The closing of Starbucks

600 company-owned Starbucks stores are on the chopping block in a bid to weed out the losers and improve profitability. Here is
Ohio's list. None of these closings affect me personally, but today's WSJ reports customers are organizing "Save Our Starbucks" campaigns. I don't use Starbucks often--coffee is a bit strong for me, but it beats a fast food store if I have a choice. Another one has opened recently near our home in that ugly monstrosity on Tremont Road (multiple-use trendy), but it's within spitting distance of the Caribou and Panera's that I regularly use. I've seen Starbucks in some odd, difficult to reach locations, and they certainly aren't after drive-bys, because you'd have to plan miles ahead to figure out how to exit the main road and find the access. There's one on Bethel Road in Columbus between a shopping center and an underpass which you can get to only if you're driving east; there's one on the south side of Henderson Road in a maze and jumble of small food shops, banks and bars that you could miss if you blink; the access drive way for the new one on Tremont Road in Upper Arlington is so difficult to find that you might as well continue on and go to Caribou, just a block further south. Really, some of these seem designed for failure, or a training ground for difficult assistant managers, but what do I know? They aren't on the closing list. Maybe no one knows where they are?

Mr. Coffee

I haven't been blogging about coffee shops because I actually purchased a Mr. Coffee for our Lakeside cottage. When coffee hit $2 this summer and there were no papers to read at the coffee shop, I said to self, "You must learn to make a decent cup of coffee, even if only one or two days a week." I think it cost me about $14, plus about $10 for 2 containers of coffee, one decaf and one regular. It will take awhile to make up the difference, but I'm now going to the coffee shop only about 3 times a week. If I mix it with what I brew it's. . . not fabulous, but not awful.

What really pushed me over the edge (into buying a maker) was the day the cream was frozen. As it clotted in the cup, I returned the counter and asked for a new cup. "Oh, it's not spoiled," the college girl said, "it's just frozen." Yuk. She's obviously not a coffee drinker.

My son-in-law had actually donated a gorgeous coffee maker to the kitchen stock here, but I could never figure out how to use it. Even this new Mr. Coffee has many more gizmos and springs and looks more difficult to clean than the simple one I have in Columbus (for emergencies only).

Montanucci's in Orvieto

On our recent tour of Italy, coffee wasn't always available as early as I'd like at the hotel. But in Orvieto there was a nice restaurant around the corner that opened about 7 a.m.--Montanucci. In Italy, Cafe Americano is espresso with hot water added. It has no flavor. But it does have caffeine. Italians stand up at the bar, drink espresso and nibble little pastries. I carried mine to the table.

Newspapers required just a little adjustment. The English language edition, if you can find it, is 99% bash-Bush, compared to the at-home edition which may be 90% bash-Bush. The editorial page is the ex-pat's suicide letter home.