why must every moderately successful store in the UK be immediately turned into a chain?

probably = problem xp

Someone tell those guys they can't all cut the ribbon. One will almost certainly have the ribbon slip away from his scissors.

Coffee in Britain is shit, let's just cut to the chase.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v134/tracerhand/ohsnap.gif

Why is it that Dunkin' Donuts is a big Berlin thing? It was perhaps the most depressing time I had in Berlin, all because stupid German friends kept on ranting about how good it is. It isn't. I know of one DD in Ireland, which has two donuts. Hurrah!

why is santa claus naked

... daddy?

I think that Naked Santa Vampire pretty much settles this debate.

Coffee in Britain is shit, let's just cut to the chase.

-- Matt DC, Tuesday, November 6, 2007 4:16 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

whaddayagonnado. i think it's fine.

views on PAUL, i wonder, which i think is good + overpriced.

the bad taste in my mouth from wagamama has more to do with crappy, dumbed-down food that was generally over- or undercooked as opposed to any corporate affiliation. it was one of the only restaurant meals aside from macd's that my friend's toddlers would stand for so i'm more well acquainted with the chain that i'd like to be.

maybe they fucked your food up on purpose. did you do something to make them mad?

Coffee in Britain is shit, let's just cut to the chase.

otm! and while we're on the subject, what exactly is it that keeps starbucks in europe from offering regular brewed coffee just like it does in north america? i don't know many real-life americanos who jump at the thought of espressos diluted in hot water.

fuck knows -- but everybody knows starbucks is rubbish.

though tbh it's just fucking coffee.

thats a good point. coffee is just coffee.

i like a good cup, but i'm not shedding a tear if it's marginally better in paris or milan or whatever.

Waga's habit of bringing the food exactly when it's ready, is rubbish.

i.e. you get yr boiled rice 10 mins before the main course it should be with.

Do you Britishes not get Illy brand canned coffee? That stuff is far and away better than a bunch of the stuff you get filtered fresh at various chains, and that's all the way in Canada!

yeah we can get that, i think.

There's a can of the stuff sitting about 5 yards from me as I type this!

just coffee?

is that like freedom fries?

It's distributed by Radiohead.

You brew it for yourself.

Taro on Old Compton St is a good alternative if the bad taste in your mouth is more to do with the chain than the food.

Sorry Roberto, there's another Taro about 300 yards away on Brewer Street.

what exactly is it that keeps starbucks in europe from offering regular brewed coffee just like it does in north america?

Nothing, they do offer it. Maybe they've marketed the Americano so that people don't think to ask for it?

it's never on the 'board'

i'm not sorry, they're allowed two if they're good. xp

og cluster gangbanger JB weighs in

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/julie_burchill/2007/12/why_i_love_tesco.html

Number of times she can fit personal pronouns into one sentence really is astounding:

"Maybe I'm lucky, but personally I find I get all the validation, passion and commitment I need from my family, friends, religion and voluntary work"

Nice ad for the voluntary work there too. yer a GOOD PERSON joolee!

i think it's a fair enough thing to chuck in, given the moralism of winterson's piece.

I haven't read Winterson's... she also wrote that pro homeopathy piece so I have little sympathy for her, but Burchill's piece is staggeringly banal, irrelevant, and full of strawpersons.

to give you a taste of JW, it begins "The moment I step off the train in Paris or Venice, Amsterdam or Rome, I head straight for a little bar I know, and ask for a glass of champagne or a creamy Prosecco, an aged Jeneva or a Campari Soda. These tiny family-run places are totally different to one another in feel and style, yet what they have in common is what makes them precious; they are the real thing."

seriously.

I hate ILE, everyone will be so above consumerism that they think Tesco is great!

Both articles are full of shite. BOTH.

Both are snobbish and irrelevant and make claims that are founded on horrible assumptions.

great revive

Burchill's piece is staggeringly banal, irrelevant, and full of strawpersons.

:)

Prosecco isn't creamy and JW's shop in Spitalfields is THE MOST OVERPRICED GROCER IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.

Most supermarkets are OK by me but I just don't shop at Tesco because of the Shirley Porter links, or ASDA because it's Wal-Mart. Sainsbury is essentially run by its founding family, so FINE and Waitrose is part of John Lewis, which is one of the most sound companies in Britain. I think making choices based on these things are perfectly reasonable. The big cash and carries run by Turks, Bengalis, Punjabis are fantastic and well worth a trip (especially for those giant bags of Basmati rice).

I work summer Saturdays in a farmer's market and like everything in the world, there are good and bad value items to be had and a surprisingly wide cross section of people shop there.

I can't help but make the mental link between those Krispy Kreme stands in every Tesco and the fat people in every Tesco.

The only good thing about Krispy Kreme is that its chief executive has his wage paid by the hour. OK, so he's making 100 times what an entry level employee would get, but still.

I think the main good thing about Krispy Kreme is that they make doughnuts.

Crap horrible doughnuts with gunk in the middle that tastes like sickly sweet shit.

RONG

with gunk in the middle that tastes like sickly sweet shit.

what do you usually get in the middle of a donut?

FOIE GRAS YOU FACKING PLEB

pizza

http://no-pleebs.com/no-plebs.jpg

Any views on Beard Papa? I really liked it when I visited New York last year. I see one has opened here in London just off Oxford Street (though it doesn't look like it serves the full range)

Any views on Beard Papa?

he's just a good friend, son.

I can't help but make the mental link between those Krispy Kreme stands in every Tesco and the fat people in every Tesco.

-- James Mitchell, Wednesday, 19 December 2007 19:39 (Yesterday) Link

That'd be "every Tesco within a very small circle of central London and about three outside of the nation's capital, thus making this a fantastic way of analysing greater trends in the wider sphere", yes?

At £1.29 for a bun Beard Papa can fuck right off.

there's a protest in the gentrified area of cambridge (trust me) at the moment about the prospect of a tesco coming in... the thing of it is, most provincial corner shops are not the vietnamese-truffle-vending, sourdough donut emporia that you get in that london. the most exotic place going is the polish shop down the road -- which is awesome if you're really into canned goods.

Sometimes you really need some cubed sausage in mayo, right?