Cornering the Market
Thursday, March 17, 2005
I know i rant about Starbucks a lot, but it’s only because we have a love/hate relationship that keeps me coming back for more.
So, in reference to Kirstin’s comment from the last rant, i have something REAL to rant about (though it’s still a cheap shot since it’s just too easy).
A couple of my friends and I decided to head down to Pennsylvania for the day to hang out with another friend and her family. We had agreed by email to meet at the Starbucks at 35th St. and 7th ave. near Penn Station where we would board the New Jersey Transit. The morning of, I called one of the friends, Tanya, to confirm the location. She was already out and about and couldn’t remember what she had written in her email, so she told me 34th and 7th Ave.
As i walked from 6th Ave. toward 7th, i noticed that there were two Starbucks coffee shops at 34th St./7th Ave. AND 35th St./7th Ave. I then got a voice mail from Tanya telling me that she was in the Starbucks at 34th St. and 8th Ave. I headed there only to NOT find her there. Meanwhile So-Young was lost and in the wrong Starbucks too! We found each other and kept calling Tanya all the while. Finally i got a hold of Tanya and found out that she was in the Starbucks at 35th St. and 8th Ave.
Folks, this is just out of control. One city block had FOUR Starbucks coffee shops. Absolutely crazy. Talk about cornering the market by putting a market on every corner. heheheh ok ok that was lame.
The other crazy thing is i finally found a coffee shop that made Starbucks look cheap in comparison. This Korean coffee shop in Korea Town had CRAZY prices like $7.25 for a mocha. ??!!?? And even when we sat down at a table, it took 10 minutes and us ASKING them to acknowledge us for them to even get us menus (or even look at us). Crazy. We obviously did not stay there.
All this = totally worth ranting about. 
mmm, I love it when you’re grumpy.
$7 for a coffee?!! Was it hallucinogenic? opiate-laced? AND to add insult to injury, Starbucks’ coffee really does taste burnt. Excellent rant, Kat!
May I add to it? There aren’t enough truly cozy coffee shops. The best coffee shops feature, in addition to great coffee, an atmosphere of friendly anonymity. Foam and sugar seduces you into chatting and laughing with complete strangers, and it’s great. The pub scene for America’s newest yuppie generation. So spare your taste buds and your soul, folks, and find another watering hole.
Posted by on 03/17 at 05:25 PMI bet they only charge Japanese girls $7 for a mocha. They saw you coming, Kat. lol.
There are only 2 Starbucks in this WHOLE CITY. Hallelujah! Though...nothing like Fourbucks satiates my hankering for a toffee nut mocha.
We found a great little shop downtown with just the atmosphere Kristin is talking about. They have COUCHES. Mmmmmmm....
Posted by laura on 03/18 at 01:13 PMI think you know the coffee shop situation here in Japan, Kat. But for thy visitors who know not yet the joys of the Japanese coffee experience, there are about three divisions:
1) The old style shops… pseudo-noir or European, with old furniture. They usually smell like grungy, smokey elderly people. They also serve nasty omlettes and curry rice. As noted, they are smokey. While the style at some may be actually cool, the smoke is the biggest deterrant.
2) Coffee cafeterias/bars… a cousin of #1 above, many of the Doutor chains ought to be classified as such, though now some are being equipped with no-smoking sections (though adequate distance from the smoking section is not always an obvious given).
3) Starbucks. Still in a class by itself. Well, not really. It has spawned clones here, right down to the logo! The most obvious one being Excelsior cafe, which uses the same color pallette and is sometimes cafeteria size and does feature decent non-smoking sections, as well as this awesome “Pearl creme latte” with tapioca at the bottom ... mmmm!!! Another clone is Tully’s. Although Starbucks is the only one to say “Smokers stay outside!”, Tully’s has a sealed-off smoking room like a quarantine cage at the back of the shop. It’s really hilarious! (^_^)
By the way, it’s not unusual for regular drip coffee to run around four bucks at restaurants here. I remember seeing one of the class 1 coffee shops near the church that had coffee for about seven bucks. Once Yoko and I found ourselves stuck paying eight bucks for regular coffee at a hotel’s top-floor coffee shop. Errgh!!
Posted by Ramone on 03/19 at 01:14 AM