We stopped at Starbucks this morning, after a trip to the post office, mostly to see if the baristas were sporting armbands (see yesterday's I.Blog post). They weren't. We were a little disappointed, actually.
We figured as long as we were there, we would check out their operations.
An old rule in quickie restaurant reviews is that the plainest thing on the menu will tell a lot about a place.
We decided to try the espresso, which is not as plain as coffee, except in Italy, where it is favored over cups of coffee, because it is faster to drink (hence the name). It requires a little expertise to make, and has a certain lore about it, and important details to its presentation.
For instance, when you order it to stay (really the only way it should be ordered, since to-go espresso will be stone cold before long), do they serve it the way they should, in a proper porcelain shot cup? Or in a dimwit giganto paper cup?
We are happy to report that we were served the drink properly, in a standard espresso cup, on a saucer.
It looked right, and tasted fine as we threw it back. No bitterness and no burnt taste. That's good; but we thought, after leaving, that the taste was actually pretty negligible. Two blocks away, the drink was a dim memory.
The reason for the worldwide Starbucks closing yesterday was to provide a refresher course for the baristas and managers in product, serving, and overall Starbucks experience. Company chiefs said they were concerned about "watering down," which was probably not meant literally. Ironically, though, that's a literal description of what we got.
It is a tough thing to have both surprise and sameness as corporate goals. We will bet on sameness at Starbucks in the end.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca Blog
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