I'll admit it, I used to be a huge Starbucks fan. Not only did I go there to study on a regular basis in college but I also worked there for the better part of a year and used to bring home pastries and a pound of coffee a week, much to my roomies' delight. We devoured the maple oat scones. (Unfortunately, my other roommate worked at Coldstones and brought home cake batter ice cream with sprinkles). Needless to say, we didn't lose any weight that year.
When I moved to France I missed Starbucks and walking around with a coffee in my hand like a real American. On my trips to Paris (the only city with Starbucks at the time), I would buy pounds of coffee and treat myself to lattes with extra foam. Thankfully, Copain indulged me and would sit in what he called Starbook while I got my fix.
After six years en province I was forced to cut my Starbucks habit and got used to sitting on café terraces with a café crème and a yummy pastry, people watching and enjoying l'ambiance. When we moved to Paris, I was excited to have Starbucks at my fingertips again, but it seemed ridiculously expensive, not to mention packed at all hours of the day. Ambiance de merde.
I still go from time to time, but it's rare and usually ends in complete and utter irritation at the line, the management or the big ice chucks in my blended frappuccino. It's a last resort kind of thing, plus, it's cheaper to share a big drink there than for both of us to get our own drink at a café.
You can imagine my shock and surprise when I came across the Starbucks wannabe - McCafé- next to the Carousel du Louvre. I'm sure that this has happened in Amuuurica already, but this is the first McCafé that I've seen in Paris. And where is it located? Funny you may ask! Why, right across the street from Starbucks!
I feel it's my American duty to test it out and report back being the past Starbucks fan that I was, but I'm pretty sure I'm just going to be annoyed at the American designer coffee industry. Syrups and Ventis and whipped cream, oh my!
Is it the la fin du monde or is it just the next step in fast designer coffee? Another contender for the Starbucks empire? Anybody already been? Do tell - worth it or should it automatically go on the ish list, right next to Starbucks?