Who Are You Marketing?

In college I focused my studies on comparative literature and though now I teach 7^th grade science, my desire to compare still comes out every now and then. This time I can’t help but question the latest advertising campaign by Starbucks. Ironically I am at a Starbucks while I write this using their free wifi when you register a Starbucks Card, but that is beside the point. The campaign in question consists of two sentence print ads in which Starbucks makes a bold statement regarding the quality of their product and concludes by introducing a change making it even better.

Naturally a company is going to suggest that their product is superior, after all they are in the business of selling. But in this particular case it is in the style of the ad that I become confused, almost offended. The ad is printed in a style as if to suggest it was printed on the side of a burlap sack (presumably one used to carry their superior coffee beans). Use such an image invokes a near organic sense in the consumer, the burlap sack being an image of the naturally, locally, and environmentally farmed product. Clearly the use of such an image is to counter the empirical image Starbucks has become known for. But in the humility of a burlap sack, the arrogance of the phrase is printed. This is the problem.

Now in preparing for this post I did some research on the ad campaign. The Times reported on it in May in the context that it was both a counter to the McDonalds ad campaigns as well as an introduction to the internet generation. Normally I wouldn’t care to comment on these ads, and if I did I would have done it back when they were advertising an ad search via Twitter and Facebook, but I’ve seen too many of them recently to let it go unsaid that these ads are overly arrogant and pretentious. Starbucks needs to make its coffee good again before it can say it’s the best again.

I won’t try to speak for my generation, but for me and my friends, the way to advertise to us is not by suggesting you are both genuine and yet arrogant about coffee. But I guess that is their idea: We know coffee better than anyone and that’s why we’re the best. In the end I am curious to see if this ad campaign will work, I’d like to believe that our generation is more concerned with the sustainability and humility of our providers and not their quality assumptions. But then again we are the generation that birthed the hipsters.

*all photos courtesy of starbucks.com

Open City

This is the second place I ever went after moving to Woodley Park, and subsequently went approximately fifteen times in the course of maybe just three weeks.  And, I think you see where this is going…but I got Open City-ed out.   After a dinner there in January, I imposed a ban on Open City, and didn’t return there until May.  For me,  I think this was one of the longest bans I’ve ever been able to sustain!  I can’t ever diet, but boy can I ignore a restaurant.

Here’s the rundown on what I’ve eaten there…I recommend it first for Brunch, but it is always pretty crowded, dinner is always an acceptable option.  They have  a full bar and their menu stays the same throughout the day.  I think there are other interesting places for brunch around D.C., however, so as long as you don’t spend all your time there you should be good to go.

Vegetable Omelet: Mushrooms, broccoli, diced tomatoes and Swiss cheese

Got it with egg whites, was good but with a little too much cheese.

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

A good comfort choice.

Veggie Burger

An excellent choice, comes with thick fries and would be my go-to choice.

Julienned Vegetable Pizza : Zucchini, squash, carrots, basil pesto, shaved parmesan & mozzarella

Wasn’t my favorite.  The julienned veggies didn’t have much taste and distracted from the pizza.  We did get it without cheese, but I would have liked larger slices of zucchini instead of tiny slices that tasted pretty watery.

Mussels: With garlic, parsley and lemon

These were good…we questioned why they had mussels, but decided to eat them anyway.  They were actually really good — the broth had a great savory taste…but they charged us for extra bread to sop up the liquid.

The tea is good, and there is a large selection, though it is slightly overpriced for how much hot water you get in the tea pot.  Coffee comes in a large mug so you never need a refill, though you will have to ask for splenda specifically or go grab it from the take out area.  For wine, I recommend the Independent Producers (a red).

The Ranking (for explanation, see “Review Key”):

Food: 3 Straws (A reliable brunch choice for the Woodley Park).

Price: $traws, Average ($12-18 depending on whether you order a latte, coffee, brunch, etc).

Atmosphere: Casual

Overall: 3 Straws (A place I will return to — granted it’s one of the only good brunch places in Woodley Park).

The Details:

www.opencitydc.com

2331 Calvert St NW
Washington, DC 20008
Phone: (202) 332-2331

Hours:

Mon-Fri 6 am-midnight, Sat-Sun 6 am-1 am

A Starbucks for your thoughts or Why are there so many Starbucks around me?

In honor of the recent opening of a new Starbucks in my neighborhood and the not so recent closing of two others I feel it is about time I list the Upper West Side Starbucks’ and describe their importance to me. Perhaps there is reason to have more than one in the end, or perhaps not.

First before we can start we have to define the neighborhood. In technical terms I live in Morningside Heights which actually begins at 86th street on the West Side. But for the purposes of this study we will be looking at an area of space that stretches from 66th street and the West Side to 106th street. The reason for these two limits is simple, that encompasses an area of New York in which I am very familiar with the Starbucks’.

With this mile radius block one would find 13 Starbucks’ (please comment if I have missed one).

