Starbucks just renovated their SoHo location on Spring at Crosby. This is basically their NYC flagship location, or at least their lower Manhattan flagship, so it's a bit of a big deal given Starbucks' desire (need?) to innovate. More importantly it's the first and only NYC location to have a Clover machine. Starbucks bought Clover just about two years ago and has already rolled out the machines in Seattle, Boston, Miami, and San Francisco.

Caveat- I'm not a huge Starbucks fan. I don't have any problems with the franchise, it's just that there are a lot of great places to get coffee in NYC and I tend to opt for the variety of neighborhood locations over the consistency offered by Starbucks. I've had Clover coffees before, at Gimme, Grumpy, and others. I still regularly have it at Kaffe 1668, who is one of the few locations to still use them.

The Store The newly renovated Starbucks location looks great. The old one was your typical Starbucks--nice enough but with serious signs of wear from constant high traffic. The new setup is nicer than the old one ever was--there is a lot of reclaimed-looking rough-hewn hardwoods, iron furniture, leather stools, and even the stands (that hold stuff you can buy) look nice. There is a lot of seating--both tables and stools--and a much more efficient use of space. This store doesn't have the overstuffed (read: gross) furniture found in other stores. The bar is much better than in other locations. It's lower so you can see what is going on with your drink and the signage and layout are both improved. Everything looks much friendly, less corporate. We'll see how it handles traffic though, I was there are about 8:15a Saturday morning (not exactly prime time). The employees were insanely nice. I think these might have been a corporate training staff (or at least one of them was) because the person that rang me up was very excited that I ordered a Clover. She also knew the other Clover locations right off the top of her head. She was fast, friendly, and professional, leaving no doubt that she really wanted me to enjoy my $3.40 cup of coffee. The person that made my coffee seemed to operate the Clover well enough, still with some hesitancy, but with a good understanding of the process. The Coffee I think Starbucks' Clover-brewed is a pretty good cup of coffee. I got the Kona, which I don't drink much of, but I did enjoy it. After ordering I walked over to the Clover area and watched the barista weigh and then grind my coffee. He then started brewing it in the Clover, talking to me about the process. Maybe he wasn't as knowledge about it as someone at Cafe Kaffe 1668 but he clearly had been trained on operating the Clover well enough to make a coffee with very little wasted time. I'd say that Starbucks was able to have the coffee taste somewhat like a what we expect from the franchise but it's definitely a Clover. It had lots of flavor and great clarity. There were hints of sweetness and less bitterness than typical Starbucks. As is typical with the Clover you get that clarity but you lose body as well as some of the grit and oils of a french press. I'm not sure if Starbucks will be able to dial in their Clovers as often as a small coffee shop, but this one seemed right where they wanted it to be--delivering Starbucks tasting coffee while giving customers something different than Starbucks' normal drip offerings. The Spring and Crosby location is definitely the nicest Starbucks I've ever been to. I can't say that I'll be going to it often (not with Balthazar right there, as well as Gimme and newcomer Village Tart nearby) but I'd take it over any other Starbucks location in the city and I'll keep it in mind for when, if ever, I'm dying for a cup of Clover-brewed.