Reading Roars!

This week, Starbucks, the McDonald’s of the 21st century, did something extraordinary. On Tuesday, its US outlets were closed for 3 hours so that all 135,000 baristas could be retrained. Staff were advised on how to make the perfect espresso, cappuccino and latte.

Customers now entering one of its 7,000+ stores will see the notice “Your drink should be perfect, every time. If not, let us know and we’ll make it right.”

Will they?  I don’t think they can.  Like McDonald’s with their burgers, they can strive for perfection all they like.  Their products range from passable to good, but never great and certainly not “perfect”.

In Starbucks’ world, convenience is king. Starbucks outlets are fast food outlets, quickly producing and selling drinks for impatient customers. A perfectly produced coffee requires the eyes and hands of an artist who can give it attention, time and care.

In addition, I more readily associate Starbucks with overpriced syrupy lattes (with or without ice), not coffee. They don’t simply don’t specialise in the black stuff. The last I checked, Vanilla Latte, so sweet you can hear your teeth fizzle, was listed first in the menu. It wasn’t always thus. A former sales and marketing director at Starbucks explains in The Times (”Foodie at large: The dark art of coffee making“):

“Quality shot up in the Nineties, but the American market has commercialised it,” he says. “It would be difficult to sell a small 6oz cappuccino, the traditional Italian size, for much more money, so to make a viable business out of it, they started to make the drinks bigger. And how do you do that without overdosing everyone on caffeine? You add more and more milk.”

So, no, Starbucks isn’t about the coffee.

If you want “perfect” or near-perfect coffee where small really is small (rather than tall), you will have to look elsewhere (and I don’t mean Costa Coffee, Caffe Nero and other American-style chains).

Monmouth Coffee House, opposite Borough Market in London, is my favourite place for coffee in the country. Their coffee is simply stunning and they even offer free samples (why can’t other places do that?). I also strongly recommend Algerian Coffee Stores, again in London (Old Compton St), a shop that sells a huge variety of coffee beans from around the world.

And closer to home? This afternoon I was in rampant west Reading. The need for caffeine drew me to Workhouse Coffee, a place I have mentioned before.

Owner Greg Costello loves coffee. You can see it in his eyes. He takes his time, gently pouring a cortado like a painter dabbing paint on canvas. Today, he poured me a rich Guatemalan. Intoxicatingly strong and silky smooth, it was a treat. The Brazilian that followed, though less strong, was equally polished. Two other options that I didn’t try this afternoon were Colombian and Ethiopian.

The music playing in the background was a melody of chillout tracks (I believe it was the DAB station Chill), a refreshing change from the usual jazz you get in popular cafes (literally - what is it with coffee shops and jazz?).

Greg was understandably concerned about the opening of the new Tesco store. My suggestion would be to customers of the supermarket: give the in-store Costa a miss - superior coffee can found just across the road!

The Oracle’s Santa Fe is to reopen as Ha! Ha!  Ha ha, I think not.  I liked Santa Fe. I liked its bar and Mexican beers such as Negro Modelo.  I liked its zingy food.  I liked the dramatic backdrop in the Gents of a solitary desert road stretching far into the distance.  I liked the decor.

Above all, I liked Santa Fe as it felt a little bit different (there were, in fact, only 6 in the country).  There are 26 Ha! Ha!s across the country, including another in Reading.  Ha ha!

The Evening Post reported on this news with the headline Town’s eateries are going global.  I don’t see what’s so global about a restaurant pledging to offer dishes that

celebrate the provenance of our country, such as Scottish smoked haddock, Welsh rack of lamb, and prime cut, 21 day aged British beef including rib eye on the bone.

Anyway, good luck to them.

Good luck also to Bella Italia, the “slice of Italian cuisine [that has] also arrived in The Oracle”, joining the slice next door that is Pizza Express, the slices that are Cafe Italia and Caffe Nero several units away and the slice that is Strada, also on the Riverside.  That’s a lot of slices.

According to the Evening Post article ‘Foodie’ facelift for student pub, another town centre watering hole is giving itself a makeover. In a bid to target more locals, the popular student pub Upin Arms is to go upmarket by offering gourmet steaks and burgers (21 types, allegedly), installing new seating and adding Frulis, Beck’s Vier and Staropramen.

It all seems rather like Oakford Social Club. Will students embrace the change or will they be up in arms over it?

According to today’s Evening Post, Tesco is planning to open another supermarket, Tesco Express, less than a mile from its controversial supersized Oxford Road store.

I am not going to comment on this particular decision. At least, not now. What I will say is that an alternative to Reading’s supermarkets has landed, if only temporarily: the Butter Market’s International Food and Crafts Fair and the Big Green Market. Stallholders will be adding a touch of middle class magic to the new-look site in central Reading, selling familiar continental products such as cheese, olives and olive oils, ciabatta and coffee.

I took a stroll around Butter Market this drizzly afternoon and was surprised to discover a giant paella cooking, a blazing hog roast and Swedish cider, with flavours including passionfruit and strawberry & lime. The Butter Market will be sadly returning to normal after Saturday 27 October. Someone please make this a permanent fixture.

Tutu’s Table, the Global Cafe’s regular Ethiopian food buffet, will be a year old next week. To celebrate, Tutu will be hosting one of her traditional coffee ceremonies (if, like me, you’re crazy about caffeine, this is not one to miss). Not only that, but staff members at the cafe will be in spooky fancy dress - as the coffee ceremony will be taking place on 31 October (starting at 7pm). Thirdly, there will be a halloween-themed quiz. Woo hoo (or better put: wooooooo hoo!).

And now for the C word (no, not that one). Christmas is coming, as the likes of Argos remind us now on the telly (”This Christmas…”). Tutu will be offering an alternative festive menu at the cost of £16.50 per person. No tiresome turkey here, but lamb pan-fried with onion, green pepper, rosemary and butter. See the image below for full details.

Reading’s first sushi conveyor belt bar, Sushi one0eight (also known as S108), opened last weekend.  As well as sushi (plates are £2), the restaurant offers tortilla wraps, salads, Asahi beer and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.  Here’s more:

• Eat 10 plates and get the next plate free.  The usual - pick up a loyalty card and get it stamped
• Get a sushi roll for free by presenting this voucher

We’ve really been quite fortunate with Wagamama offers.  Vouchers were recently published in the Reading Chronicle (if you missed one, there was always another in a subsequent Chronicle edition to look forward to).  Now, just for today only, you can enjoy a 2 for 1 on main meals offer (I’m guessing that Wagamama were anticipating empty benches tonight due to the nation watching the rugby).