Ronald Holden has been writing an award-winning wine and dining blog, Cornichon.org, since 2004. A Northwest native, Belltown resident and unreconstructed Francophile, has worked at KING TV, Seattle Weekly and Chateau Ste. Michelle. He has published five guidebooks to the wine country of Washington and Oregon and is the wine columnist for The NW Magazine. He is also the director of wine tours for The International Vineyard, restaurant reviewer for Belltown Messenger and editorial director of DeliciousCity.com.

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Starbucks Invents Banana Platform

1 comment

July 14, 3:35 PM

by Ronald Holden, Seattle Food Examiner

Schultz at ceremony introducing Pike Place roast

Cast a pitying glance at Howard Schultz, if you must. The oft-admired, much-maligned head of Starbucks faces ever-greater challenges, now that the Sonics are out of his hair for good.

He's closing hundreds of stores, but the trade press is still complaining that there are too many Starbucks (except, of course, for the one on your block). The new blend, Pike Place Roast, that Schultz introduced to shush folks who complained that Starbucks was "over-roasted," is getting poor reviews from diehard coffee fans. Duncan Donuts is selling coffee drinks you can order "in English, not Fritalian." (Tell me again, what language is "latte"?) Even Mickey D is selling espresso.

So what's next for Howard? Two things. First, a new dessert concoction, described in breathless prose by Condé Naste Portfolio: it's affogato. "Idiots," I can hear millions of Italians muttering. Affogato ("drowned," in Italian) is no more than a shot of espresso poured over gelato. Local coffee outfit called Torrefazione used to serve it, until they were bought out and shut down by...um, Starbucks.

Which brings us to the present day. The latest step down the garden path is to be called Vivanno, a fruit smoothie. (Sounds Fritalian to me.) Not just any fruit but...banana! And not just banana, but banana with added protein powder for the health-conscious and added fiber for the geriatric set. Says Rob Grady, Starbucks' beverage vice president. "It's a new platform for us."

It's a slippery slope, no? Let's hope the banana platform is more stable than the banana hammock. And that the forgotten fog of affogato past doesn't spoil our sunny summer.

Topics: Starbucks , Howard Schultz , bananas , smoothies

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Best Restaurants: Pike Place Market

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September 22, 10:05 PM

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September 18, 11:26 AM

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September 16, 5:16 PM

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Anthony Bourdain Would Love Kushibar

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Grilled sardines on the spit at Kushibar From a Q & A with Anthony Bourdain today in the Kansas City Star. Are there any food kicks that you get on? I’m on a yakitori jag. There’s sort of an underground scene of casual Japanese... Read More

Suck It: Wine Through a Straw

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Keren Brown, who writes the FranticFoodie blog at the Pee Eye, posted a link this week to an article about foods that cause bad breath and stain your teeth.To counteract bad breath, Keri Glassman (a registered dietician who's paid to dispense her advice... Read More
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Business Prof : Some Yelping Is Good. Arf! Arf!

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