Archive | July, 2013

NYC Starbucks: 33rd & 10th

3 Jul

33rd and 10th Starbucks

Today my journey brought me to the Starbucks on 33rd and 10th avenue.

I love Hells Kitchen and adore Chelsea, but there is this 10-15 block cross-section between the two neighborhoods that I’ve concluded is one of the ugliest neighborhoods in Manhattan. It’s picked up the name Hellsea, and I couldn’t agree more. Not only is it covered in construction and jammed with traffic most hours of the day, but there is ultimately no real reason for one to venture into this part of the city unless your fleeing by way of the Lincoln Tunnel. It doesn’t look residential and the few restaurants I passed by failed to stand out.

This Starbucks is actually located in the lobby of the Associated Press’s headquarters. While most lobby-oriented Starbucks are squashed and unimpressive, this one is actually a decent looking cafe. It has glass panels separating it from the entrance to the AP, and could just as easily be a solo-location.

I arrived just in time to catch the 5pm mass-exodus from the offices of the AP. Although several caffeine deprived reporters dived in for a quick pick-me-up, the line never grew too long and most left, leaving the seats vacant. If I worked for the AP I fear half my salary would be drained at this Starbucks.

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NYC Starbucks: 3rd & 1st

2 Jul

3rd and 1st Starbucks

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.

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NYC Starbucks: 42nd & 2nd

1 Jul

42nd and 2nd Starbucks

The Starbucks on 42nd and 2nd avenue is on the border of 3 distinct Manhattan neighborhoods: Turtle Bay, Murray Hill, and Tudor City. Each of these are residential (Tudor City is actually one giant apartment complex) and seem to mostly be separated by geography and not so much attributes.

I rode to this Starbucks on a Citi Bike once the rain died down. Taking the train to 2nd avenue is always a pain, and I still believe that NYC busses are simply mythological lies. But Citi Bike is definitely a way to explore the residential neighborhoods without relying on public transportation.

One interesting thing about this Starbucks is that it is attached to a Capitol One bank. Literally, they are one in the same. The barista bar is only a few yards away from the bank tellers. When the bank closes, they simply pull down a security gate to cut the giant room in half. The decor in here is decent, and the lighting is bright and florescent (that of a bank).

Today I tried one of Starbucks’ new iced beverages: the Orange Spice Iced Coffee. It’s quite an interesting drink. They take iced coffee and shake it with orange rind and cinnamon so it comes in your cup with a frothy layer over top. Although the cinnamon is the more powerful taste (reminding me of Christmas coffee), the hints of orange definitely compliment the cool beverage. It’s not something I’d get daily, but it’s certainly a new take on coffee.

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Reflection: June

1 Jul

NYC Starbucks_June

 

Half the year has come and gone. I woke up this morning and starred July in the face with groggy eyes and disbelief. My caffeinated journey through the streets of Manhattan is at its midpoint. Half the time I feel like I just started this blog and the other half I it seems like I’ve been doing this thing all my life.

The month of June has been one of my favorite months in NYC, and it was also one of the most productive. The two most noteworthy occurrences: the creation of CitiBike and NYC Gay Pride.

CitiBike officially rolled out in the beginning of June. For those of you that aren’t familiar, it is a commuter bike service that now exists in Manhattan from 59th street down. There are tons and tons of locations and it allows you access to a bike for a certain period of time (30 or 45 minutes) so you can travel from one spot in the city to another. It’s perfect for getting across town. I tested the service with a week pass and then caved and bought a year’s membership. Although it has it’s kinks (broken stations, empty stations, and overall poor computer technology), I love the fact that I can get around the city swiftly without having to go underground. Plus I get a little bit more fitness in my day.

June — if you didn’t know — is Pride Month. And the last weekend of the month, NYC celebrates with a huge parade that puts all others to shame. This year’s was exceptionally special because not only was it my first time seeing it, but it also took place the same week that the Supreme Court struck down DOMA and found Prop 8 in California to be unconstitutional. The parade was roughly 5 hours of high energy, pride-filled joy. My boyfriend and I gathered at a friend’s party on the corner of Christopher and Gay streets and watched out the windows the entire time as the parade passed by. I couldn’t have asked for a better view. Later that evening a bunch of us went to a pier dance party where Whoopi Goldberg introduced Cher, and she sang her new single. All in all, it was the most proud I’ve felt in years.

June was also a big month for this blog. I was able to visit 20 different NYC Starbucks locations. That’s the most I’ve ever gotten to in 1 month! While I did visit 3 different Starbucks that earned a rating of 1-Cup, I also found another 5-Cup location at the corner of 58th & Madison. I also decided to get the blog its own Facebook page. So if you’re reading this you should totally check it out and ‘like’ it.

Check out the gallery of the 20 Starbucks locations I rated in June and stay tuned for the July Starbucks to start rolling in.

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