Starbucks Breakfast: Doomed from the Get Go

A few weeks ago in the New York Times Arts and Leisure section there was a great piece by Susan Dominus on the Starbucks aesthetic embodied in the CDs and DVDs it sells. That aesthetic, according to both Starbucks executives and customers quoted in the story, is built around the notions of community, inspiration, discovery, and, of course, quality. I'm not ashamed to admit that I buy into this aesthetic. I think the CDs on sale at Starbucks are usually good and interestingly chosen. And I am a music freak. In fact, I wrote about music for ten years before I started writing about food, and I have 2,000 CDs in my collection.
But can you apply these aesthetic values to the food served at Starbucks? Say, to the breakfast sandwiches it now serves at 1,100 Starbucks locations in eight markets? I'm a food guy now, so that's what I want to know.
The first thing you notice when you're waiting in line to order is the stack of breakfast sandwiches in the pastry case right next to the bagels and croissants. These sandwiches are there for display purposes only. There are five on view: sausage, egg, and cheese; pepper bacon, egg, and cheese; sun-dried tomato, ham, egg, and cheese; reduced-fat turkey bacon, egg, and cheese; and eggs Florentine, made with spinach, eggs, and cheese.
When you order one, however, your barista retrieves an already cooked and assembled shrink-wrapped sandwich from a refrigerator and heats and crisps it in a combination microwave-convection oven. Your barista then puts it into a bag and seals it with a sticker that articulates the newfound Starbucks food aesthetic: "Great coffee deserves great food."
Unfortunately there's nothing "great" about the Starbucks breakfast sandwiches. In fact, they are only marginally edible. Egg sandwiches can't even attain "pretty good" status when they're not made fresh to order like they are at hundreds of delis and coffee shops in and around New York City.
I was curious about the genesis of the Starbucks breakfast sandwich. A Starbucks spokesperson explained that the breakfast sandwiches are the product of a lengthy R&D process by a team of "certified" chefs at Starbucks headquarters. These chefs were charged with developing homey breakfast sandwiches using high-quality ingredients that could be heated and served to the customers within the tight real estate confines of a typical Starbucks store. Consistency and high quality were the cornerstones of this initiative.
The chefs knew that no cooking ever takes place in a Starbucks, so that these sandwiches would have to be cooked and assembled in a central location and delivered to each store daily. The breakfast sandwiches, unlike the coffee Starbucks built its business on (made daily before our eyes by remarkably friendly baristas), come from two distribution centers across the country.
Eggs are not made to be cooked in one spot and shipped to another to be eaten. But given the set of constraints these chefs were working within, Starbucks had no choice but to sell heat-and-serve items.
This dooms these breakfast sandwiches. Because what Starbucks ends up serving is a slightly more upscale version of the same scary things we can also buy at 7-Eleven, McDonald's, and every gas station on interstates all across America. These are convenience foods for the latte set (which includes me). Eggs cooked in one place and shipped to another to be served are doomed to slab, loaflike status. In fact, I found the best way to eat a Starbucks breakfast sandwich is to discard the egg loaf slice and eat the rest.
The breakfast sandwiches at Starbucks fly in the face of the often admirable Starbucks aesthetic. Until Starbucks decides to either forgo cooked food or puts kitchens into each store, its food initiative is doomed, no matter how much spinach or fontina cheese or pepper bacon it put in its breakfast sandwiches.
So when you get that hankering for an egg sandwich, head to your local deli, coffee shop, or any place that actually cooks the sandwiches to order. That's a basic food aesthetic all of us can get behind.
The Starbucks Aesthetic [New York Times; from TimesSelect paid archives]
Starbucks.com
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28 Comments:
"Egg sandwiches can't even attain 'pretty good' status when they're not made fresh to order like they are at hundreds of delis and coffee shops in and around New York City."
That comment makes me wonder how long Starbucks will even bother to sell these things in NYC, where it is easy to get a great egg sandwich at any bodega or deli in your hood. Maybe these work for someone with little access to other egg sandwiches, or for someone rushing to work, unwilling to make two stops for breakfast, but I can't imagine eating one.
FWIW, the only fast food breakfast sandwich worth eating is the bacon, egg, and cheese croissandwich from Burger King. Now that's good!
