Tag Archives: Lower Manhattan

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: 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: Chambers & West Broadway

25 Jun

Chambers and West Broadway Starbucks

So far TriBeCa has been one of the most impressive neighborhoods I’ve visited — at least as far as Starbucks is concerned. Don’t get me wrong. The neighborhood is beautiful. I love the low buildings here that are contrasted by the towering skyscrapers of the nearby Financial District. And there seems to be an endless possibility of cafes, restaurants and trendy bars to jump in and out of. I’m making a note to come back here on a day when I have time to visit more than just Starbucks.

But, then again, the Starbucks is worth the visit. This location on Chambers and West Broadway is large, sunny and conveniently located over the red line. Luckily most of the business men and women are tucked away in their offices right now and the Starbucks is only lightly occupied. It’s most distinguishing feature is this small square seating room in the corner. It has faded mirrors on the walls, an old L-shaped bench occupying half of it, and large paneled windows that fill it with light.

Although there’s currently construction outside on the street, it doesn’t affect the ambiance of this delightful Starbucks.

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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: Charlton & Hudson

14 May

Starbucks on Charlton and Houston

Today I felt like trekking on down to the West Village. One of my favorite neighborhoods and former residence — briefly, but still.

I walked from Washington Square Park and cut southwest through the trendy portion and touristy areas. Where I ended up was the Starbucks on Hudson Street near Charlton. This portion of the Village is sometimes referred to as the Far West Village, and is a small business enclave within the neighborhood. If I couldn’t tell that by the well-sized business buildings, strategically placed lunch stops,  and rushed footsteps hurrying the opposite direction from where I headed, it was made apparent by this location’s business hours.

It’s closes at 8pm each weeknight and is not open at all on Saturdays and Sundays. I was shocked at first. I mean, this location is large and beautiful. But who would be here to enjoy it on the weekends? Practically no body is here to enjoy it right now. Just like the Starbucks in the Financial District, there’s nobody that wants to stick around after working a full day’s work. If they need a pick-me-up after work, they’ll run in, but staying open past 8pm would be a poor business decision.

So here I thought I’d discovered my new weekend get-away to come and work on my computer in a large, vacant Starbucks, when all I really found was a tease. Still, its size, outlet availability, and the fact that it has two restrooms makes this a better location then most.

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NYC Starbucks: Houston & West Broadway

11 May

Starbucks on Houston and West Broadway

The past two days we have had the temperature reach the 70s here in the city. Summer is coming.

I arrived here in NYC last August as the summer of 2012 was nearing its end. But I still got to experience enough NYC heat to know how to prepare myself this year. Oh yes — I had my fair share of  sweltering subway rides and fritzy AC units. Before moving here from Florida, a friend who had lived in Manhattan tried to warn me.

“The city can get sooo hot, that when you come in from the street you can still feel the city on your skin.”

“Nah, it can’t be that bad.” I had naively stated. “I’m from Florida!”

I remember his words every time I feel this city seep into my flesh. In the winter you get the harsh cold, and in summer you get the damp, dirty heat. Either way, New Yorkers cannot help but wear the city where ever they go.

Well, obviously that heat is not upon us yet. But I was driven to this SoHo Starbucks on this soggy Saturday afternoon because I need to armor myself with shorts, tank tops, and flip flops to combat the impending summer temperatures. This Starbucks is in a great location on the northwest border of SoHo. It still gets a good crowd, but it’s not overwhelmed like the location on Grand & Broadway. Also it’s directly below Washington Square Park, and the distance between is filled with some pretty decent bars and restaurants that mostly cater to the NYU crowd.

It is — of course — Frappuccino Happy Hour, and although this place has a good amount of lines, grabbing a seat wasn’t impossible. With two separate seating areas and even a little bench area in the hall, this location is ready to serve both those grabbing and going and those looking to stay awhile.

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NYC Starbucks: Barclay & Broadway

9 May

BarclayandBroadway

Today my caffeinated journey took me to a new Downtown neighborhood — Civic Center of Manhattan. This small neighborhood is the municipal heart of NYC. It surrounds the beautiful City Hall Park and contains city hall (obviously…), the  courthouses, and the police headquarters. It is also a few blocks north east of the World Trade Center and 911 Memorial.