Here they are:

1. Broadway btwn 87th & 88th
2394 Broadway
New York, NY 10024
United States

-A new Starbucks which I have not had the pleasure of entering and utilizing just yet. It is tucked away within an apartment building and appears to have balcony seating on a second level.

2. 86th & Columbus
540 Columbus Avenue
New York, NY 10024
United States

-This Starbucks is symbolic of my own childhood. I went to school not far from here and would many a day get coffee here before and after school. My friends and I had a unique relationship with this Starbucks in particular because we had this bizarre and just flat out weird style of studying where we would wake up extra early the day of a test and meet up at this location at opening (ie. 6 in the morning). This was done with some regularity throughout the year and thus the morning manager was convinced we were part of some alternative lifestyle group that would finish our nightly extravaganzas at a Starbucks. Back in the day this place had sofas and leather chairs as well as a plethora of plugs for computer use, now it has been consumed by the wooden tables and chairs and airportesque style of many a Starbucks of late.

3. Broadway @ 81st
2252 Broadway
New York, NY 10024
United States

-This is a very popular and almost always busy Starbucks. It has the appearance of being a large cubical and in recent years has greatly reduced the more interesting seating in favor of more chairs and tables. Some of you may remember this Starbucks appearing in You’ve Got Mail, but again the seating arrangement featured in that movie is no longer available at this Starbucks. It is decent as far as Starbucks’ go; service is pretty quick and there is a lot of seating, though don’t expect to always be able to get a seat. Personally I find this one to be too loud (considering the set up of a giant cube) and less conducive for work or leisure reading. In short this is a meeting Starbucks, many come here to talk.

4. 93rd and Broadway
2498 Broadway
New York, NY 10025
United States

-Completely opposite of the Starbucks on 81^st street, this Starbucks can be very quiet, even in the front where the registers are. I have found in the past that when looking for a Starbucks to get a lot of work done in a quieter environment this is my pick. Again though as is the case with pretty much all the Starbucks’, the seating has gotten much less comfortable. One thing that does set this one apart form a typical Starbucks experience that I have had is that its service tends to be slower and the lines can form here pretty easily.

5. 81st & Columbus
444 Columbus Avenue
New York, NY 10024
United States

-Once in my life have a ventured in to this Starbucks to actually stay and talk there. Mostly I see this Starbucks as a place to pick up drinks after eating at any of the Natural History Museum restaurants (The B. R. Guest restaurants that refuse to work with Open Table, I’ll talk about this in a post to come). It’s a smaller Starbucks with less storefront windows. Beyond that its location is important to note as it is, as mentioned, right near the American Museum of Natural History as well as the 81^st street entrance into Central Park, which is very popular during the summer months because of Shakespeare in the Park.

6. 95th & Broadway
2521 Braodway
New York, NY 10025
United States

-This one I have always believed to be completely and utterly unnecessary, though it does get a line in the morning. I see it as unnecessary because when standing in front of it you can see one Starbucks two blocks south at 93^rd and Broadway and another Starbucks three blocks north at 98^th and Broadway. Nevertheless I have found reason to utilize this Starbucks, as have many other morning travels. I guess one reason that it gets use is its location right near the Subway entrance, though you can see the two other stores, both are a few more blocks from the express stop at 96^th street. Second to that is its location on the west side of the street. With its addition to the neighborhood I do not have to cross to the east side of the street to obtain a coffee and then back to the west side to go home. This is an extremely lazy technicality but it deserves mention for that regardless.

7. 75th & Broadway
2140 Broadway
New York, NY 10023
United States

-I am less familiar with this Starbucks but that does not mean I haven’t visited it a few times here and then. It has had the purpose for me at least of being a rest stop on the way from Lincoln Center back to Morningside Heights. In this respect its bathroom is very nice as are the lines for ordering, but on occasion those lines have been long and the service slow.

8. 76th & Columbus
338 Columbus Avenue
New York, NY 10023
United States

- I can’t really comment on this one as I have been here maybe once. I just don’t use Columbus when traveling uptown or downtown, mostly because Broadway has that convenient curve to it that helps get me directly to Lincoln Center, Columbus Circle, Time Square, and Union Square.

 

9. 98th & Broadway
2600 Broadway
New York, NY 10025
United States

-Due to its location it has been my Starbucks of choice. My friends and I would meet here in the mornings when going to school (on days that we weren’t getting up at 5:30 to go to the one on Columbus to study). It is at this Starbucks that I always find myself reading the paper, eating breakfast (from Lenny’s Bagels across the street of course), and blogging. The service is always dependable and most of the time I can find a seat, but it isn’t easy. Though it’s a newer addition to the Starbucks trend I do greatly appreciate its location and have utilized it on a fairly regular basis, their lattes are always well prepared.

