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| - I'm not having much luck choosing coffee shops or cafes lately. Someone help!
Green Beanery is located on the South-East corner of Bathurst and Bloor, in the heart of the Annex.
The location is fantastic, and the interior is splendidly minimalist and bright.
But something about it made my left eye start twitching violently. Well, not literally. But you know what I mean. Something didn't click.
I believe the coffee here is fair-trade, which I like. Lots of different choices. Although I took a black espresso as always, and my wife had a black coffee. Aren't we exciting? She had a chocolate croissant and I had a peanut butter brownie.
Oh I know what it was now that annoyed me. This is just another Starbucks under a different name!
Globalization! It's truly a mixed bag. Yes, it's lovely to be able to get wine from South Africa, or pickles from Poland in a European Deli. Globalization has opened up the world, and given us almost everything from everywhere. Well, if you are fortunate enough to live in a wealthy country like Canada, that is.
But there are bad things about globalization. For one, you can't throw a stone in most wealthy countries without hitting a Starbucks or a Mcdonalds. The suburbs in Ontario are the worst. Same restaurants, in every city. Wendys. Tim Hortons. Subway. Same shops. Future Shop. Home Depot. Wal-mart. You know what I'm saying? Sure they serve a purpose. But there's got to be more to life than utilitarian hyper-markets.
So I am always on the lookout for unique places. Places that bake their own cakes. Have their own style. Offer me something different than the everyday.
I realize I'm not part of the majority here, and from time to time I do enjoy an 'old faithful.' But on weekends I like to experiment.
Green Beanery is nothing more than Starbucks with a different name. The cookies and other 'pastries' are virtually identical. For all I know, the owners stop into a Starbucks or Second Cup on their way to work, and buy all their food there. Clearly none of it was made on site.
Why can't any of these 'fair trade' people bake? It's nice that their coffee is morally valid, but does that necessitate condemnation to the same old 'blueberry squares' and 'oat-bran bars' we find at any Starbucks in the Western world?
Coffee is coffee. It's hard to screw up. But edibles are another story. At Green Beanery they weren't exactly 'screwed up,' but rather just unambitious.
Another thing that distracted me about this place was the menu. It was a huge LCD TV with text on it from a computer. I suppose it's an interesting concept because if they were inclined to change the menu, they could just type in something different. But judging by the offerings in the glass case, I bet they never do. Also, what a waste of electricity. I found myself wondering if they bothered to turn it off at night. Who cares?
Clearly the Green Beanery evoked too many controversial thoughts for a return visit. A rose by any other name.....
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