Tag Archives: Manhattan

NYC Starbucks: 88th & Broadway

3 Oct

88th and Broadway Starbucks

I’m moving to the Upper West Side. It’s settled.

Well, not really — or at least not yet — but I keep finding all the best Starbucks in this neighborhood. Over the summer, I royally impressed by the large and expansive Starbucks on 86th and Columbus, and now just a few blocks away I’ve come across another Starbucks deserving of a 5-Cup rating. And for very similar reasons!

Take Broadway north 6 miles from yesterday’s Starbucks on Thames and you’ll arrive at the Starbucks on 86th & Broadway. What difference does 6 miles make? A whole lot of room. In fact, this Starbucks has an entire floor dedicated to nothing but lounging about and sipping coffee. There’s two sets of padded comfy chairs, tons of smaller tables, a long sofa and tons of power outlets for New Yorkers in need of a recharge. But aren’t we all?

The ground level of this Starbucks only has a small patch of seating, but that also works to its advantage. This way the crowd and service area of this Starbucks is completely separated from the seating. So your coffee talk with a friend isn’t constantly interrupted by a constantly flowing line of espresso deprived strangers. Even the restroom is downstairs. Perfecto.

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NYC Starbucks: Thames & Broadway

2 Oct

Cedar and Broadway Starbucks

What I wouldn’t give to see New York City in its early days — I’m talking 18th or 19th Century. And today my adventure took me to a Starbucks location that has been a coffee house for over 200 years.

I had the pleasure of visiting the Starbucks on the corner of Thames and Broadway in downtown Manhattan. From the exterior architecture alone, I could tell I was going to like this Starbucks. It looked anything but typical, and when I walked inside I got an eyeful of New York themed artwork, dark wood paneling and crowded tables for two. I also spotted this large peculiar box that I soon realized was an elevator for the disabled to access the barista bar, which is a few steps elevated from the seating area — thanks American with Disabilities Act!

Once I ordered my drink, I came across a large painting on the far back wall of the Starbucks (above). Depicted is what looks like a cafe during colonial times, and it was labeled Burns Coffee House: 1763. Of course, I did my research and found out that this Starbucks is in the very spot that Burns once stood. It makes me wonder how a coffee house operated in the 1700s. I doubt they had iced coffee.

So despite the fact that this Starbucks is sort of small, kind of dark, and has no public restroom, I’m giving it a 4-Cup rating because of it’s history and uniqueness.

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NYC Starbucks: 50th & Lexington

1 Oct

50th and Lexington Starbucks

What better way to start another month of highly caffeinated blogging then to just jump right in. September was great, but October is one of my favorite months. Cool (not cold) weather, changing leaves, and — of course — Halloween. As usually, I have no idea what I want to be yet, but I’m sure that spark of creativity will hit eventually. And this year is especially exciting since Halloween was essentially cancelled in NYC last year due to Hurricane Sandy. Here’s hoping for a dry month!

October may also be the month where I switch back to hot coffee in the morning. Half my colleagues already have, and it’s only a matter of time before the cold weather forces me into it. Stay tuned.

Currently, I’m sipping my (iced) coffee at the Starbucks on 50th & Lexington. It’s directly above the 51st street 6 train and shaped like a a pentagon with angled windows facing 50th. One unique thing about this Starbucks is that it’s a Midtown Starbucks with outdoor seating. I never would have imagined such a thing exists. But here I sit.

I’d imagine the reason this Starbucks can afford outdoor seating is because this part of Midtown is much more business oriented and has virtually no tourists. So besides those looking to catch the 6 train, this location has a pretty moderate crowd. It also has a good amount of seating and a circular design that probably makes the morning rush much more organized than some of the cramped and narrow Starbucks here in NYC. 