Meg Hourihan at 3:52PM on 11/28/06
I am pretty flummoxed as to why Starbucks' would even attempt a mediocre egg sandwich, when there are so many things out there that would perfectly acceptable to eat for breakfast that don't contain nasty pre-cooked eggs.
Jen Maiser at 3:52PM on 11/28/06
I couldn't agree more with Ed Levine on this one. When I first saw them in a local 'Bucks here in NYC, I thought, "Bad idea." Then I thought, "Well, maybe other places in the U.S. don't have a multiplicity of take-out coffee shops where I can get eggs on a roll done myriad ways." (Yes, that was exactly what I thought.) They look completely unappetizing, and those are the "model" versions, too! Plus, the cost factor: 2 eggs on a roll with some form of pork made fresh pulls in at about $3, roughly equal to 'Bucks's flown in / trucked in product. Frankly, other than their coffee, I've got issues with Starbucks's attempts at food over the years, and their associates's attempts at shilling the food to a customer who just wants some coffee ("No thanks, I'd like nothing else with my grande drip, or I would have asked for it originally.") The eggwiches are just the latest in a long line of food flubs by the country's gourmet coffee place (I'm thinking of the shellacked scones, the French toast bagel, and the ubercookies with the broken-up M & M's - is this food really for adults??) .
Sandro at 6:29PM on 11/28/06
Meg: I was eavesdropping as Ed talked to the S'bucks spokesperson, and I think I heard that they're rolling this out in three markets nationwide -- Seattle, New York City, and, um, I forget the third.
This might make sense, as Sandro mentioned, outside of NYC, where there's scant access for made-to-order breakfast eggwiches. In fact, before moving to New York, I'd never had any breakfast sandwich other than a McD's Sausage Egg McMuffin, which I actually find quite delicious and much better than the Starbucks attempt.
Adam Kuban at 6:59PM on 11/28/06
Adam, it's funny that you say that about a McDonald's eggwich, because I myself have quasi-Proustian feelings about the basic Egg McMuffin. A driving buddy and I would routinely have breakfast at the same McDonald's on a Delaware commercial strip on the drive home from college for holidays, etc. I'd actually look forward to the stop, and we always seemed to land there circa 8 AM, if I recall correctly. Two egg Macs and two lowfat milks (an Eastern breakfast version of the Double-Double). Now, I almost never hit up McDonald's, but they were good. Wouldn't you agree that if McDonald's also went to stupid Starbucks route of putting out for show a cold, clammy eggwich exemplar, you might take your breakfast business elsewhere? Now we're talking about marketing, it's true. I'll never know how a 'Bucks eggwich tastes, because the lure they've put out is the equivalent of edible Kryptonite.
Sandro at 9:33AM on 11/29/06
I saw them this morning and they sure looked gross. I wasn't tempted to order one.
Meg Hourihan at 12:18PM on 11/29/06
Sandro: Yes, it's a quasi-Proustian thing for me. I know that the McMuffin sandwich isn't as good as a made-to-order sandwich or even that good for you, but something about it says "breakfast sandwich" to me on a primal level. "Edible Kryptonite": heh. That's rich.
Adam Kuban at 12:27PM on 11/29/06
At the risk of saturating interest in this topic, just wanted to advise that a 'Bucks on Broadway north of Trinity Church had SOLD OUT of their eggwiches this morning as of 9:50 AM. This info was dropped in response to yet another customer who belatedly ordered an eggwich. Two different baristas conveyed the info, the second barista stating this fact with a mashup of pride but mostly surprise. I'm keeping a watchful eye to see if the 6 eggwiches in the display case somehow find their way into customers' mouths, in response to this unprecedented high demand!
Sandro at 10:36AM on 11/30/06
They will definitely have more success outside of NY, where there aren't superior street vendors on every corner.
djacobs at 11:58AM on 11/30/06
I'll stick to my cheddar/sausage/egg on toasted whole wheat at The Bagel Place.
I don't think Ed mentioned a price on these new eggwiches, but mine's under 3 bucks.
