Star Bar

Starbucks, coffee company that some people love to hate, came to Japan in 1996. In the short nine years since, it's taken the country by storm. At last count, there were more than 500 "Suta-bakusu" here, there and on every street corner.** "Sutabakusu" is too long though, so most people just call it "Sutaba," which sounds really weird to say in English until you realize that it sounds a little bit like Star Bar.

Shortening foreign names when pronounced in Japanese is actually not a bad idea: take the prime example of "Makudonarudo" which makes way more sense as "Makku". By the way, if you click on that last link, you'll see the featured burgers of the month. Along with the keema curry I referred to yesterday (if I was really cool I would link back to my own post but I'm not so I don't know how to do that...), the "cheese egg double mac" is something I'm all about lately. Aren't you proud that I mostly just think about it and then go home and make dinner like I should? Since they came out, I've only had ONE...so far.

The original point I was getting to is, though Star Bar may seem to be on every corner, and almost is here in Tokyo (from the Room here, I can walk to two of them in five minutes or less), that's not quite good enough for them. So now they've entered the convenience store coffee market with Discoveries. I haven't actually discovered--ha ha!--these drinks yet, but I plan to give them a go before we go (can you tell it's close to or even past my bedtime, though it's only 10?!). Some people think this is horrible. I can understand why; this person lives in NY, knows WAY more about coffee and what it "should" taste like than your average convenience store patron, and she's down on Starbucks in general, probably for good reason?!

However, I have to respectfully disagree with her on this point, in spite of the fact that I haven't actually imbibed Discoveries yet. Here's the reason: she hasn't been drinking the competition. Eeww. I shouldn't be too hasty with my eewws, because I'm known to wander into the nearest convenience store and grab a Mt. Rainier Latte, in which coffee is found as the third or fourth ingredient! These people are selling cups of faintly coffee colored milk!

Therefore I suspect Discoveries might not be so bad. But I'll have to get back to you after I actually drink one. Which won't be any time between now and when I go to bed.

Oyasuminasai.

**the ubiquity of Star Bar now seems very ironic when I think back to the day that M and I walked around Ochanomizu in the rain for almost an hour trying to track down the ONE that was rumored to be there. can't say with authority that it actually the first one in Japan, but when we finally figured out where it was, that latte was delicious and worth the one hour train ride AND the hunt in the rain! right after that latte is when I should have bought stock in Starbucks Japan...?!