An Intense Moment at Starbucks

[RSL]

.

[amolitor]

Hah! The dude outside on his cell phone, totally oblivious, makes this one for me.

[Chris Calohan]

They're doing homework...every starbucks in town is littered with kids doing homework...and making dates.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

They're doing homework...every starbucks in town is littered with kids doing homework...and making dates.

That's my beef with American cafes. In Europe, cafes are places you come to see and be seen, to relax, unwind, meet a friend for a chit-chat, get away from work, enjoy life. It is the very apotheosis of doing nothing. In America, cafes, like everything else, are all about doing something: work, work and only work. Turned into office space. People oblivious to life and humans around, eyes glued to the screen in front of them, watching someone, somewhere else having a life (even if it's a surprised kitty's life).

And don't get me started on choices. In Europe, I would order my coffee, my cognac and my ice cream, at the same place, often together. Here, if I want a coffee, have to go to Starbucks... want an ice cream?... look for a Haagen-Dazs... and to get a cognac with either?... oh, my!

Rant over.

[Rob C]

That's my beef with American cafes. In Europe, cafes are places you come to see and be seen, to relax, unwind, meet a friend for a chit-chat, get away from work, enjoy life. It is the very apotheosis of doing nothing. In America, cafes, like everything else, are all about doing something: work, work and only work. Turned into office space. People oblivious to life and humans around, eyes glued to the screen in front of them, watching someone, somewhere else having a life (even if it's a surprised kitty's life).

And don't get me started on choices. In Europe, I would order my coffee, my cognac and my ice cream, at the same place, often together. Here, if I want a coffee, have to go to Starbucks... want an ice cream?... look for a Haagen-Dazs... and to get a cognac with either?... oh, my!Rant over.

You could be talking about the UK. We pigeonhole everything, a hangover from union days. ;-) Nobody is happy in Starbucks: they are finally about to have to pay tax in the good old Merry of England!

But seriously, you are right: life is relatively sophisticated in the European capitals, but try to spot an open café or bar in rural France as you drive along the A or D roads... carry a flask!

Rob C

[AFairley]

Hmm, I like this because you have to work your way through reflections in the windows to get to the mail subject, but I also don't like it for the same reason.  A little schizophrenic, I know.

[dreed]

That's my beef with American cafes. In Europe, cafes are places you come to see and be seen, to relax, unwind, meet a friend for a chit-chat, get away from work, enjoy life. It is the very apotheosis of doing nothing. In America, cafes, like everything else, are all about doing something: work, work and only work. Turned into office space. People oblivious to life and humans around, eyes glued to the screen in front of them, watching someone, somewhere else having a life (even if it's a surprised kitty's life).

In contrast to this, I've seen McDonalds restaurants with McCafes in them set up with tables that were there to support young people bringing in their laptops and/or doing homework. Ok, so that's not a real cafe because it is a McCafe, but it represented something very different to what is seen in American McDonalds.

And don't get me started on choices. In Europe, I would order my coffee, my cognac and my ice cream, at the same place, often together. Here, if I want a coffee, have to go to Starbucks... want an ice cream?... look for a Haagen-Dazs... and to get a cognac with either?... oh, my!

If you're European and you went to Starbucks then you would order something called "coffee" and when it arrived you'd wonder if that is what Americans call coffee, where do you find something like what you have in Europe. Americans don't know what coffee is... Save yourself the insanity and just boycott the USA.