I can’t say that the East Village is one of my favorite neighborhoods in Manhattan. It’s a little to purposefully grungy for my tastes. But it is growing on my – slightly. The area around St Marks street has a lot of unique restaurants and shops to dive in and out of including Japanese style hotdogs (???) and an ice cream shop named Big Gay Ice Cream (love it!).
Today I’m sitting at the Starbucks on 3rd street and 1st avenue. As I sit here homeless and/or displaced New Yorkers hang out on the benches in front of the cafe while hipsters walk, bike and skateboard by. Earlier a saw one girl training another how to dance with a flaming hula hoop (I just can’t make this stuff up).
The Starbucks itself is small for a corner location. The lounge is L-shaped and contains only a limited amount of seating. There’s a downstairs but that’s just for the Starbucks Partners. It does have a restroom — but unfortunately for the hundreds of people that came in just for that — it was out of order. I will say that the decor is pretty on-point and the Starbucks logo painted directly on the exterior bricks really tie this location to its neighborhood.
The Good:
The Location… Close to the unique restaurants and shops of the East Village and near the F-train.
The Power Outlets… There aren’t much seats, but there are at least outlets most everywhere.
The Bad:
The Crowd… Not only were most of the seats inside taken but even the benches outside had consistent occupants.
The Size… A tiny corner location with only a little bit of seating against the windows.
Restroom… Just the one. I have a feeling there would have been a very long line too if it were actually in-service. Lots of people walking in just for that.
Barista Friendliness:
Drink of Choice:
Grande Iced Coffee
Overall Starbucks Rating:
The hippest Starbucks in the city?
Starbucks and the City 
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