Coffee Talk - Greta, CC's, and DD...

CC's Community Coffee House on Esplanade Avenue in FSJ

I know, picking on Greta from Kiss My Gumbo is like shooting fish in a barrel. Still, shooting fish in a barrel can be fun on occasion. Greta's currently in Boston, and musing about coffee, discussing the comparative virtues of CC's and Dunkin Donuts:

OK CC's, listen up!!! Time to get real! You need to copy the DD drive-thru model, hence sticking one about every 10 feet in Louisiana. Maybe join with a local pastry shop or better yet, a healthful snack company (can't think of one off the top of my head) and plow forward with the dream of making the world CC's addicts. I am not a Starbuck's fan (Bucky's) as the bitter after-taste is yuck. I think you can do it CC's - come on, worth a team try!!! If nothing else, do it in LA and beat DD to the punch!

OK, a quick check of Teh Google shows there are four CC's Coffee House locations in Mandeville/Covington, and one in Slidell, so even a north shore person like Greta has access to the chain. That's what makes me wonder how she's missed the fact that there's a case full of John Folse pastries in every CC's. They even sell king cake by the slice during Carnival season. When the kiddo got home from his trip to see The Mouse on Monday morning, I took him to PJ's to get a cinnamon roll (and so I could caffeinate), and he announced that he prefers CC's cinnamon rolls. They also do a brisk bagel business, which is the stock-in-trade of most DD shops in Greater Boston. Up there, they really should change the name of the chain to "Dunkin Bagels." There was one time when the DD right across the street from Park Street Station by Boston Common was actually out of glazed donuts at 9am, but still had trays full of bagels.

But I digress from the business at hand. Back to this quote. I guess Greta doesn't get to Metairie much, so she's never seen the drive-thru line at the CC's on Vets before. Other than that location, though, I'm OK with CC's not having drive-up windows. After all, where the heck would you put one at the Esplanade location? Or on Rue Royale, for that matter?

Then there's the coffee itself. One of the reasons that New Orleanians often don't like to travel is because of the coffee. CC's "New Orleans Blend" is red-bag Community Coffee with chicory. I should be able to stop there, since Greta considers herself a "southern transplant" while she's up in Boston, but it looks like she doesn't understand the distinction. Coffee-with-chicory blends like CDM, French Market, and Community, while common in New Orleans, are all but non-existent in other parts of the country. Yankee coffee tastes funny to a Yat because we grew up on chicory. Even Anne Rice gets that in her writing.

Not that DD coffee is bad, mind you, for what it is. I've bought many an extra-large French Vanilla at the DD right off exit #13 on the pike in Natick, MA.