Foxhall Square 3301 New Mexico Avenue NW - Nov 11, 2005

On Veterans' Day we went to the Starbucks nearest Jacinda's place by the Cathedral. This store was very different from others we've been to so far. For one thing, it was split into three areas. First you had the store itself, which is sort of inside a mall, but it really isn't a mall so much as a collection of no-name stores in a building's lobby. Then outside the Starbucks, but still indoors, there is a large seating area with tables and armchairs. Finally, there was outside seating.

This part of D.C. is one of the wealthiest and you could tell by the clientele. They were much older than in the other stores we've visited and there was Lacoste as far as the eye could see. This is also probably the first store we've been to where there were kids; the nannies must have had the day off. Even though there were kids there, it's probably the nicest Starbucks we've been to yet.

The day before, Starbucks corporate had decided it was Christmas and all the stores were appropriately decorated. (Here's a story about how their holiday promotion almost failed.) We didn't try any holiday drinks on this visit, but we will soon. Jerry did have a "peppered bacon," egg and cheese sandwich, and it lived up to its spicy name. This Starbucks seemed to feature their breakfast sandwiches and they had a person dedicated to manning the toaster. Jim Romenesko has a post up on why Starbucks shouldn't bother selling hot breakfast food. One other thing: Overhearing a customer order a drink led us to wonder, what's the point to ordering a decaf doppio, which, to the uninitiated, is a double espresso.

Consumed: A half-caf grande two-pump no-whip mocha and a gingerbread loaf (Jacinda); a grande mild blend coffee and a peppered bacon, egg and cheese sandwich (Jerry).

What do you have to say about this Starbucks?