Earlier this week I needed to ship off some stuff I sold on eBay so I decided to drag Brian along so that we could go to Hong Kong Bakery and get Dim Sum togo… you see, I feel more comfortable going there with an actual real asian. I’m more of a lighter-shade-of-brown kinda guy. I guess I’m afraid of pronouncing something wrong and instead of ordering yummy steamed shrimp thingies, I might end up saying “I’m a dumb mexican, please take all my money and beat me.”

Did I just stray off subject? Caffeine weakens my attention span. Please read on… I will stumble through this eventually.

Okay so walking through downtown Mountain View we see a guy wearing a jet pack handing out cups of stuff. It wasn’t actually a jet pack, it was one of those portable coffee backpack things you see guys wearing at Giants games or other sporting events held at incredibly posh and crazy stadiums. These guys were from McCafe and were giving out cups of coffee and coupons. We happily take a couple cups of coffee and start talking to the guys. By the time we’re done we have several coupons and Brian has talked them into buying steamed pork buns from Hong Kong Bakery.

So McCafe is owned by McDonald’s. It’s their stab into the huge coffee market currently dominated by Starbucks. Now their coffee wasn’t half bad… The leaflets mention things like “comfy leather chairs” and overall try to paint an image of an incredibly comfy cafe environment. I was really curious to see how their espresso drinks are and what the actual cafe atmosphere is like.

Did I bore you yet? Please read on…

Today on our way back from a Japanese market we decided to cash in some free-drink coupons at McCafe. With the address handy we started driving there. Just before we got there I suddenly realized, “isn’t that right next door to McDonald’s?” Actually, it IS the McDonald’s. They literally remodeled part of the local McDonald’s into a cafe. As you walk in, to the right you have your typical McDonald’s with your typical hard, plastic seats and catchup dispensers. Now, to the left it’s almost as if you stepped into a Starbucks, complete with leather chairs and cocoa shakers.

Without getting into too much detail and sounding like a review, it definitely has a cafe feel to it. Actually I would describe it more of an airport cafe look and feel. Very little merchandise and not very spacious. Compared to the Starbucks and Peet’s menu, the McCafe is surprisingly simple. After ordering a medium Flat White (latte w/o foam).

I would love to tell you about the drink but… well I don’t know how it was. In a crazy accident that only I am capable of, while opening a door I managed to make the spill-proof lid pop straight into the air and turn the cup into my belly. All I can say is that McCafe coffee feels the same as a Starbucks latte when spilled all over your shirt. Maybe next week I will return to McCafe and order a drink… and drink it there… and report back.

Worth noting:
• Very little extra merchandise other than drinks and pastries
• Simplified menu… targeting people intimidated by other customers ordering a triple grande extra hot soy vanilla latte?
• Not very roomy… feels more like an airport terminal cafe than an actual cafe
• WiFi access via Wayport
• No tip jar?!? (even after asking the cashier… she confirmed, no tip jar)