Sometimes I wonder if I have to catch a flight to Paris or Vienna in order to find a decent cafe. All I want to do is:

• Get good coffee.
• Sit in peace, possibly for an hour or more.
• Enjoy something like "style".
• Not feel pressured by wage slaves or their managers to buy more,more,more.

Starbucks: I hate them. They blast the music, the baristas half the time behave like they are at a bar, and their regular coffee is horrible. I have even seen baristas throwing things into the sink and slamming things, making yet more noise. Oh, and their claims of being a "social responsibile" company are a complete lie.

Barnes and Noble: The baristas at the B&N cafe area act like gibbering idiots. There is either no music or horrible music. And they act offended if you don't spend $10. They seem to have no comprehension of the fact that they need to earn my money and that no, I am not going to spend $5.50 on a sandwich if the people behind the counter are acting like loud monkeys.

Borders Books: The cafes at Borders are somewhat better than B&N and Starbucks, I have to admit, but their "Seattle's Best" coffee is putrid. You have to buy their espresso beverages.

Dunkin Donuts: Don't get me wrong, I love people from India and Pakistan, but for some reason at D.D.'s, the commitment to sanitation never seems to meet American standards. Indian restaurants are much better.

I swear, at this point if Wawa were to put tables and chairs outside their establishments, I would prefer to go there because they have good, cheap coffee. And, I'm going there anyway for gas.