Slog - Comments on Throwing Scones http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew I'm frequently accused of taking marching orders from Andrew Sullivan—a friend and an absurdly frequent linkee here on Slog—when, in actual fact, Andrew and I disagree on a great many issues. Socialized medicine, for starters, and Paul Krugman and Al Gore and hate-crimes laws and, or course, Gay Eustace. (I did, of course, agree with Andrew about the, erm, war.) Well, you can add those little vanilla scones at Starbucks to the list of things we disagree about. Andrew says... ...totally awesome: moist, sweet, crusty, the best pastry Starbucks has come up with. I couldn't disagree more. I like petite... Copyright 2008 Fri, 09 May 2008 08:12:32 -0800 Mon, 12 May 2008 08:56:53 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Mr. Poe How do you walk into Starbucks with a straight face?

]]> Mr. Poe http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1020938 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1020938 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 08:20:01 -0800 Comment by Heather Try walking in to Charbucks holding a latte from Mcdonalds and ordering a scone.

]]> Heather http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1020945 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1020945 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 08:32:35 -0800 Comment by Michigan Matt Homemade scones are the best.

]]> Michigan Matt http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1020949 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1020949 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 08:41:22 -0800 Comment by JMR I'm a Charbucks basher but still I would sneak a Toffee Almond Bar now and then back in the day. I don't even know if they still make them.

]]> JMR http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1020950 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1020950 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 08:41:55 -0800 Comment by MyDogBen Dan has a stronger stomach than I do. I could only deal with the sconette one time. Blech. I do like those cranberry bliss numbers at Christmas.

]]> MyDogBen http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1020960 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1020960 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 08:50:50 -0800 Comment by Lorin Just remember that Starbucks took the NYC Artificial Trans-fat ban way too seriously: they wanted their menu to appear to have no transfats at all, meaning they asked their vendors to stop baking with BUTTER.

No idea what they use instead, but how can it be good?

]]> Lorin http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1020965 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1020965 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 08:53:20 -0800 Comment by Dan Savage I resort to Starbucks when I must, Mr. Poe—on the road, when there are no other options. At home: Vitta, Vivace, Victrola, Presse, etc. In Rock Mill, South Carolina? Not a lot of options.

]]> Dan Savage http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1020968 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1020968 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 08:58:59 -0800 Comment by Mr. Poe There is never a reason to resort to Starbucks, Dan. Elitist? Pa-leeeze.

Hugz!

]]> Mr. Poe http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1020971 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1020971 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 09:03:30 -0800 Comment by Cato the Younger Younger I admit it; I like Starbucks (at least the one I frequent in Wedgewood) and when those little scones came out I was upset they were not a full size scone AND the flavor was really weak. I complained to Starbucks on line and got three free drink coupons. Complain to Starbucks and they give you free stuff. Needless to say I bitch A LOT!!!

Want a free coupon?

]]> Cato the Younger Younger http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1020976 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1020976 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 09:07:41 -0800 Comment by palm oil #6: Starbucks is just mandating less than 0.5 grams of trans fat in any one item so they can say "trans fat free." A little more than an ounce of butter in a pastry is fine with them. If they got rid of all trans fat they would have to be 100% vegan.

]]> palm oil http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1020978 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1020978 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 09:11:53 -0800 Comment by monkey I tried them once when they came out because they sounded so good but they really do suck a lot.

]]> monkey http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1020992 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1020992 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 09:26:32 -0800 Comment by PC Starbucks is bad, because it's big and successful. That's why nobody drives cars made by Honda or Toyota, too, and nobody listens to the most successful musical artists. Nobody buys SONY and Toshiba TVs either.

It's not enough to just dislike Starbucks, we should rag on people who are okay with Starbucks, because they're morally wrong. Because they are not as morally discerning, or as tasteful, as we are.

Now excuse me while I go put an anti trade bumper sticker on my SAAB and write a letter to my cousin in West Virginia telling him to stop clinging to things. I also have to put a handmade rough Guatemalan wall hanging I bought in ChiChi over my Toshiba hi def TV and stereo unit. Also, I need to write a letter to protest imports on my new laptop from china and my HP printer from Singapore. As soon as I can find small independent makers of printers and comptuers I'll patronize them too -- if they get the price down. I do what I can.

]]> PC http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021000 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021000 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 09:34:48 -0800 Comment by AMB Sometimes Starbucks is the only choice for something better than stale drip coffee, depending on where you are. I tried a sample of one of those "scones" and thought it was horrendous. The texture was all wrong, and the cloying sweetness was disgusting. There's a lot of delusion required to love those things.

]]> AMB http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021020 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021020 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 09:59:50 -0800 Comment by catalina vel-duray I don't mind Starbucks. I just wish they were more consistent. Isn't that supposed to be the appeal of a big chain? Instead, my drink of choice (mocha) can be a gooey overly sweet thing at one store, and a harsh, apparently sans-chocolate thing at another.

Also, I think they really dumbed stuff down in the last five years or so. They used to sell the most fantastic mini baguettes. Then they went to a really doughy faux baguette. Then they got rid of them entirely. I'm still bitter about that.

]]> catalina vel-duray http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021023 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021023 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 10:02:20 -0800 Comment by Cato You should try the cherry almond scones at Stumptowm....now those are some quality scones!!

]]> Cato http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021029 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021029 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 10:12:23 -0800 Comment by Jeff Andrew, like yourself, is a great asset to the gay community. My politics is somewhere between the two of you. You have both, probably more then any other gays, have crossed the gay/straight divide and brought both together by showing how much we have in common. And also how much our differances compliment eachother. There almost seems to be an apology for your freindship. Only that bothers me. Andrew is a great guy and has taken a lot of slack from the lock stepped gay crowd. He, like yourself, has stepped outside of the SGN echo chamber and asserted his own voice. We need that.

