I love coffee, but I generally don’t go to coffee shops for a couple of reasons. One, I just want basic, coffee-flavored coffee. I don’t get in to the flavors and whipped creams, although I will drink them on occasion. Secondly, I drink a lot of coffee. $4 a cup for 12 ounces would bankrupt me far to quickly.
So, for 13 years now, I’ve been drinking my coffee at the local Village Inn (your basic family restraunt/pancake house. Like a Denny’s, but nicer). For $1.59 I get a bottomless pot of basic coffee. I go there almost daily, spend an hour and read the paper. The staff knows what I want, and although they’re friendly, they know I just want to be left alone with my paper.
If I’m in a hurry, I stop at a place near my work called International Delights. They sell a lot of greek food, but make a pretty decent, if over priced, mocha to-go.
I bet some people go to Starbucks for the same reason that others go to McDonalds while travelling: no matter where you are, you know what’s on the menu, and what the atmosphere is going to be like. There’s a shop near Vanderbilt called Fido, which I’ve always heard good things about, especially for being a good people-watching spot. But when I went in there, I was confronted with a huge menu of unfamiliar concoctions all written in tiny chalk print too far away under dimly lit conditions. Something about the place just made me feel very out of my element. Not being sure exactly where “plain old normal cup of coffee” was listed, and not feeling all that comfortable asking, I just left. I should probably try again.
I only go to Starbucks when I’m out of town and it’s the closest place – like earlier this week, when I was in Manhattan. There was a Starbucks a block away, so I got my coffee there. Otherwise, I wouldn’t. Why the heck would I when I live in a town that already has its own coffee culture – and all the Starbucks are out in yuppieville for the non-natives?
I’m not a native either, but I’d much rather hit a CCs (local chain) than a Starbucks any day, though I don’t spend much time at coffee houses anyway.