Starbucks – Susan Joy Clark

I stopped into a Starbucks this weekend and picked up a frappuccino and salad — something very healthy and something quite a bit more indulgent.

So, the frappuccino isn’t quite as healthy as my other choice. The air conditioning in my car isn’t working so efficiently, and it’s been hard for me to resist frozen drinks in the hot weather. The strawberry funnel cake flavor seemed to be a seasonal or maybe limited edition flavor, and I often go for novelty, so I thought I would give it a try.

I tasted a lot of strawberry and whipped cream and sweetness but not a lot of coffee flavor. You can see from the photo that the whipped cream and strawberry are both on the bottom of the cup and layered on top. I was wondering how you could really get funnel cake flavor into a coffee drink, but that mostly came from a sprinkling of funnel cake pieces on the top.

It was refreshing, and, if I forgot it was supposed to be a coffee drink, I found it enjoyable like a milkshake or something different. The lack of coffee flavor was disappointing in something that was supposed to be … coffee. I felt the strawberry flavor didn’t blend and seemed to overwhelm the coffee flavor. I probably wouldn’t order it again. The barista behind the counter told me that she had not tried it, but that customers seemed to like it. So, although this is my opinion, you might feel differently.

Above is my salad as it appeared in the case and before opening. Below is how it appeared when I removed the lid.

There were assorted greens, (specifically, lettuce, spinach, tatsoi and chard) with white chicken pieces, cotija cheese, quinoa, black beans, charred corn, grape tomatoes, julienned jicama and a tomato vinaigrette.

Here’s another pic after I added the dressing and mixed everything.

The tomato vinaigrette contains tomato puree and looked thick like a tomato sauce before it was drizzled and stirred in. That was a little surprising.

I liked it. I detected quite a lot of natural sweetness from the corn, tomatoes, jicama and dressing. This was the first time this Northeastern girl tasted jicama, but I liked it. In fact, the ingredient wasn’t listed too prominently on the label, so when I came across it, I took a guess at what it was. I later saw it listed in fine print on the label on the underside of the bowl. The sweetness was balanced with a little tang from the dressing and some of the more bitter greens. The label listed sweet chile in the dressing, which I didn’t detect so much, so the spice level was pretty mild.

The chicken was moist, tender and savory, and it was satisfying to have some protein in the mix. The black beans also added some substance. According to the label, this salad has 420 calories. I would recommend the salad … not so much with the frappuccino.

I’m sharing this with Life This Week.

“Joshua Fit the Battle of Cherry Coke”

Some child heard “Joshua fit the battle of cherry Coke” instead of “Joshua fit the battle of Jericho.” The battle at Jericho was pretty unusual, but this kind of battle sounds more like a cafeteria food fight. I don’t know where this is found in the Bible. Hhhmmm….

2. “Caribou Quick!”

At a party, a friend of mine shared how he always heard the lyrics, “Caribou quick” in the song “Caribbean Queen” by Billy Ocean. That changes the meaning, just slightly. Caribou are often the subject of ’80s R&B songs, right? We could probably fill an album on contemporary songs of the caribou … or maybe Wayne Brady could. It probably helped the storytelling that my friend had to make antlers with his hands while he sang the lyrics.

3. “Ooh! Boppa Retta!”

When I was a child, I sometimes heard Sade’s “Smooth Operator” when out in public places. For years, I thought the repeated line, “Smooth Operator” was “Ooh! Boppa Retta!” I guess I thought it was like jazz scat singing or some nonsense syllables like “Rama Lama Ding Dong.” I don’t remember how I was finally enlightened.

4. “This is the dawning of the Age of Asparagus!”

These lyrics were heard in place of “Age of Aquarius” in the Fifth Dimension song by that title. That is an age that a lot of veggie-fearing children would dread.

4. “Got along with Starbucks lovers”

GirlwithStarbuckscoffee — Photo by guan lee on Unsplash

This one is heard instead of “got a long list of ex-lovers” in the song “Blank Space” by Taylor Swift. Who wouldn’t get along with a Starbucks lover? Maybe someone who prefers Dunkin’ Donuts coffee instead.

5. “I wanna try like a beagle.”

manholdingbeagle — Photo by Ionut Conan Photographer on Unsplash

This was heard in place of “I Wanna Fly Like an Eagle” in the Steve Miller Band song by that name. Everyone knows that beagles try hard. Most of them are probably trying hard to catch squirrels, although one famous beagle, Snoopy, does dance and fly a plane and other impressive accomplishments.

6. “A pink pair of dice”

carwithfuzzydice — Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

This was heard instead of “They paved paradise” and then followed by “and put in a parking lot” in “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell. Well, a pair of fuzzy dice might be seen in a parking lot, but that’s the only connection I see.

7. “I just died in your barn tonight, mustard no mayonnaise instead.”

mustardmayonnaiseandketchup — Photo by Fancycrave on Unsplash

This was heard in place of “I just died in your arms tonight. It must have been something you said,” in the song “I Just Died in Your Arms Tonight” by Cutting Crew. I’m a little confused by this one. It sounds like the ghost of some guy who died in the barn is still able to enjoy mortal pleasures and is pretty persnickety about his condiment choices.

8. “Sweet dreams are made of cheese.”

Frenchcheeses — Photo by Darren Colehill on Unsplash

The actual lyrics are “Sweet dreams are made of these” in the song “Sweet Dreams” by the Eurythmics. Still, I agree with this statement. I have a lot of sweet dreams about cheese.

9. “It’s too late to order fries.”

This was heard instead of “It’s too late to apologize” in “Apologize” by OneRepublic. Isn’t it heartbreaking when you roll up to the drivethrough window only to realize the place is closed?Maybe the guy tried to order at Chik Fil A on a Sunday? (I think we could put together some sort of sandwich, side and beverage from the misheard lyrics in this list.)

10. “‘Til I hit the dumpster, hit the dumpster.”

This was heard in Sia’s “Cheap Thrills” instead of “‘Til I hit the dance floor, hit the dance floor.” Well, she does sing about not needing a lot of cash in order to have a good time. Hitting a dumpster doesn’t cost much, but I’m not sure there’s a whole lot of thrill factor there either.

11. “Hold me closer, Tony Danza.”

balletdancer — Photo by Mirza Causevic on Unsplash

This was heard in place of “Hold me closer, tiny dancer,” in Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer.” Maybe this was misheard by someone with a celebrity crush?

12. “There’s a bathroom on the right.”

publicrestrooms — Photo by Juan Marin on Unsplash

This was heard in Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising” instead of “There’s a bad moon on the rise.” Sometimes, it’s really handy to know there’s a bathroom nearby.

13. “And the toilet’s last cleaning.”

toiletcleaning — Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash

This was heard in the U.S. national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner,” in place of “at the twilight’s last gleaming.” I sure hope the toilet is gleaming after its last cleaning.

What lyrics have you misheard?

Tag: Starbucks

Starbucks Review: Strawberry Funnel Cake Frappuccino Plus Chicken & Quinoa with Black Beans and Greens

Joshua Fit the Battle of Cherry Coke and 13 Other Misheard Lyrics