The 'Bux'-perience

I have been a coffee guzzler for a long time now. But a couple of recent factors, namely quitting the nicotine addiction and the lack of good ol cuppa of tea ,have increased my dependence on the beverage. And I just cant stand the taste of bad coffee. My coffee should be warm, smooth with a great aftertaste and a lasting effect on the brain. I prefer a mild brew for the morning and a stronger, bolder brew in the evenings. And while sampling a lot of Coffee shops I have figured that in terms of sheer quality of the beans, STARBUCKS is unparalleled. From their current bestseller "Pike Place Roast" (Medium) to the bolder"KOMODO", "Sumatra" or "Expresso" these people know their coffee.... So even though its a bit more expensive than the rest, its bang on every buck you spend on it. And boy the people at the counter take coffee seriously. And some of their antics are really over the top, dragging things a bit too far at time. Well even some customers are as well. Read On.... (L is the lady at the counter and S is me)


In a quest to be different from the rest of the pack the bistro has its own version of cup sizes

S: "One small Latte"
L: "U mean tall, right?"
S: "No I mean small"
L: "Ya but small is tall!"
S: (thinking) "Small is tall????? Thats new? A Yankee discovery"
L: (taking pity on me and my confused look) "Well we have three sizes tall, grande, venti; so essentially Tall is the smallest size"
S: That partly explains why "small is tall"


At one of my earlier visits at the bistro the lady in front of me ordered "One Venti Caramel Machiato Fat free sugar free extra dry"....My initial impression was that I was at a wrong place as that cannot be a request for COFFEE!!!!!!!!!All I could mutter was "One Cappucino"

Bux takes customer service to an all new level. Picture this one.

S: One grande cappuccino
L: Regular or Vanilla?
S: Regular
L: Dry or wet?
S: Excuse me?
L: I mean do you want it to be more foamy or less foamy. More foam/froth and less milk is dry and more milk is wet.
S: (quizzically) I thought a lot more milk is latte??? Is Latte equivalent to very wet cappuccino. (Did not say that)
S: I shall have it dry
L: whole milk, skimmed milk or soy milk?
S: Skimmed milk
L: 1% or 2% milk?
S: 2%
L: Skinny or Low-Fat?
S: (O God, All I wanted was a cup of good Ol Cappucino): Low Fat
L: Sugar or Sugar Free
S: Couple of Splenda(s)
L: Oh that you have to add yourself
S: (Then why ask)

I mean its good to ask the customer about his preferences but when that starts bordering the extreme, its a problem.
Another one


S: Grande Mocha
L: White Chocolate or regular Chocolate?
S: Is dark chocolate an option?
L: Smiles! I like you sense of humor but sadly thats not an option
S: I shall go for regular....

I do get adventurous once in a while but thats another story. And trust me the weird sounding drinks taste just as weird. Ginger-Bread Latte was supposed to be a "spicy, blended latte just perfect for the winter" claimed the hottie at the counter. I fell for it and it tasted like coffee with an extra shot of ginger. They might as well renamed it to "yucky latte". Pumpkin Spice - its not for the faint-hearted souls....And I had the good sense to stay away from "Chantico" - Bux has since withdrawn the drink.

Over a period of time better sense has prevailed and now I use the principle of KISS (Keep it short and simple). Just walk in a order their freshly brewed coffee. Just state "Size-Strength" viz Grande-Bold or Tall-Mild. Lo and behold the beverage is there in front of you. Here again sometimes you get the question "You want room for cream/dairy/milk (whatever)".Of Course I do!!!

But then at the end of the day am willing to answer a couple of stupid questions for that excellent CUPPA. Brew On!

Visiting the abode of Samuel L Clemens.

Samuel Clemens died but Mark Twain lives on till date. The documentary ended on these lines, and I sat in the last row of the auditorium trying to fathom the eccentric genius of the great man – who came in and also left with the Hailey’s comet.

A man nearest to temple is farthest from God – An adage that my dad used a lot. And in a way I have been that “a man” for over a year now. The house where Mark Twain produced his best known literary works is actually in Hartford, Connecticut situated 3-4 miles from my old apartment. Yet, I could not find time to visit the abode of the great man.

Yesterday finally I decided to visit The Mark Twain House and Museum, as it is called today. The lady at the front desk booked me on the 1:45 tour and since I still had 20 minutes at hand, I decided to watch the documentary on his life. A very informative one, the documentary started with a glimpse of his early years (which is claimed to be the backdrop of Tom Sawyer) moving on to his marriage and family life and finally ending with his demise in 1910.
In between it delved on the persona who was at his time the most famous American Personality, who started with a life of penury, became rich after marriage, then became bankrupt over his failed business venture and was finally able to reclaim it all back.

This was followed by a 45 minute tour of the house, which has undergone significant restoration over the years to be maintained in its present state. The society all has taken great pains in keeping the details as close as possible to the original as possible – this is quite a feat as the house had been sold off, much of the furniture had been auctioned away and had to be reclaimed. A peek into the lifestyle of the man, his house, his workplace was a real pleasure. Our guide was also kind enough to patiently answer a lot of queries from the visitors and the tales of the past really made me travel back to the days when I read about Tom Sawyer and Aunt Polly. Somehow the house has been wrapped in the time-sheath preventing the vagaries of time to take over it. The rooms felt like

The rooms came alive with the narration of the lady’s depiction of the life of Mr. Clemens. Though there is a popular clash between Hartford and Elmira as to where Mark Twain did most of his work, a visit to this room actually left little doubt. I had goose bumps on visiting the top floor entertainment room where the writer supposedly did most of his work. It was an intense feeling which I cannot describe in a few words.

At the end of the tour, I returned home more enlightened bout the great man and happy with myself. I would have missed a big thing had I not made the visit. Something that leaves behind a much bigger and deeper impact than innumerable trips to the Niagara’s and The Rockies.

The Unknown Musician

I had stopped in my track upon hearing the strains of Hotel California
"Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say..."
As I rushed ahead I was greeted by the image of a man playing the guitar using his legs for the improvised drum and singing - all at the same time. O and did I forget the Digital Processor for the Guitar and an Amp for the Mic and the guitar. He was a single man band! I just stopped to listen. Next Up was Sweet Child O Mine. A near perfect rendition once again, ends with the Drum rollover in the end. This was followed by Nothing Else matters. What amazed me was the seamless way in which the voice balanced the three distinct octaves to change from Don Henly's middle octave to Axl's High and then to Hettfield's Low rich baritone. All in all I was spell-bound.

At the end of his 3 songs he stopped to take a breather and there was a big round of applause from the adjoining holiday crowd and only then did I notice the box labelled "Donations, Thank you" and a smaller one for loose change.

Unheralded, Undecorated and barely making ends meet. But what am I missing here? Wait, was he supposed to be like that. It’s a facet of our life that we have to accept. maybe it intrigues me more than the rest, but still I cant but fathom that such a huge bundle of talent can live a life of penury; eking out his meager existence by plying his trade in the dark alleys of New York Subway. Where he has been waiting for his big break since... only he knows that.