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NYC Starbucks: Stone & Whitehall

9 Jul

Stone and Whitehall Starbucks

Today I did something I’ve been wanting to do all summer. I got on a Citi Bike and rode around the city with no particular destination in mind. No work, no gym, no particular Starbucks — just riding to see what I see. I started in the Upper East Side (or as close to the UES as Citi Bike gets, which is 59th & 2nd), then biked through Midtown-East, the East Village, cut through SoHo, Little Italy, City Hall and into the Financial District.

I ended my joy ride at Bowling Green Park and the end of Broadway. Bowling Green is actually the oldest park in NYC and was constructed in 1733. Surrounding it now is the National Museum of the American Indian, some tall office buildings, a Chipotle, and — of course — a Starbucks.

The Starbucks is on the corner of Stone Street and Whitehall Street, just south of the park that divides Broadway in two. It’s right on top of an R-train stop and not far from the 4/5 station. When I first attempted to enter, the line was literally 2-3 people out the door. As I sit in the back right now, I can see the line has once again breached the door. I see this a lot in the mornings, but this is 3pm on a Tuesday. Clearly, the park and the museum drive lots of tourist traffic.

There is a small seating area in the back of the Starbucks where I currently sit with a handful of other patrons. Some are business men, some tourists and some (like me) are just typing away on laptops. No restroom though — so sitting at this Starbucks has a time limit — or should I say bladder limit?

Overall, I’d say this a good Starbucks to get a quick pick-me-up at and then take it to the Bowling Green Park.

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NYC Starbucks: 53rd & 6th SWC

4 Jul

53rd and 6th SWC Starbucks

I’m sitting at Starbucks and starring out the window at another Starbucks across the street. Only in New York. Happy 4th of July everyone!

This Starbucks is on the south-west corner of 53rd and 6th avenue. And if I look just beyond the Venus de Milo statue (beautiful, btw) I see the other Starbucks on the north-east corner of the same cross street. It looks to be attached to the Museum of Modern Art, and I look forward to venturing over there someday soon to see how it compares to this one.

This Starbucks is not one I’d recommend for someone looking for a sit down experience at a cafe. Not only is it small (although well lit), but it’s very, very crowded. A lot of tourists are taking breaks from their NYC adventures here so the lines are long and most seats are taken. Contributing to the length of the lines are entire families, language barriers, and a barista staff that seems to move in slow-motion. I can’t really blame them, though. It’s the 4th of July, and I know how it feels to work on a day were everyone else is having a BBQ.

God bless America, and God bless Starbucks.

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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: Spring & Varick

23 Jun

Spring and Varick Starbucks

Today summer is in full bloom here in NYC, and it’s the first day that I’ve felt the dreaded subway station sweats. So I figured: why fight it? I’m heading out to the Christopher Street Piers to soak in some sun. But on my way — of course — I just had to stop and get an iced coffee in the area.

The Starbucks on Spring & Varick is located in a small neighborhood called Hudson Square. Apparently in the past it was known as the Printing District and it still contains a lot of media, communications, and advertising offices. Now they just don’t print as much as email. Hudson Square is west of SoHo, north of TriBeCa and south of the West Village. It’s basically the Southwest Village, only 7th avenue disappears into Varick street and the nice restaurants turn into tall business buildings.

Although I’ve been to the Starbucks on Spring and Varick at least twice before, I noticed something for the first time today: there are only three chairs!

This Starbucks is cute. Really cute. It’s on the street corner with large plate glass windows that let in lots of sun. All the tables and the bar are that nice beach wood style, and there’s plenty of open power outlets on the walls. But still… there’s only three chairs.

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NYC Starbucks: 58th & 8th

17 Jun

58th and 8th Starbucks

The Starbucks on 58th and 8th Avenue is full of unused potential. Well… maybe not potential, but certainly a lot of unused space. There is an entire back wall that is completely empty of tables and chairs. There’s even a lonely open outlet on the wall that probably never gets used — except for maybe the desperate person needing to charge their phone that wanders in once in a while. I can picture them leaning their on the wall, as I’ve seen at so many other Starbucks before.

I think the lack of accommodations at this Starbucks is nothing more than a defensive strategy against the tourists and workforce that are assuredly beating down the door every hour of operations. I remember visiting the Columbus Circle Starbucks just north of here and feeling like I was in a mosh-pit.

Luckily I arrived here during a lull in business and was able to grab on of the few barstools that line the barista bar. The good thing about sitting in an uninviting Starbucks such as this one is that the  crowd disappears fast. I see them come in the front order their drinks or see that the only restroom is currently out-of-order then head out.