For being in one of the many hustle and bustle parts of Manhattan, I have to say this Starbucks can handle the crowd just fine. Of course there’s a congestion of low-headed individuals waiting for the 1 restroom near the entrance, but that’s just the NYC norm. Past that, this Starbucks contains a plentiful amount of seating (which is only 3/4 full during business hour rush) and some pretty adorable decor. The music is a blast from the past (70s and 80s), but they seem to have the volume up a tad too much. And there are outlets in the building — they just aren’t conveniently located near the majority of seating.

Another interesting factoid  is that this Starbucks is below the Woolsworth building, which New York University owns part of.  I randomly ran into two classmates of mine while scoping out the place. One insists that this Starbucks might want to look into dusting the security cameras they have placed above the barista bar. Just passing along the message…

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NYC Starbucks: 14th & 6th

25 Apr

14thand6th

The Starbucks on 14th & 6th straddles the West Village to the south and Chelsea to the northeast. Although these are two of my favorite neighborhoods in the city, neither this block nor this location takes on any of their admirable characteristics.

This isn’t a “bad” location by any means — it’s just crowded and condensed. Besides the fact that 14th street brings a lot of pedestrian traffic, it’s also right off of the F/M trains. Fortunately, this location is just a 10 minute walk from several great attractions, including: the Chelsea Market, Union Square, Washington Square Park, and the Meatpacking District.

One notable characteristic is that the restroom is slightly hidden. There’s no signage for it, and it’s behind a door with a keypad-handle. It opens right up to reveal a small hallway with the typical gender-neutral restroom at the other end. Unless you’re curious-by-nature or inquisitive, you may miss it entirely.

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NYC Starbucks: Delancey & Allen

14 Apr

DelanceyandAllen

This weekend has been a weekend of firsts for me. Yesterday I had my first Dim Sum brunch in Chinatown, and today is my first day exploring the Lower East Side.

This neighborhood is known for its roots in immigrant families and tenement housing. In fact, there’s a Tenement Museum here that replicates the close quarters and living style of the families that traveled over through Ellis Island. The LES’s reputation for being a poor, working class neighborhood of diverse cultures is now fading away due to gentrification. In fact, the neighborhood itself is shrinking. The East Village, Alphabet City, Chinatown, and Little Italy used to all be lumped together in this neighborhood before breaking out with identities of their very own.

Here’s another trivial fact for you — the LES has only one Starbucks.

The single Starbucks on the busy corner of Delancey and Allen street — to me — shows that gentrification (dreaded by all Manhattan traditionalists!) has yet to immerse this neighborhood completely. My biggest guess for the lack of Starbucks here is the lack of transportation in the southern parts of the LES.

Fortunately this one Starbucks is much more impressive than most in Midtown. It’s large, full of seating, and lacks the cramped feeling of most here in the city. It’s also the only Starbucks in the city I’ve encountered with an extended sidewalk awning — another first!

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NYC Starbucks: Greenwich & 8th

12 Apr

Greenwichand8th

Today I decided to try out Starbucks’ Clover machine on an iced coffee. In case you haven’t heard of the Clover, it’s this coffee pressing contraption that is only available at select Starbucks locations. Like a traditional coffee press, it uses heat and pressure to extract the rich flavor from roasted coffee grounds. You can request to get most coffee based drinks with the Clover, and it really enhances the taste of the bean.

My iced coffee was made with the Starbucks Kenya roast, and I have to say it beats the hell out of a regular iced coffee from Starbucks. I usually drink my grande iced coffee with 2 Splenda,but only needed one for this guy. If you haven’t tried the Clover, I highly recommend it. You can use your Starbucks app to figure out which stores offer it and which don’t.

The Starbucks on Greenwich & 8th Avenue is just as impressive as the Clover. As far as design is concerned, it’s one of the best in the city. The exterior is nothing but glass panels that round out the street corner instead of creating a sharp angle. The interior has a dark wood theme throughout and large concrete columns with wooden shelves and seating arrangements built into them. Although it’s not the biggest location, and outlet availability could be better, this Starbucks makes up for it with style alone.

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