10. 73rd & Columbus
267-275 Columbus Ave
New York, NY 10023
United States

-A Starbucks I can’t say I have entered in more than once if that. Again its location on Columbus puts it out of the way for my needs but I’m sure it is just like any old Starbucks.

11. 70th & Broadway
2045 Broadway
New York, NY 10023
United States

-With this one I am going on record and saying that I believe Starbucks has made a typo with the address of this Starbucks. It is located just south of the intersection of Broadway and Amsterdam and I believe it is on the Amsterdam side of that intersection. Regardless if it is the Starbucks on the Amsterdam side and I am not missing another Starbucks in that area it is a fairly large one that is mostly dominated by a younger crowd who are either one their way or coming from the Sony movie theater on 68^th street. Because of the crowd it draws I have utilized it less and less of late, it is not good for anything productive. But in the good old days when I was impatient waiting for a movie to start I would venture in here for a drink. That is if I didn’t head over to the one on Columbus and 67^th street.

12. 103rd & Broadway
2690 Broadway
New York, NY 10025
United States

-I believe this one is the newest member to the Starbucks crew and is doing a fine job of getting established. We will see how it fares in that area, it is the second to move into the Broadway in the low 100s block, the first one closed and became a bank. It is good to have a coffee shop up by many choice restaurants as well as the Silver Moon Bakery which in it of itself is a destination to visit. We will see if it lasts.

13. Columbus @ 67th
152 – 154 Columbus Avenue
New York, NY 100235921
United States

-This Starbucks wraps up my high school years with it being closer to the 68^th street movie theater and frankly a little better than the Starbucks on 70^th and Amsterdam. I find that it was better because it had more comfortable seating (back in the day not now) and had the room to do the stuff that we liked to do, such as play a rousing game of Monopoly or hold an eight person plus discussion of the hidden meaning within the third Matrix movie; The Matrix Revolutions.

So those are the Starbucks in my life and the different purposes they have had. The real point of discussion here is the number of Starbucks within just a mile radius defined by 86th and Broadway. What are the uses you have for Starbucks? Or are you one of the many who are annoyed by the abundance and uniformity of the Starbucks system that you have boycotted them all together? Whatever your opinions are share your thoughts:

 

What does Starbucks mean to you and how do you define its role in your community? Is it the destroyer of the small coffee shop? Or the savor who finally created an evening location for young people that doesn’t include alcohol.

 

Discuss:

Clover is at Cartel Coffee Lab

***STRAW GOSSIP***

A couple months ago, huymans wrote about the clover and the other day I was in a cafe in Tempe, called Cartel Coffee Lab, where I spotted a clover. I didn’t get to try it, so I can’t review it at this time, but I figured I’d put it on the radar. If you’re in the area, go give it a try — Cartel is located at 225 W. University Dr. Tempe AZ 85281 Suite # 101. They aren’t open early in the morning, which is a little bit of a problem for those commuting into work, but their hours are: M-Sat, 8AM-6PM. I’ll turn this into a review when I do get to try the clover.

What’s next for Clover?

Perhaps the best first post for Coffee Straws is one that deals with the culture of coffee. As such I would like to discuss some recent developments with the Clover Machine. Back before this blog existed I wrote a post for the now deceased Literature’s Next Frontier that responded to a New York Times article detailing the Clover Machine and one other from Japan that was nearly double the price. Now without the price being disclosed here, a doubling might not sound like so much but here is the kicker… the Clover costs around $11,000 meaning the Japanese version, the Siphon Machine costs around $20,000. So what we are dealing with here are coffee makers that rival new cars.

The reason I bring the Clover Machine up now is that a few weeks back it announced its merger with (or rather its take over by) the Starbucks Coffee Company. The announcement on their website suggests that with Starbucks the original idea of the Clover Machine can be brought to a larger audience. The Clover inspires the idea of coffee as an eloquent drink once again. In its precision and style, the machine manages to produces a near perfect (only because perfection is arguably impossible) cup of coffee that should never be consumed with the aid of milk and sugar. This rediscovery of coffee as an eloquent drink helps elevate it to the level of the now extremely popular espresso drinks. But will that elevation continue under the guidance of Starbucks?

Starbucks in it of itself deserves a whole section of posts as it at best has extremely mixed and polarizing reviews from the coffee community. There are those that swear by the taste and culture of Starbucks and there are those who believe it has destroyed cafe culture. It is obvious to see what these two camps will conclude when looking at the Clover, but what about the coffee culture at large? Will we benefit from Starbucks’s takeover? With such a financial powerhouse behind the manufacturing of the machine, its technology can be mainstreamed and thus made cheaper for a broader market, but at the same time the essential elements of the machine might be lost in this mainstreaming and the coffee produced may not fit the same bill.

So we are left with the question: Cheaper and more accessible or expensive and sophisticated? Now that is one problem, a second and arguably more important problem is the loss of aura when the small company Clover becomes part of the Starbucks empire.

Thus let us engage the question: What is next for Clover?