at home and fix anything, plus I'm a fucking loser when it comes to money management (eighth on Casey Casem's American Top 40 of Ways Mystery Meat Fails at Life). So quickie reviews there:

    California Torilla
    One of the ubitquious burrito fast casual places popping up around here like mushrooms after a summer thunderstorm, this outfit has most of its stores in the D.C. Hellplex, but they're coming south now.
    Order: Jamaican Jerk burrito with chips and queso.
    Verdict: BOOOOO I CALL SHENANIGANS. The burrito was okay, but the mango sauce had little flavor. Plus you had to spend 50 cents for cheese. I guess they want you to try their myriad of hot sauces (and really, who can say no to a few splashes of Ass in Antartica?). Otherwise inoffensive, much like a Moe's burrito. The chips and "queso", another matter. Chips were fine. Queso, NOT fine. I think they opened a Sam's Club can of Tostitos Queso Dip and zapped it for a few seconds. Total letdown and a big, big downgrade from Moe's and Qdoba queso. I'd go again, but it's one, two strikes you're out the way I'm singing the tune.

    Maggie Moo's
    An ice cream shop in the vein of Cold Stone and Marble Slab, with the soft ice cream in which you mix things. The name alone can give you diabetes.
    Order: Large concoction with a retarded name that I forgot, but it was chocolate ice cream with marshmallows, marshmallow sauce and Teddy Grahams. Seriously.
    Verdict: Cute names and yellow-colored marshmallow ice cream (which I sampled) do not a good ice cream place make. Cone was stale-tasting and the Teddy Grahams? God, I'm not 4. Stick with Cold Stone.
     
  3. kingcreole

    kingcreole Active Member

    Went to Starbucks once. Wasn't impressed. I've never been to a trendy coffee joint that had better coffee that the local Kwik Shop. And I pay about $3 less. It may not have that froth or extra flavors, but the coffee and Double Mocha is damn good.
     
  4. Flying Headbutt

    Flying Headbutt Moderator Staff Member

    Boomer, you ole hippy you, what say we go smoke some dope, pick up a few girls who don't shave their legs or their armpits at a Village cafe, and gather in a circle around a bonfire while you play old protest songs on your acoustic guitar. Afterwards maybe we can plan a roadtrip to New Foundland in a beat up VW Bus. Bono can join us.
     
  5. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    Oops. Wrong thread. I've never been in a Starbucks.

    I just glanced at the title too quickly and thought somebody finally started a Battlestar Galactica thread with legs. :)
     
  6. Boom_70

    Boom_70 Well-Known Member

    FHB - since I've been hanging around SportsJournalists.com I've become a lot more socially aware. Join me

    If I had a hammer .............
     
  7. Clever username

    Clever username Active Member

    They do do that at at least one in NYC. It was somewhere in Times Square. It was the first and only time I've ever been in a Starbucks (stupid girlfriend being all whiny). They had one line for people just getting the simpler coffees and another for the more complicated shit that I wouldn't pour on myself if my ass hair was on fire. The chocolate chip cookie I got was good, though.
     
  8. Sandoval

    Sandoval Member

    You guys will think I'm crazy, but my new second favorite coffee (after Dunkin Donuts) is Burger King. (Technically, I guess DD and BK are really #2 and 3. Despite the fact that it tastes like crap, the coffee at work is free, so it gets No. 1 in my poll.) It surprised the hell out of me. I had never tried it until BK was the only coffee I could find on a long drive last month. Had it locally a couple times since and it's been good every time.

    And for the record, Starbucks sucks. I hate their coffee, I hate that they don't have a drive through and I really hate that they always treat me like I'm some kind of ignorant backwater hick when I try to order a "large coffee, black" (good luck getting a tip after that, bitches).
     
  9. zaphod

    zaphod New Member

    I've begun to get vocal at the cash register about the need for an express line where customers who want unflavored coffee, black (and that means no room, dammit! What part of "black" do you not understand?) can get a fillup and be on their way. Hell, just put the brew machine on the counter and a bucket next to it; I'll fill up my own cup and drop in a couple bucks and save you the trouble of ringing the register. If such a convenience were available at Starbucks, I'd be in and out in less than 60 seconds with my 535 mg of caffeine.

    Is there lots of good non-Starbucks coffee available today? Yes. For that, you can thank Starbucks. Hate their "lifestyle" marketing all you want, and flaunt your ironic, hip anti-Starbucks pose for all your cool friends to see, but the fact is even truck-stop coffee is better today than a generation ago because Starbucks has figured out how to make very good coffee for millions of people every day, and the national coffee palate has been elevated as a result. The local independent coffeehouses in my town, which thrive in part on anti-corporate sentiment, wouldn't have even opened in the first place had not Starbucks come to town and created a demand for coffee made well. Starbucks may not be your preferred brew, but it is very good coffee by almost any standard.

    Two of the more significant advancements of the latter half of the 20th century: The advent of good coffee, and microbrews.
     
  10. luckyducky

    luckyducky Guest

    For the record, McD's coffee is Seattles Best brand, which is owned by Starbucks.

    And it all comes full circle.
     
  11. Boom_70

    Boom_70 Well-Known Member

    Good observations. The Starbucks coffee is very good my problem is the system that treats you like a dope.

    I am convinced that they keep you in long line so you will buy other stuff as you stand there.
     
  12. Rosie

    Rosie Active Member

    I'm happy to say there is not a Starbucks within 100 miles of my place. I stopped at one once during my travels and thought the coffee was horrid -- it tasted burnt.

    I drink a pot or more of coffee a day. Usually made at home. I'll buy beans once in a while and grind em at home for something different. I do like Caribou Coffee, but when I can stop at Holiday and fill my travel mug for 50 cents, I'll stop there -- the coffee is pretty good there.

    And I want my coffee black. No flavorings, no sugar, no cream. Just black.

    And for press box coffee, I think the Xcel has awesome coffee.
     
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