I have hated Starbucks for a long time. They are symbolic of what I hate in the American food industry, a well marketed company with bad to mediocre product making the most money. I can't blame them for trying to be successful but as a true lover of food/beverages, I cringe at the thought of their coffee.

Last Tues, Starbucks closed all 7100 stores across the country to re-educate their employees on how to make their drinks. I thought to myself, great, they are going to improve their product and I won't have to suffer during all the casual business meetings held at Starbucks. Today, I had some time to kill between lunch with my friend Dot and an acupuncture appointment, so I went to Starbucks to see what improvements they've made. I walked in, stood on line, bought my coffee, put my sugar and half & half in, walked out and took a sip. Nothing had changed. The experience was surely the same and the coffee was just as burnt as before. I took a few more sips and thought about it again. No, it's still going in the garbage.

To leave you on a happier note, here are few places where I think you can have coffee: My favorite is Oren's Daily Roast, which has several locations. Joe the art of coffee, is acceptable. Cafe Brama has good cappuccino's. I know that some people just go to Starbucks out of convenience since there is always one near you. My advice is to opt for a deli or street vendor. Some are decent, some are even good, and they are always much cheaper. The bottom line though is that there isn't much great coffee in New York. Sad and surprising, but true. I keep Kona Joe coffee at home so I can make myself a good cup when I need one.