Frank, Starbucks was good back in the early 90s when a boss I worked for had it flown in to our office weekly in small batches. I later learned that the decaf coffee, creating quite a buzz in my aging body, was about 33% caffeine...compared to about 10% caffeine in anybody else's decaf coffee.
Later, I discovered ILLY's coffee at Williams Sonoma while working there one Christmas season. Better than La Colombe, if that is possible. When I go to Starbuck's now, it is to drink black tea in a large cup and to read in one of those large chairs a newspaper. Sometimes the piped-in music is actually enjoyable...Mel Torme or something easy on the ears. The fact that Starbucks uses fair trade commodities mollifies my conscience. If I want to order coffee out, I go to Dunkin Donuts or Wawa. Sande Knight ----- Original Message ----- From: Frank<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: UnivCity@list.purple.com<mailto:UnivCity@list.purple.com> Sent: Monday, January 07, 2008 11:11 AM Subject: [UC] Inky on Dock St. Through bruce McC and the SBC list: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/rick_nichols/20080106_Drafting_a_course_of_change.html<http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/rick_nichols/20080106_Drafting_a_course_of_change.html>. My response: "So it is hard to overstate the change in mood, in vibe, in the very dynamic of Cedar Park occasioned by the opening in that firehouse of Certo's reimagined Dock Street craft brewery and its modest menu of wood-fired pizzas, burgers and salads. In the four months since it arrived (over the objection of a nearby church and a smattering of anti-gentrification activists)" Hard, yes, but he managed to do it. Also: a "smattering?" I noticed the "anarchist's" comment that "at least it's not a Starbucks." I found some interesting facts about Starbucks here: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/books/review/O-Rourke-t.html?_r=1&oref=slogin<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/books/review/O-Rourke-t.html?_r=1&oref=slogin>. "Clark informs us that in 1989 there were 585 coffee houses in America. Now there are more than 24,000. Fifty-seven percent of these are what Clark calls “mom and pops.” “Paradoxically,” he writes, “the surest way to boost sales at your mom-and-pop cafe may be to have a Starbucks move in next door.”" Frank PS. I recently found out that I'm allergic to gluten so sadly Dock Street won't be on my list of places to eat.