]]> Jeff http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021035 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021035 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 10:15:44 -0800 Comment by PA Native The Starbucks pumpkin scones are the best food in the place.

]]> PA Native http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021036 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021036 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 10:16:13 -0800 Comment by PopTart Weird. I like the vanilla scones. I like the glaze to scone ratio. I think the other scones are always very dry and I prefer a more cake like texture so the vanilla scone works for me. Of course now that Dan has likened it to Play-Doh I suspect he's ruined the taste for me.

]]> PopTart http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021054 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021054 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 10:26:24 -0800 Comment by keshmeshi How can an Englishman enjoy a Starbucks "scone"?

Thank God Starbucks sells Top Pot, because none of their pastries are any good. Above all, don't try the rustic cheese pastries. They are revolting. I hate throwing away food (I'll even eat burnt toast rather than throw it away) and I had to throw that pastry in the garbage after one bite.

]]> keshmeshi http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021055 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021055 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 10:26:34 -0800 Comment by Cato the Younger Younger I saw an employee at Top Pot blow there nose into some donuts!!! I SO will never eat there again!!!!

]]> Cato the Younger Younger http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021081 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021081 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 10:44:52 -0800 Comment by Fnarf Andrew Sullivan is a great blogger, but he eats exclusively garbage. His idea of exotica is Chilpotles. He's a Brit, for chrissakes, and he left England before the current good food boom began.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021088 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021088 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 10:49:27 -0800 Comment by fluteprof You know Andrew Sullivan??? No!

]]> fluteprof http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021093 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021093 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 10:53:02 -0800 Comment by Abby I only drink at Starbucks in the fall, when they get pumpkin lattes back in. It's a good thing they only feature them in the fall because they're even worse for me than what I normally eat. (Also, kind of awesome, despite that I don't really like Starbucks espresso.)

]]> Abby http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021111 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021111 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 11:03:54 -0800 Comment by bs Ugh. Don't bother trying them in Toronto either. Just... terrible. Ginger mollases cookies ftw!

]]> bs http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021124 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021124 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 11:11:30 -0800 Comment by Fnarf @22, no, I don't know Sullivan. But he blogs about his garbage diet all the time. KFC, Taco Time, McDonalds, he eats pure shit every day. Of course he thinks a Starbucks cookie is good.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021372 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021372 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 13:27:43 -0800 Comment by whatevernevermind Posts like this make it very difficult to ignore the fact that you're friends with Andrew Sullivan. Seriously, wiping that and your original cheerleading of the war (and you at least eventually repented of that, right?) out of my mind are the only ways I can enjoy Savage Love and some of your other writing. Otherwise, it's like thinking of John McCain when having sex: a total buzzkill.

]]> whatevernevermind http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021382 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021382 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 13:32:18 -0800 Comment by Eric from Boulder Each and every time I've succumbed to expedience and purchased a Starbucks pastry, it turned out to be stale. Whether it was once good, there's no way of knowing. On the other hand, it was overpriced, so I guess that's something.

]]> Eric from Boulder http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021540 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021540 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 15:46:17 -0800 Comment by E Mr Savage's description of these alleged "Star-scones" may also be used for the entirety of the native English cuisine.

]]> E http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021605 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021605 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 16:37:16 -0800 Comment by Fnarf Like hell. English food is oustanding if you know what to look for. A proper English breakfast is a thing of wonder.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021652 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021652 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 17:14:17 -0800 Comment by feom okay, so Starbucks does not have good, i mean great, i mean orgasm-inducing scones. fine. don't buy them.

so, then, WHERE IS a good place for scones? (not the trashcan, haha.)

i don't normally eat scones, i don't really consider them to be traditional breakfast food. or snack food. or any other type of food i eat period.

but one time i went to Sureshot on the ave and was looking for something to go along w/ my hot choc, and the cashier suggested a scone, said they were vegan and great heated up. so i did and they were great.

Sureshot? any place else?

]]> feom http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021765 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021765 Chow Fri, 09 May 2008 19:56:48 -0800 Comment by Wish I were in Seattle At Sullivan's suggestion I bought three petite vanilla bean scones at Starbucks yesterday. They totally did not cut it. They're not scones, they're just sweet, slightly dry dough with some kind of sugary glaze. These scones are, to borrow an unlikely phrase, all hat and no cattle.

]]> Wish I were in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021948 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021948 Chow Sat, 10 May 2008 13:29:24 -0800 Comment by Delia I do not believe you have ever actually tasted Play Doh or you would not mistake it for any pastry however vile. It's so loaded with salt it makes you gag.

]]> Delia http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021978 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021978 Chow Sat, 10 May 2008 15:55:31 -0800 Comment by Angry Sam Another inferior but overpriced food product from the minds at Charbucks!

]]> Angry Sam http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021993 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021993 Chow Sat, 10 May 2008 17:33:29 -0800 Comment by Angry Sam Also: if Caffe Vita decided they wanted to make scones, they would be the best damn scones ever, man.

NOTE: I am not a Caffe Vita employee but if they want to throw some free beans my way as encouragement, I'll accept 'em.

]]> Angry Sam http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021994 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1021994 Chow Sat, 10 May 2008 17:36:10 -0800 Comment by jen hutchin On Andrew's advice, I tried the vanilla scones. Ate half of one, gave the other half to the dog. He wouldnt eat it. My husband came home and ate the remaining two, then said they werent very good.

]]> jen hutchin http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1022278 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/parting_ways_with_andrew#c1022278 Chow Mon, 12 May 2008 08:56:53 -0800