Food: No Starbucks, No Problem

Even in this recession, Starbucks still has a decent share of the coffee market, especially when it comes to the calorie-packed white-mocha-frappa-whozits that cost $4 a hit. Some of this is earned (Starbucks' fancy-schmancy specialty drinks do taste quite a bit better than their low-budget counterparts at McDonald's IMHO), but I suspect most of the dominance is due to sheer market inertia. Even after all the store closings, the brand is still ubiquitous (and therefore strong).

But, for those times when you want something at least a little off the beaten path, here are two alternate coffeehouse chains that each offer something that the black-and-white two-tailed mermaid doesn't:

Crescent City Beignets



Even though it's horrifically crowded at any time but the early morning, Café du Monde is still one of the most famous restaurants in New Orleans. This is due to two things - the chicory spiked coffee and the beignets (French style fried doughnuts). Crescent City Beignets makes a game attempt to swipe some of the blissful deliciousness of the combo.

CCB was started in Houston when its owners found out that Café du Monde wasn't franchising. It serves a variety of New Orleans dishes, but the core experience is still centered around coffee and beignets. It's really not difficult to make a decent beignet (fried dough is hard to screw up), so if you can't make the drive to Decatur Street, just eat here.

Indigo Coffee



Going into the second day of the bar exam, I realized I probably needed a little caffeine to navigate through the 200 multiple-choice question MBE. As any good test-taker will tell you, a morning jolt of the stimulant can really wake you up - or give you the jitters if you're not careful. I stopped in at Indigo Coffee, a generically-named chain of coffeehouses based in Tampa.

Indigo's default blend is fairly good. It's probably not bold enough for some people, but I found it smoother and more drinkable than the brewed coffee at Starbucks. The House blend went well with cream and sugar, and I wasn't too buzzed afterwards. I'd pass on the food, though (most of the menu was composed of disappointingly bland premade pastries).