Starbucks Corporation

This Week In Food: Hilarious Restaurant Chalkboards, EFF if Effing Closed, and Names That Sounds Like Vagina

Hey, it's May! Let's take a look at what this week in food brought us... Edwin reviewed Urban Seoul in Irvine and feasted upon their post-modern bibimap. Then he shared the closing of Endless Food and Fun in Huntington...and I will keep all ironic comments about it to myself. Then he posted a phot ... More >>

Starbucks Testing Handcrafted Root Beer

Once focused on, well, coffee, Starbucks has evolved into a one-stop beverage empire. Its latest offering may be handcrafted sodas: lemon ale, spiced root beer and ginger ale. Starbucks Melody, an unofficial Starbucks info site, reports that the company is testing the items, which are naturally br ... More >>

Dr. Alvin Yee, Who Saw Young "Patients" at Starbucks, Prescribed Drugs and Had One Die from O.D., to Plead Guilty to Federal Counts

Dr. Alvin Ming-Czech Yee, who lived in a Mission Viejo residence but used Starbucks locations as his office, will plead guilty April 17 to charges brought by federal authorities who first accused him in October 2011 of using the coffee lounge as "a front for drug dealing."A 21-year-old patient from ... More >>

50 Important SXSW Questions

By: Nick LucchesiEditor: We have so many questions here in Austin. Here are 50 of them. 1. Will I like the pedicab costumed as The Hulk if he gets angry? 2. Are we all really just in New York? 3. Is this t-shirt rad? 4. Do you want to get some 'za, which is now absolutely the slang for pizza? ... More >>

Starbucks Offers Backdoor Access To The New York Times Paywall

So here's something. The New York Times announced yesterday that Starbucks customers can get free access to 15 articles a day on NYTimes.com if they do it through the coffee store's in-house Wi-Fi network--a backdoor to the now tightened-up paywall that the paper instituted two years ago.

Free Anniversary Blend At Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Wednesday

We used to be addicted to their Malibu Dream Ice Blendeds. But lately, free is our beverage of choice. Wednesday is not only National Crossiant Day, but Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL for those texting) will toast their 50 year anniversary with one hot deal: FREE coffee or tea!In addition to the s ... More >>

Starbucks Offers Free Tall Hot Brewed Coffee Tomorrow, July 4th

Over the weekend, Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, put out a lengthy blog post entitled "How American Can Win This Election" calling for Americans to put "citizenship over partisanship". Here's a snippet: Let's tell our government leaders to put partisanship aside and to speak truthfully abo ... More >>

Starbucks Buys Bakery Chain To Make Its Food Better

It's a common complaint that the food at Starbucks isn't very good--overpriced fodder customers often equate to airplane food if they're being generous. Yesterday, Howard Schultz and company announced they plan to do something about their weakness. They've bought up a San Francisco-based bakery ... More >>

Does Starbucks Have a Secret Menu?

Starbucks, according to several sources, may have a secret menu where one can conceivably order items with code names such as "Captain Crunch" and "Oreo Frappuccino." These drinks don't necessarily contain those ingredients, and are often just rejiggered recipes of their normal drinks with a few of ... More >>

Starbucks To Stop Using Bug-Based Food Coloring

Starbucks has announced that it will stop using red food coloring made from crushed up bugs by June. The coffee company caved under the huge consumer backlash after it was revealed that it started using the natural but decidedly icky-to-non-bug-eaters additive in its strawberry-flavored drinks, rasp ... More >>

DNA May Explain Why Some People Are Nice and Others Are Assholes, Co-UCI Study Suggests

If some punk just cut in front of you in the Starbucks line and then told a kid that Santa's not real and snarled at a puppy, you may want to have some compassion.   He may not have niceness in his genes.Researchers at UC Irvine and the University at Buffalo have found that DNA can he ... More >>

'Thank Starbucks' Counters 'Dump Starbucks' In Battle Over Company's Support of Gay Marriage

​Last week, Dave reported on a movement bitterly brewed by the folks over at National Organization for Marriage (NOM). "Dump Starbucks" urges opponents of gay marriage to ditch the coffee chain because of its support of marriage equality for same-sex couples. Since launching around May 21, its onl ... More >>

Starbucks CEO Smacks Down NOM Flunky; NOM Organizes Pointless Boycott

​Part of the problem with holding the required annual shareholders' meeting is having to talk to shareholders, as Starbucks CEO Howard Shultz found out yesterday. Shultz was taking questions after his presentation when a representative of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM)--the people wh ... More >>

