Hi DC, It’s Me Again.
Hi DC. It’s Tom. Nice to see you again.
Sorry I had to call you in on such notice, but I think it’s time we had a talk. See, you seem to think that the stuff you get from Starbucks and Caribou is the best coffee in town. Starbucks isn’t a coffeshop. Coffeeshops have culture and community. When I go into a starbucks, it’s because I want one specific thing and then I want to get the fuck out of there before the nature of the place devours my soul.
When I want a real cup of coffee, made by artisan baristas, with real patrons that know each other and use the space as a space between home and office to get work done, then I’m not going to fucking Starbucks, mmkay? Alton Brown said it best when he talked about food recently: “Don’t trust food to people who don’t love you.”
Starbucks doesn’t love you. Murky loves you. Greenberry’s loves you. Misha’s loves you. Starbucks doesn’t.
Mmkay? Glad we had this little chat. Don’t fuck it up again.
By the way, you might want to take a peek at what Going Out Gurus chose. Sure, it’s not 100% what I’d have chosen, but it’s better than some of the crap you chose.
Thanks.
I have reluctantly given my money to Starfucks, Inc. on rare occasions (usually airports, where you have little choice–go for a $10 beer I say). Tom, I am in complete agreement. If you can, patronize the local establishments.
Another one to add is Swing’s on G St. and 17th. It’s only a block away from a Starbucks and a Caribou Coffee. It’s worth the extra walk.
Sometimes you gotta have a frappucino, I know it as well as the next sugar loving frozen coffee drinking american, but I also know that it’s not really *coffee at all*…
I discovered a cool coffee shop in Great Falls this weekend, of course I wish the discovery happened under better circumstances.
But Tom, why are you so hard on Starbucks? God forbid you have affordable coffee in your neighborhood, Tom, that would really suck.
Since when has Starbucks been affordable?!
As soon as a local, non-chain coffee shop opens up next door to Starbucks on Dupont Circle or on New Hampshire & U, I’ll give them my money. That’s assuming their coffee tastes good, unlike other East Coast toilet water coffee favorites (Wawa, Dunkin Donuts, etc). When I lived in Seattle I rarely went to Starbucks because other options were everwhere.
I literally have to walk past two Starbucks here in Clarendon if I want to get to Java Shack. But it’s totally worth it.
Who voted for Best Bets for D.C., tourists? Starbucks as the best coffee? Ann Taylor as best women’s store? P.F. Chiangs (sp?) as best Chinese!?
They might as well have called it Best Bets for generic USA strip mall town.
I agree, however, I have a bigger question … don’t you live in Northern Virginia? Never has there been a more starbucks friendly area than arlington.
I do live in Arlington, and there are several here, but there are also:
Murky Coffee on Wilson Blvd (Clarendon/Va. Square)
Java Shack on WIlson Blvd (Courthouse/Clarendon)
Greenberry’s on Wilson Blvd (Rosslyn/Courthouse)
Misha’s on King St. (Old Town)
Rappahannock on Columbia Pike (S. Arlington)
And that’s just off the top of my head. Sure there are more Starbucks, but the better coffee is had at the indy joints.
The Post Best’s are a contest of mediocrity – the lowest common denominator gets the most votes. My view – if my fav makes the list, time to re-examine self and change tastes.
I’m not sure that’s exactly fair. There are some things in the Best Bets that are absolutely wonderful, Ray’s the Steaks, Cakelove, there are just some agreed upon wonderfulness in this town, and I do have to respect that.
PF Chiang’s? Starbucks? Nuh uh.