Burning Myself Frequently at 5:55PM on 12/03/06
I don't like Starbucks. The coffee tastes burnt. The people in line are all wigged out tryng to make sure they order "correctly". The people who work there think they are better than the people they are waiting on because they know the secret handshake. I don't even like the music they play.
Starbucks is stepford people stuff and I hate stepford people stuff. Rise against the barista and go somewhere where ordering a cup a coffee is not brain surgery. Coffee is supposed to be easy to deal with. Don't be Meg Ryan (When Harry Met Sally) and take 2 hours to get coffee.
JerzeeTomato at 9:36AM on 12/04/06
Has anyone ever looked at the nutritional info on their other sandwiches? Pretty scary stuff. I didn't know a turkey sandwhich could be so unhealthy.
GregNYC at 11:03AM on 12/04/06
i'm going to be unpopular here... but i actually find them quite tasty... and i'm not a big starbucks fanatic. i'm comparing them to mcdonalds, dunkin donuts and an egg and cheese at a standard new york megadeli buffet... which i think is only fair, and frankly i think they're tastier and worth the extra buck. sure it's no clinton st bakery, balthazar or even any number of popular deli/grills... but that's an unfair comparison.
it is 'convenience food for the latte set' and i think it's worth the $2.75 to get the egg, cheese, bacon on an english muffin and judge for yourself if you haven't already...
thievery at 12:15PM on 12/04/06
I think McMuffins are an insult to teeth. Seriously, its all mush. I can't believe these Starbucks things being much better.
grubnoise at 2:42PM on 12/04/06
I went on tour for two weeks down south and as a vegetarian, all I wanted was an egg sandwich, which was damned near impossible. I think Starbucks rolling this out in NYC is silly with all the other good options out there, but for the most part, a good egg deli sandwich is not to be had everywhere in the country.
rockchick at 4:27PM on 12/04/06
I'm thinking that you are probably not their target customer, Mr. Ed Levine, Food Critic of the New York Times. However, my teenage son apparently is their target customer because last summer in Seattle he sampled one and thought they were "really good!" So much so that a couple of days later (we were traveling in the Seattle area) he wanted to find another Starbucks for breakfast. Since he's not a coffee drinker, I thought this was kind of strange, but I agreed to go since I AM a coffee drinker. When he ordered the breakfast sandwich and the gal took one out of a back frig and stuck in in a microwave (why can't they at least panini it?), I thought it was a bit of "bait and switch", but my son still liked the taste. To him, it was an upgrade from Micky D's breakfast sandwich. To me, it does look something like airline food, but I didn't taste it. I do think Starbucks is mainly concerned with appealing to their younger customers than us old guys with more refined tastes. And we don't all live in NYC with a great deli around every corner. Where we live there is a Starbuck's around every corner instead.
Shelley (Pink House) at 5:20PM on 12/04/06
Even Dunkin' Donuts will make you an egg sandwich from scratch. Granted, they cook the egg in a microwave, but still.
Starbucks won't even toast a bagel for you. It's a little weird, given how elaborate some of their coffee drinks are.
kshay at 6:27PM on 12/04/06
I know most of you won't know what I am talking about, but this reminds me of Tim Hortons (Timmy Ho's to us Canadians). Are there any other Canadians out there who now eat the Timmy's breakfast sandwich so they don't have to make seperate stops for the McMuffin and a decent coffee.
Sweetie at 8:57AM on 12/05/06
I am a big starbucks customer, but I too was disappointed in the sandwhich problem. I think they should serve only those things that they can actually give the same time and attention to- that they give their coffee service.
Buy local at least. out source and make it special within each outlet area... I am sure that there is a company at least in relationship to the city starbucks, who could do these better and still deliver periodically throughout the day?
lshannon at 9:23PM on 12/05/06
lshannon's idea for regionalizing the Starbucks' food offerings is a good one. I'd extend the idea to all food items. In NYC, Dean & Deluca, whose coffee IMO is vastly inferior to that of Starbucks, puts together a great baked goods spread because they buy from all sorts of local purveyors, and they tell you who the items are from (Doughnut Plant donuts, Sacramouche orange muffins, etc.). Starbucks may be too big for this kind of variety, though.