Starbucks Raises Prices In China; Chinese Mad As Heck

​For a country where the average person, according to data from Nestle, only consumes three cups of coffee per year, the Chinese are downright pissed that Starbucks is raising prices. They took to the Internet to bemoan a two yuan price hike that the Seattle company announced last week--a change t ... More >>

This Week In Food: Starbucks Supports Gay Marriage, Craft Cocktail Bar Etiquette, RIP Valhalla Table

​Makes your arteries harden just looking at it, doesn't it? Find out what the heck this is and more in this week's edition of what happened on the blog this week!

Six Ways to Stop Being a Douchebag at Starbucks

​You probably don't know it, but every time you go to a Starbucks, 14 people behind you in line are shooting daggers at you and trying to kill you by modulating their alpha waves . . . and yes, it's your fault. You're the inconsiderate, self-absorbed douchebag, and you infest every coffee shop in ... More >>

Ten Great OC Coffeeshops

​We're sometimes accused of being too North County-centric around here. We can't help it; even leaving aside the snark about Laguna Engabachada, the fact is the population's up here in the 714, and choice in restaurants tends to follow the population.Coffee, however, is a different story. There's ... More >>

Dueling Dishes: Battle High-End Espresso

​Martin Diedrich. The father of the coffee revolution in Orange County, owner of the first coffee shop to make an unapologetic, small, truly Italian cappuccino, as well as the first to introduce la naranja to the idea that coffee needn't be roasted to dust in order to taste like something.Jeff Dug ... More >>

John Wayne Airport's Terminal C Opened Today; Flights To Mexico Expected By Next Summer

​Today, at 5 a.m., we went tri-terminal. That's right, John Wayne Airport's Terminal C finally opened up. Basically, there's now more parking spaces, check-in kiosks, security lanes, gates and, of course, Starbucks. Here's a map of the airport's add-ons.Yesterday there was an invite-only dedi ... More >>

In Praise of Starbucks' Mini-Cupcakes

​I only go to Starbucks when having to buy coffee for others, so I've been able to slowly eat through their food offerings over the years, scavenging over leftovers that my friends either didn't eat, didn't like and handed off to me, or that I was able to score via guilt trips. The food has never ... More >>

Starbucks Introduces Its Biggest Drink Size Yet

Starbucks has announced that it is introducing a new size of coffee called the Trenta cup. As "Venti" means "twenty", "Trenta" means "thirty"; but observant caffeine-junkies will notice that the new container is actually a 31-ouncer.  Conspiracy-theorists might wish this was Spinal Tap refer ... More >>

'Buy a Ladder': The Wit & Wisdom of Ron English

Eric StonerCulture-jamming artist Ron English​If you haven't already read my enthusiastic review for "Status Factory: The Art of Ron English" at OCC's Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion, then take a few minutes, read it and then come on back. Not only will it give you a lead on a damn fine exh ... More >>

Turkish Caffè Latte at Kéan Coffee

ProfessorSalt.comTustin barista Brien Flanagan shows off latte art​It's not the silt-rich cup of mud that is real Turkish coffee, brought to a simmer several times in a traditional ibrik. Kéan Coffee's twist on caffè latte is nonetheless my favorite OC coffee drink of the moment.

Free Starbucks Coffee on Tax Day (Bring A Mug, Though)

pierofix @ flickr.com CC BY-NC-SA 2.0​Hey you! Yes, you.Do you want a free cup of coffee? Then take a reusable travel mug and go to any Starbucks today for a free fill-up of brewed coffee.Other places are doing freebies or discounts as well, including McCormick and Schmick's, Cinnabon and Jamba Ju ... More >>

Free Cone Day a Raging Success; Free Pastry Day, Not So Much

Dave Lieberman​Did you get your free pastry yesterday? What about your free Ben and Jerry's ice cream cone?

