As many of you may or may not know, I am staying in Washington this week for Thanksgiving. Over the last four days, I struggled to find something cool and interesting to write about Richland, trust me there ain’t a lot to see. After going to Olive Garden, Target, Walmart and Applebees (which are all seated in a one block radius I might add), I began to give up and face the fact that the only truly cool thing about Richland is that in 2008 it was second in the nation, for the largest population of pregnant teenagers. I don’t know where number 1 is if you are wondering but it is most likely somewhere in the midwest . Well, my search for cool ended this morning in the most unexpected of places - Starbucks.I can now officially say the best thing in Richland, Washington is the Drive Thru Starbucks on Queensgate Drive and this location is now the current title holder for Best Starbucks Drive Thru Ever.
When I rolled up to the Starbucks in my aunt’s minivan, I was quite weary as it shares the same building structure as Long John Silver and Panda Express, plus what do people in the sticks know about good coffee. I became quite discouraged as I pulled up 7th in a line of cars. You see, I was in a rush as usual, as I had a date with the entire cast of Today. The thought of turning around for Matt and Al was outweighed by the fact I haven’t had my coffee fix in 5 days and my left eye was going blurry from the lack of caffeine in my system. However, my desire and physical malady paid off because instead of it taking somewhere between forever and eternity, it took, no joke, 3 minutes. On top of it all, they made my drink perfect – Sugarfree Vanilla Non-Fat Latte. Trust me it's difficult for me to even type the word perfect, as I am normally critical about everything, especially my Starbucks beverages. I am so good that I can actually determine the quality of a latte based on the sheer weight of the Starbucks grande cup in my hand.
Regardless, such quick and accurate service is hard to find at just any Starbucks. For example, the Starbucks on Bay Street in SF takes an hour and 33 minutes if you are a lucky. You could be pushing three hours if the annoying french guy is working the register, pushing five if the annoying french guy has to make your coffee (plus it will be wrong, so add another 5 hours when he has to re-make it).
So if you ever find yourself heading west on the 187 to Yakima, you know where to go. If you happen to get lost, just look for the strip mall on the left that houses the 7-11, Taco Bell, Dunkin Donuts and JC Penney. If you get really lost, just stop at the Shell Gas Station on Kennedy Rd., the one that has the Quiznos, Jenni’s Nail Salon and Carl’s Junior inside.
