the ichor of the gods
I was surprised when my boyfriend first told me he waned to go to Barcelona, if only because I figured he would rather go to Greece or Turkey even. I was even more surprised upon reaching Barcelona to find the first Dunkin' Donuts I've seen in Europe. Yes, I'm sure there are more, perhaps even in Amsterdam somewhere...but I don't think so...they have law I am told to prevent coffeeshop chains such as Starbucks here in Holland. And really can you blame them? When Starbucks could offer an additional barista to add a bit of hash or a spacecake with your latte? No, coffee is too important to Dutch life. Everybody has one of those coffee pod machines, like my Senseo, which can blast a perfect creamy cup of coffee in a minute tops.
But away from home, on vacation, we stayed in the Chinese Quarter (Chinese being some ancient Catalan euphemism for where the brothels were/are) near colorfully named side alleys like the Street of the Robbers. The lodgings themselves were NYC style tiny, with brand-new IKEA decor, across the street from a vacant lot and adjacent to what must be one of the most persistent nightclubs in the city. The main pedestrian avenue of the old city, La Rambla, for all its many surrealist street performers, bars and portrait artists, has few supermarkets. The one hypermarket Champion (which had a brilliant vending machine which squeezes you a glass of OJ for a few coins and the most confusing configuration of checkout lanes imaginable) lay all the way up the street from the apartment. So I set out to get groceries and along the way see a DD there on a street corner on La Rambla on the way to Champion. And every day I instinctively homed in for coffee...upon reading of the death of Fred the Muffin Man and reading an article on the changes Dunkin's has had to make to keep up with Starbucks, McDonald's and Krispy Kreme, I was stunned with how true I found this comment in the responses to the article:
Fending off Krispy Kreme, battling Starbucks, working the higher-end, lower fat crowd: window dressing. Curtis is buying every headfake and minor adjustment that Dunkin's has thrown in the past ten years. The chain's success, and the rabid loyalty of its customer base, is the product of three things: coffee, breakfast sandwich, doughnut.
These three products are all presented in the same manner-quick, cheap, delicious. Both Krispy Kreme and Starbucks miss the mark, they market a luxury and lifestyle accordingly. People lounge in Starbucks when they have an open sunday afternoon, and indulge in one its coffees, or one of Kreme's doughnuts, when they're feeling like a little something extra. Dunkin's is so successful because it markets itself, and the products work brilliantly, as necessities. That's why the doughnut is the weak link of the three, the forgotten sibling.
When you wake up with a hangover, when you're getting a quick breakfast for a large group, when you're in a rush and need a little something in your gut and a little pick-me-up, you go to Dunkin Donuts. It's almost instinctual, the competition isn't even close. The product is more reliable, more basic, and seemingly more quality than even that from a McDonald's or Burger King. The coffee is seen by many New Englanders as the perfect marriage of pleasure and necessity -especially the Ichor of the Gods that is their iced coffee. That's the brilliance of Dunkin's-they make their products seem like foundational foods-no frills- and they make that foundation consistently satisfying.
So you can take your wireless ambiance, Jewel, and $4.50 cups of coffee, and you can take your lump of lard deliciousness and little else, hell you can take your lovin'-it mcgriddle and shoddy coffee. It doesn't matter if you're working at the factory or teaching comp.lit or chilling with excel in your cubicle. Because when you're just getting up, or you're looking for a late night pit stop, or you need a lift in the midafternoon, the Northeast turns its lonely eyes to Dunkin's, and nobody else. It's not a chain, it's a food group. (emphasis mine)
But away from home, on vacation, we stayed in the Chinese Quarter (Chinese being some ancient Catalan euphemism for where the brothels were/are) near colorfully named side alleys like the Street of the Robbers. The lodgings themselves were NYC style tiny, with brand-new IKEA decor, across the street from a vacant lot and adjacent to what must be one of the most persistent nightclubs in the city. The main pedestrian avenue of the old city, La Rambla, for all its many surrealist street performers, bars and portrait artists, has few supermarkets. The one hypermarket Champion (which had a brilliant vending machine which squeezes you a glass of OJ for a few coins and the most confusing configuration of checkout lanes imaginable) lay all the way up the street from the apartment. So I set out to get groceries and along the way see a DD there on a street corner on La Rambla on the way to Champion. And every day I instinctively homed in for coffee...upon reading of the death of Fred the Muffin Man and reading an article on the changes Dunkin's has had to make to keep up with Starbucks, McDonald's and Krispy Kreme, I was stunned with how true I found this comment in the responses to the article:
Fending off Krispy Kreme, battling Starbucks, working the higher-end, lower fat crowd: window dressing. Curtis is buying every headfake and minor adjustment that Dunkin's has thrown in the past ten years. The chain's success, and the rabid loyalty of its customer base, is the product of three things: coffee, breakfast sandwich, doughnut.
These three products are all presented in the same manner-quick, cheap, delicious. Both Krispy Kreme and Starbucks miss the mark, they market a luxury and lifestyle accordingly. People lounge in Starbucks when they have an open sunday afternoon, and indulge in one its coffees, or one of Kreme's doughnuts, when they're feeling like a little something extra. Dunkin's is so successful because it markets itself, and the products work brilliantly, as necessities. That's why the doughnut is the weak link of the three, the forgotten sibling.
When you wake up with a hangover, when you're getting a quick breakfast for a large group, when you're in a rush and need a little something in your gut and a little pick-me-up, you go to Dunkin Donuts. It's almost instinctual, the competition isn't even close. The product is more reliable, more basic, and seemingly more quality than even that from a McDonald's or Burger King. The coffee is seen by many New Englanders as the perfect marriage of pleasure and necessity -especially the Ichor of the Gods that is their iced coffee. That's the brilliance of Dunkin's-they make their products seem like foundational foods-no frills- and they make that foundation consistently satisfying.
So you can take your wireless ambiance, Jewel, and $4.50 cups of coffee, and you can take your lump of lard deliciousness and little else, hell you can take your lovin'-it mcgriddle and shoddy coffee. It doesn't matter if you're working at the factory or teaching comp.lit or chilling with excel in your cubicle. Because when you're just getting up, or you're looking for a late night pit stop, or you need a lift in the midafternoon, the Northeast turns its lonely eyes to Dunkin's, and nobody else. It's not a chain, it's a food group. (emphasis mine)