Five Restaurant Rip-Offs We Could Live Without

​Dining out can be a lovely occasion, and the temptation to overspend is very great, because extravagance lends a sense of occasion to the meal. Restaurants do what they can to maximize the profits; they're businesses, after all. The reality for most of us, sadly, is that budgets are a way of life ... More >>

Disguster: The Choice is Yours

​Over at our food blog, Gustavo Arellano (perhaps you've heard of him) rather amusingly skewered the many more unfortunate choices in our recent "Best of OC" readers' poll: Starbucks for best coffee, Chipotle for best burrito. Not so insightful or adventurous, you see, kind of the equivalent of gi ... More >>

UPDATED: To Fly For: Virgin America's Onboard Menu

​When was the last time you chose an airline based on the food it offered? Nope, I've never done it, either. Years back, Virgin Atlantic used to provide pretty good grub, even in cattle class. No longer: Every recent flight I've taken with them has been characterized by slop guaranteed to make you ... More >>

The Benefits Of Social Networks: Free Ice Cream For Your Friends

Starbucks is giving away a total of 20,000 complimentary pints of its own-brand ice cream from now until July 19 (that's around 800 an hour). The catch? You have to be on Facebook, and you have to nominate a "Friend" to receive the coupon (redeemable at local grocery stores).I've not tried the froze ... More >>

New Argentine-Mexican Restaurant Open in Downtown Santa Ana

Not the restaurant's logoI once really liked a brilliant Argentine chick, and I know she liked me as well. But it wasn't meant to be, mainly because I was/am so clueless to matters of the heart that I blew it. My current chica once dated an Argentine guy, and that obviously didn't work out. So, Arge ... More >>

Haagen-Dazs' Fleur de Sel Caramel Is Surely The Best Ice Cream Flavor Ever?

A self-confessed ice cream addict, I love seeking out new varieties, especially during National Ice Cream Month (July). I'm lucky enough to live near Hans' Homemade Ice Cream in Santa Ana, which takes care of any cravings for the real deal, but if I'm struck by the midnight munchies, store-bought ha ... More >>

Huh? Starbucks And Subway Top Zagat's Latest List

The survey from the "burgundy bible" rates this duo the best fast-food coffee and most popular fast-food mega-chain, respectively. Which makes me wonder if the reviewers--more than 6,000 of them, who visited more than 100 chains across the country--are living in a parallel universe. One in which Sta ... More >>

Martin Diedrich on Surviving Starbucks And Thriving With Kéan

When I visited Kéan Coffee's new Tustin location last Sunday, it had only been open six days and already the lines were out the door. While that may have been due in part to staff still getting up to speed, it was definitely pulling in the punters. For good reason, it seems.The drinks menu is ... More >>

Oat Cuisine (Part 2)

As exciting as eating Kashi Go Lean for breakfast every day is, once in a while a girl has to try something new... Especially when the weather's taken a turn for the worse and your stomach is craving something warm. You'll remember Edwin's recent post about Starbucks venturing into the world of brea ... More >>

Kean Coffee Takes Over Starbucks

Score one for the little guy! Fellow blogger and foodie Brekkie Fan sent me a note that the Starbucks at Newport Ave. and Main St. in Tustin is going to become the second outpost of Kean Coffee. Kean -- as all caffeine junkies already know -- is Martin Diedrich's indie coffee house; The one he ... More >>

En Garden

Rancho Los Cerritos Garden Tours

Another Mall getting Mauled

"They're going to ruin the best mall in Orange County, aren't they? I think they are." That's how local blogger Julie Scott began her latest email to me, upon finding out that the Westminster Mall -- selected "Best Guy-Friendly Mall" in last year's "Best of OC" issue by me -- was due for a big, mul ... More >>

Letters

Add in a completely substandard produce section and meat that I could find cheaper elsewhere, and you have the perfect storm of crap

Battle of the Sexes

I Can Live With That

Mark Axelrod

The Chapman University English professor shares some of his favorite things

Coffee. Talk.

No. 9: Kean Coffee keeps it real in this mixed-up, crazy corporate world

Newport Hipsters Paralyzed

Yes, it's true. Even Balboa Peninsula's ultimate ennui establishment has been forced to close its doors. Alta Coffee, home of stunning baristas, live music, freshly brewed coffee and - as written about in Best of OC 2005 - a damn fine vanilla soy chai latte, is closed this hazy Monday. What could ... More >>

Deconstructing Sali

Her Fridas fine; now if Sol Arts owner could just find parking . . .

Boob-Lift

Dumped: Sex & the Pity

Tales of being dumped and dumping

Bad Hair Day

Wired

Coffee talk with George Fryer

Working for Beans

Demo at Diedrich Coffee is no Battle in Seattle

Letters