Are You In or Out on Starbucks?

I'm taking coffee and coffee shop suggestions. (First, take the poll to the right, please)
If you have a favorite place, in Fort Worth or elsewhere, or a favorite method of making morning brew, I'd like to know about it.
Jeromey left a comment on my last Starbucks post, in which I complimented Starbucks for their consistent quality. Jeromey kindly disagrees and posted the following (slightly edited):

Sure, there is something to be said for product consistency, but I have 2 counterpoints:

• 1. If you think Starbucks coffee is "good", you should try roasting your own coffee. I have only recently started doing this, but already can notice the true flavors and lack of bitterness that I have been missing for years. . . If you need a source for green beans, try SweetMaria's. All you need is their coffee and a $15 hot air popcorn popper from Target. . .
  

• 2. Variety is the spice of life. Half (or more) of the fun my family and I have on vacation is trying foods/drinks that we can't get at home. Sure, you get some gems and some duds, but constantly trying new things *is the great life*. Besides this, I lament the success of the Wal-Marts and Starbucks of the world. Yuck! We should long for the days of small, independent, family-owned businesses with some character and pride . . .

I can't really say I disagree with Jeromey, although I am not sure why we bash successful companies like Starbucks, Walmart and McDonald's. I take that back, I think I know why we bash them, I'm just not sure it's justified. Americans are, almost by definition, anti "big brother"and pro the underdog. Why do you think we're up to "Rocky 8"? But no one buys a car from a "mom and pop" car manufacturer, because the assembly line, economy of scale, and automation make it cheap enough for almost everyone to afford a quality vehicle; in effect driving out the small manufacturer who would have to charge 10 times what Ford charges.
I do try to support the small, independent businessman, for lots of reasons, not always economic. There are a dozen independent coffee shops in the Rittenhouse Square area of Philadelphia. In some the coffee is not as good as Starbucks, in some it is equal, in a few it is better. La Colombe, on 19th and Walnut, is one of the betters.
Why do I like it and what makes it different?

• It is frequented by a local crowd.
• The coffee and espresso are near perfect.
• The croissants are fresh. There are two kinds, plain and almond. They are excellent. $2.00.
• There is no menu board. The selection and prices are not posted (that I could find).
• There is one size of regular coffee. $1.50.
  
• The line is long but moves quickly and you better be ready to order when it is your turn.
• Cream and cane sugar are at the order bar and kept fresh.
• The people are friendly but not phony. I love this place because it does one thing very well. It's not trying to act like Starbucks or 7/11. It sells really good coffee at low prices.
  

This is what Jeromey is referring to when he says he prefers the independent places. So do I. But not everyplace has a La Colombe or other shops almost as good.
Comments? Criticisms? Got a favorite, in any city? Please let me know.

Great New York Times article on coffee and the industry:

"To Burundi and Beyond for Coffee’s Holy Grail," http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/12/dining/12coff.html?_r=1&8dpc&oref=slogin

A Few Tips for a Great Steak at Home

Most of us love a good steak. For all around good flavor it is tough to beat, so a cover story The Perfect Steak in the Pursuits section of last Saturday's Wall Street Journal was worth a look at. It was a lengthy article on how to prepare and cook a steak the way they do at the better steak houses around the country. If you read the article you'll see how far some steak lovers go to reach perfection. Most of us are not going to go to the trouble of home aging, I know I am not. But you can still have a good steak at home without the aging process, here are the suggestions:

Ingredients
1. Purchase prime cuts of beef at Whole Foods, Central Market or a quality market of choice.
2. Rib eyes cut at 1.5 inches / Filet mignon cut at 2.5 inches
3. Use grapeseed oil or canola oil.
4. Use kosher salt.

Cooking:
1. Remove beef from refrigerator 2 hours before cooking, paper towel dry.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Heat a cast iron skillet until water droplets evaporate in a few seconds.
4. Coat skillet with 2 teaspoons of oil.
5. Liberally salt steaks, about 1/4 teaspoon each.
6. Place steaks in pan, sear about 2 minutes each side. Turn with tongs, do not fork.
7. Transfer the steaks still in the frying pan to oven, cook for about 8 - 9 minutes for 1.5 inch steaks to be medium rare.
8. After removing the steaks from the oven, let them rest under an aluminum foil tent for 5 minutes.

A Little Stoli with Your Starbucks, Ma'am?

"The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them." V. Lenin. 1920.

I thought of this statement of Vladimir Lenin's as I read the Wall Street Journal headline, "Starbucks to Open First Store in Russia". (Saturday, September 8, 2007)
Mr. Lenin might have to reword that statement if it were made today. Because the company becoming as well known as Coca-Cola is invading the motherland. After a long legal battle over Starbucks' "hi-jacked" trademark rights the company prevailed and has opened its first store in a Moscow mall. There are already many Starbucks stores in Beijing. Starbucks' goal is 20,000 outside the USA.
Some of my friends see Starbucks as a kind of "Hallmark" card of coffee stores. I don't. They have a consistently good product, a knowledgeable and friendly staff, and an atmosphere that is welcoming. Yea, they are annoyingly successful. But as I keep saying, few coffee shops can offer what they offer. There are probably a dozen coffee bars near me as I write in Philadelphia, and there is only one that has coffee as good. One. Starbucks does this 20,000 times in the U.S. with remarkable consistency. But I'll talk about the one here that I like in a day or two because it is impressive.