Sandro at 3:10PM on 12/06/06
I tried the Timmy breakfast sandwich yesterday and it was OK, better than a McMuffin but only marginally so. The main point for it is the biscuit that actually tastes a bit like a biscuit instead of the microwaved much of an english muffin at MickeyD....
grubnoise at 12:13PM on 12/07/06
Despite this review, the general concensus of these sandwiches seems to be pretty popular. Living in Wisconsin, I have yet to try one, but several forums say the things are pretty good. And yes...even worth the money.
I find this new sandwich thing a pretty big plus in the Starbucks consumer world. While Starbucks will always be known for it's coffee, having them offer a little variety is nice. We all love convenience. And this is very convenient.
vanac at 8:16PM on 04/25/07
The best I can tell, the people dissing the Starbucks breakfast sandwiches have not actually eaten one. I had my first in Philadelphia last weekend. It was really good. It was not an Egg McMuffin (which I appreciate for being the healthiest widely available breakfast sandwich, but the spongy muffin and American "cheese" are far from good). I had the ham, egg and cheese version. The Black Forest ham and cheddar cheese were both really good, as was the slightly oversized English muffin. There was nothing special about the egg part, but neither was their anything objectionable about it. It was by far the best breakfast fast food offering I've ever had of the bread/egg/meat/cheese variety.
The people who complain about appearance of the sandwiches remind me of the time a friend of mine was invited to judge the baked goods competition at the state fair. A number of the people on the panel with her wanted to hand out ribbons based on appearance alone without actually tasting the baked goods. Same concept.
Starbucks was in need of more non-sweet breakfast selections. They hit this one out of the ball park. I can't wait until they're in all locations.
Frankly, I'd be happy not to run into any of the grousers in Starbucks.
AgathaX at 12:00AM on 11/04/07
I live in Vancouver BC Canada. The Starbucks down the raod is selling the breakfast sandwiches. I *Love* it. There is another place where i go in the morning "Tim Hortons" (Canadian icon) to get a quick bit to eat + a coffee. I can say now, the Starbucks breakfast sandwiches OWN. There are hands down the best. Im hooked.
VANDRO at 3:18AM on 11/08/07
PS. They dont as sh1ty as it does in that pic above.
VANDRO at 3:21AM on 11/08/07
This is hands down, one of the dumbest articles I have EVER read. If you want to be serious about what you eat, you are NOT going to go to Starbucks. Of course their quality is not good! Their coffee is great because it's convenient and quick, not because it's quality. Find something better to criticize. Criticizing ANYTHING at Starbucks is like shooting fish in a barrel.
dhathaway at 6:21PM on 02/17/08
I'm not sure where I fit in as a Stabucks customer. In a perfect world, where I had lots of time, I doubt I would ever set foot in a Starbucks. I prefer making good coffee at home and I rarely drink coffee after 3:00pm.
Yes, you can get better coffee, but Starbucks is predictable and extremely convenient to my work office. Their "Frankenfood Egg Sandwiches" are pretty terrible, but guess what? They are also very convenient for people on the move and quickly get some grease, calories and sodium into your system. I think there are basically two types of Starbucks customers, corporate slaves like me, who just need a strong coffee fix during the day, don't care too much about the prices, don't care that "Mo's Coffee has ten times better coffee," but it is 12 blocks away, and just care about speed, caffeine, and convenience.
The other type Starbucks customer, seems to have all the time in the world, they sit there, read papers, play with laptops, chat with friends, etc..
My guess is there reasons for patronizing Starbucks is much the same though, convenience and predictability.
at7000 at 1:24PM on 07/06/08
dhathaway wrote:
"This is hands down, one of the dumbest articles I have EVER read. If you want to be serious about what you eat, you are NOT going to go to Starbucks."
I think you more or less hit the nail on the head. If you wanted good food, you would not go to Starbucks. If you wanted absolute, top of the line, gourmet coffee, you would not go to Starbucks, you would go to some indy specialty cafe. Their baked goods are also nothing special at all, boring, and quite mundane.
However, Starbucks are literally everywhere, which makes them very convenient to patronize, and their coffee is strong, fairly consistent, and overall, pretty darn good. I drink my coffee black, so I need something decent tasting.
at7000 at 1:33PM on 07/06/08