Friday, July 15, 2005
July 7 issue: "Taster's Choice"
Feel free to offer your own sarcastic thanks to Thanks, Red Eye! for posting on an 8-day-old story. I just discovered it this afternoon in the newspaper pile next to the trash can in the kitchen.
Evidently all coffee in Chicago is shit, because the "best"—Chicago-based Intelligentsia—scores a 5.8 out of a possible 9. RedEye might have tested some smaller, lesser-known coffee shops, but instead didn't even fucking try, accomplishing what RedEye always accomplishes, which is to encourage readers to focus narrowly on all the boring shit they already know about.
RedEye also taste-tested Peet's, Starbucks, Caribou, Einstein Bros., Cosi, McDonald's, White Hen, Dunkin' Donuts and Torrefazzione Italia. Did anyone working on this story travel more than a few blocks from the Tribune building?
As I write this, Andy asks, "Seriously, are you reporters?"
In Evanston there are at least three places that make better coffee than any tested in RedEye's pissant story. Italian Coffee Bar (1549 Sherman Ave.) is at least an 8 and Unicorn Cafe (1723 Sherman Ave.) and Cafe Mozart (600 Davis St.) would rank around 6 or 7. And all of these are near a Starbucks, an Einstein Bros., a Dunkin' Donuts, a Peet's, a White Hen and, soon, a Cosi (in fact, four of these are on the same block as Unicorn; Italian and Mozart are a few blocks south). I also know of one or two places on Noyes Street that serve Intelligentsia. If Evanston is any indicator, there is more to Chicago coffee than national-brand coffee.
Evidently all coffee in Chicago is shit, because the "best"—Chicago-based Intelligentsia—scores a 5.8 out of a possible 9. RedEye might have tested some smaller, lesser-known coffee shops, but instead didn't even fucking try, accomplishing what RedEye always accomplishes, which is to encourage readers to focus narrowly on all the boring shit they already know about.
RedEye also taste-tested Peet's, Starbucks, Caribou, Einstein Bros., Cosi, McDonald's, White Hen, Dunkin' Donuts and Torrefazzione Italia. Did anyone working on this story travel more than a few blocks from the Tribune building?
As I write this, Andy asks, "Seriously, are you reporters?"
In Evanston there are at least three places that make better coffee than any tested in RedEye's pissant story. Italian Coffee Bar (1549 Sherman Ave.) is at least an 8 and Unicorn Cafe (1723 Sherman Ave.) and Cafe Mozart (600 Davis St.) would rank around 6 or 7. And all of these are near a Starbucks, an Einstein Bros., a Dunkin' Donuts, a Peet's, a White Hen and, soon, a Cosi (in fact, four of these are on the same block as Unicorn; Italian and Mozart are a few blocks south). I also know of one or two places on Noyes Street that serve Intelligentsia. If Evanston is any indicator, there is more to Chicago coffee than national-brand coffee.