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Reflection: September

1 Oct

NYC Starbucks_September

 

18 Starbucks in one month! No this isn’t the most I’ve visited since starting this blog; however it is probably my biggest achievement. Why? Because I visited all 18 of these Starbucks in the first month of the fall semester of grad school at NYU. This wasn’t winter break, summer break or any other reprieve. This was just pure time management skills. Or maybe it’s because the month of September has had the best weather of the year. Not too hot, not too cold.

Also this month, instead of strictly blogging about Starbucks after Starbucks with the narrowest of vision, I decided to act more like a blogger within a community and read and write on other blogs as well. You can read my Reflection: On Blogging post for the full details. But — just know — it’s been going well. I had no idea other people were so interesting! … a joke (mostly).

As  far as the quality is concerned, this month was kind of a downer. I couldn’t find any 5-Cup rated Starbucks, but I did stumble upon five 1-Cup rated locations. And of course, the majority of them were in Midtown.

So this brings me to 145 Starbucks and counting with just three months left in the year. Can I average 20 Starbucks each month going forward to finish the year off in victory? Stay tuned.

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NYC Starbucks: Beekman & Park Row

29 Sep

Beekman and Park Row Starbucks

I really, really wanted to give the Starbucks on Beekman and Park Row a rating of 5. I did. It’s large. It’s well decorated. It’s in a great area of New York. And it’s very accommodating. Unfortunately, for all the good there is just as much bad. Ultimately it can be summed up to the simple fact that there are too many people in this Starbucks. Too many in line, too many smooching on the WiFi and too many trying to use the single restroom. Thankfully there’s enough seating to support the crowd.

This Starbucks is located in the small Civic Center neighborhood of Downtown Manhattan. It’s right near Pace University and directly across from City Hall Park. So inside the crowd is a good mix of studying college students and tourists looking for a pick-me-up. After all, this is a beautiful neighborhood with plenty of transportation options.

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NYC Starbucks: 41st & 3rd

28 Sep

41st and 3rd Starbucks

In no other neighborhood in New York is space as valuable as it is in Midtown. The Starbucks I’m currently sitting at on 41st and 3rd literally looks like it was once a retail space that was cut in half. And why not? Two small stores in Midtown means double the rent and twice the chance of profits. It’s a win win. Or, at least it is for all who aren’t claustrophobic.

But then again. This area of Midtown-East that borders Murray Hill and Turtle Bay is mostly catering to the business crowd. So most patrons probably aren’t inside this Starbucks any longer than it takes to add milk to their coffee and then scram. This also means this Starbucks closes extra early. In fact, it’s closing time now.

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NYC Starbucks: 90th & 1st

27 Sep

90th and 1st Starbucks

Today is one of those typical New York days where the sun skips over the island of Manhattan. Between the tall buildings and hazy skies, the city gets just enough hours of light to justify the passing of a day and then succumbs to darkness once more. And now that summer is officially over, the days are growing even shorter.

Still, on a gloomy day like today, going for a walk in the city isn’t a horrible idea. It’s not to hot nor is it cold enough to justify a jacket. So today, I put on my walking shoes and took a stroll north to the Starbucks on 90th and 1st Avenue. I had this sneaking suspicion that this Starbucks would be the perfect spot for a day of studying, and with the fall semester fully commenced, that’s just what I need.

And I wasn’t wrong.

The worst thing  you can say about the Starbucks on 90th and 1st is that it’s boring. There’s no chatty line waiting for coffee; no tourists with luggage; and no crazy people trying to give away laptops (see yesterday’s post). There’s just three baristas serving coffee and maintaining a lobby full of studious and quiet patrons. Everyone in here is keeping to themselves, and they are all occupied with newspapers, tablets, laptops or smartphones.

Starbucks such as this are certainly a luxury of a small neighborhoods like the Upper East Side’s Yorkville. And if boring is the price you pay for a comfy seat and a place to concentrate, then maybe I’ll rethink my continued boycott of boredom in my life… at least every once in a while.

