While there seems to be a Starbucks on every corner, there hadn’t been one on my immediate route to work until a few weeks ago.  This particular Starbucks is one of the in-grocery store stores but unlike the majority of these mini-Starbucks, this one has consistently created a quality White Chocolate Mocha.  Perhaps a bit too good as I got “busted” when I went in one morning with Christina and the barrista girls called me out: “Hey! How have you been?  You haven’t been here in a few days?  White Chocolate Mocha, right?”  After getting a wry grin from Christina, I explained to her that stopping here was perfect as I can also do a little grocery shopping for my day-to-day office groceries.  It’s certainly better than running across the street from my office to the overpriced 7-11.

Another Safeway nearby has a gas station attached to it that provides a discount for the “club-card” holders.  If I can get my on-the-commute Safeway to install a gas station as well, it would be the perfect grocery store.  As Christina told me this morning, I’ve turned into a Safeway groupie.

Ran over to Chipotle for lunch today.  Chipotle has been expanding all over the place and I have a feeling it’s starting to have a detrimental effect on their business.  I used to joke that I moved to Reston Town Center just because I could walk to the nearby Chipotle.  The food is good, service is fast, and the price is right.  That said, soon after I moved into my current house in Fairfax, they put a new Chipotle in nearby… but not, unfortunately, close enough to walk.  For whatever reason, the service at my new Chipotle is markedly slower than any other Chipotle I’ve ever visited.  I’ve spent 45 minutes waiting in what the same line would have taken 10-15 minutes max at the Reston Chipotle.  This doesn’t seem to be an isolated  aberration as they recently also put one across the street from my office — the one I went to this afternoon.  Unfortunately, the staff at this Chipotle seem to come from the same vein as the ones from my Fairfax Chipotle as the line moves at a snails pace.  I’m starting to suspect that there are a limited number of Chipotle people and they’ve now had to resort to the “B” teams to staff their new locations.