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NYC Starbucks: 35th & 8th

13 Jun

35th and 8th Starbucks

I’m only going to blog about the Starbucks on 35th & 8th for as long as I can stand it. No, quite literally, I’m standing as I type this. Welcome to Midtown! Right?

It’s actually not too inconvenient to stand, because this location provides a long high bar to do so as you people watch those jumping in and out of the subway entrance to Penn Station. If there were bar stools here I have a feeling this place would just be a little to cramped as the barista bar is directly behind me. There is some seating in the place (a row in the front) but it probably gets gobbled up once  seat is vacated. Like I said, welcome to Midtown.

This is NYC congestion at its best. And in the hour after 5pm on a weekday all the commuters are heading this way to escape Manhattan simultaneously. In Times Square the crowds are touristy so they’re mostly wandering like sheep looking up at the lights. But here… people have places to be. Lolly-gag in front of someone trying to get home from a long day at work and you’re going to get a mouth full.

Luckily I’ve tucked myself into a tiny corner of this Starbucks to simply observe for the moment. Taking a moment to escape that (even if I’m standing) is the closest I get to a zen moment before I’m back out there pushing and shoving with the best of them.

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NYC Starbucks: 15th & 3rd

12 Jun

15th and 3rd Starbucks

Pint-sized Starbucks are like a double edged sword. On the one-hand, they’re small so seating is limited and they can resemble a cramped elevator during rush hours. But one thing they have going for them is that most people tend to get their caffeine fix then move on. Perhaps it’s a case of claustrophobia, but most people don’t linger in the smaller Starbucks whether there’s seating available or not. This opens those empty seats up for those looking to read, write, work or just surf the web with some added background noise.

At least that is the case at this mini-Starbucks in Gramercy on 15th & 3rd. It’s so small that it doesn’t have a restroom available to the public, yet there is still myself and 3 others using this space to take care of some business. Others are coming and going, but no more than half the seats are ever taken. The only foreseeable problem I see is what happens when this iced red eye I’m drinking makes me need a restroom… So basically this is a Starbucks with a limited visitation time.

I strongly considered giving this Starbucks a 1-cup rating, but it has a certain character that made me hesitate. The seating is limited, true, but it is organized in all the right places — pushed toward the front and away from the line and milk station. Also the fact that their is barely a crowd to speak of helps out. Although, I can’t say what this location is like during the morning rush.

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NYC Starbucks: 50th & 2nd

8 Jun

50th and 2nd

I’m sticking to the east side of Manhattan for the moment. And today I discovered a new neighborhood: Turtle Bay.

Turtle Bay spans Midtown-East from 43rd to 53rd street. It encompasses the UN Headquarters, and from what I observed, a lot of nail salons, obscure restaurants and grocers. I look up and I see much more apartment complexes than office buildings. And there’s a good amount more greenery here as well.

The Starbucks on 50th & 2nd has a cute (and clean) exterior. In fact, the whole location is much cleaner than most Manhattan Starbucks. The crimson red sofa looks like new and the wooden bars shine (how exactly is wood shining?). Unfortunately, cleanliness doesn’t help the fact that it’s a teeny-tiny location. There’s maybe 15 seats in the whole place. And a lot of them are directly across from the bar where the line builds up.

I’ve come to expect Midtown locations to be pint-sized. But usually when they are pushed so far east into the residential areas (as this one is) I tend to expect a little more room.

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NYC Starbucks: 43rd & 9th

5 Jun

43rd and 9th

The Starbucks on 43rd and 9th is another victim of construction shielding draped around the exterior. That’s two in a row! I know NYC is forever changing — updating, evolving, improving (maybe?) — but at times it seems like the entire city is covered by one monumental construction awning.

Earlier this year, my street was being torn up in order to get new piping — or at least that’s what I assumed. For at least 2 weeks we would find a notice on our building’s door saying that we would be without water for an 8 hour period starting at 8am. No showers — no flushing toilets — just bottled water to brush your teeth with. Thankfully my gym membership allowed me to maintain a normal schedule.

I was reminded of this when I entered this Starbucks and noticed a sign on the door that stated the Starbucks will be closing at 8pm tonight and would resume operating hours tomorrow. Then, on top of that, the 1 restroom has an out of order sign on the door. Strike 2, I think. Then as I take in my surroundings a bit further, I spot the covers on the power outlets. Strike 3.

Since 2 of these things could just be happenstance flaws, I’m reserving some judgement. After all, I was able to grab a seat right away, and the environment is welcoming enough to keep me here while I write. And one of the best things about Starbucks in NYC… There’s surely another one around the corner.

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