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NYC Starbucks: 23rd & 3rd

26 Sep

23rd and 3rd Starbucks

Having visited well over 100 Starbucks in Manhattan this year, I’ve had my fair share of interesting experiences. NYC is an ‘interesting’ city — after all — filled with ‘interesting’ people. But what I witnessed today at the Starbucks on the corner of 23rd and 3rd Avenue, has got to be the craziest. I mean, most ‘interesting.’

An older gentlemen came into the Starbucks with one of those reusable plastic grande cups — stained and battered. Although he didn’t quite look homeless, he certainly smelled homeless. How do I know? Well, of course he sat directly across from me at the same table. In the short time I was there, I witnessed him harass the baristas — apparently attempting to give them a laptop he claimed had a virus on it — unload his bag of colored markers and half smoked cigarettes onto our table, and walk around the tiny Starbucks talking to no one in particular.

It’s my theory that NYC makes people crazy. It has a degenerative effect on people’s social skills and literally changes how people act, how they communicate, and how they go about their days. Eccentric may be a more politically correct way to describe the behavior I witness. But I think these habits get worse the longer someone lives in the city. After all, there’s so many people living on this tiny island, that crazy tends to blend in. It makes me wonder how I’ll act 5 years from now?

All that being said, I’d like it to be known that I already concluded this Starbucks was only worth 1-Cup long before Mr. Eccentricity showed up. Reason being: It is way too small, way too crowded and offers very few seats. Perhaps if it were more conveniently located or actually offered a restroom it would have received a higher score. But then again, if so, it may attract more kookie characters.

That’s all for the moment. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to wipe off the banana smoothie that my table-mate splashed onto my laptop.

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NYC Starbucks: Liberty & Nassau

25 Sep

Liberty and Nassau Starbucks

I was standing at the corner of Liberty and Nassau looking left and right, thinking to myself, Where is the hell is this Starbucks? One thing I’ve learned about the Starbucks App is just because it says there is a Starbucks on a certain street corner, does not mean it is actually there or easy to find. Convinced this Starbucks must be hidden inside one of the lobbies of the towering skyscrapers, I looked down in frustration… which is when I spotted the familiar Starbucks siren in a narrow window no higher than my waist.

This Starbucks is practically underground when looking at it from Liberty Street; however, as you walk around the corner onto Nassau, the sidewalk slops and you can enter the building at street level.

Already impressed by its unique street corner positioning, I walked in expecting greatness and was not disappointed. No, it’s not the largest or most accommodating. But it has class. The wall mural (depicted above) is distinctive to the Financial District. The communal table has that consists of real wood two-by-fours and has that hand-crafted look. It was clean, not crowded and had a good vibe that makes my think I’d be quite productive working out of this location.

All in all, this is my favorite Starbucks in FiDi. So far…

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NYC Starbucks: 41st & Madison

23 Sep

41st and Madison Starbucks

In an effort to combat my self-absorbed style of blogging (see blog entry below), I’ve decided to make a change. Each time I visit a Starbucks — before I put any effort into writing a post of my own — I will take the time to read some recent entries from other bloggers. I will also start actively looking for some great new blogs to read — and would love some suggestions!

There’s just so much out there. I tend to get wrapped up in my own thoughts and ambitions, when really what I’m doing is depriving myself from the thing that inspires me in the first place: reading.

Time was I would go to Starbucks solely to read. I’d read up on Astrology, read fiction, or even just a study guide for the GRE. Now, I go to write about this and write about that. But if one stops reading, eventually they will run out of topics to comment on themselves.

Also I pledge to tweet more than just pictures of Starbucks! But that’s another issue all in itself.

So what can I say about the Starbucks on the corner of 41st and Madison Ave?

It’s small. It’s very crowded. People would rather stay in here, drink their coffee, and stand then take it to go. It’s design confuses the amateur patron when looking for where the line begins — which I’m sure isn’t fun for the baristas. Also, this Starbucks is almost discrete. It has the Starbucks logo in the windows but no signing on the exterior walls of the building. Perhaps it would draw even more of a crowd, which probably wouldn’t be a good thing.

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