Un cortado. Never would have thought to ask for that. Guapetona, gracias por la informacion.

Un cortado, o "cortadito" to a cubano is cuban coffee with a hint of milk. This was design for those who could not drink cafe cubano by itself.

teebosco, while I happen to love the Spanish cafe con leche, I could see missing a large, sipping-style cup of coffee, like they serve in the US. I think you can ask for a cafe Americano (correct me if I am wrong folks, I may be thinking of south america), and you get really close to that. They add hot water to the espresso, lightening it up a bit.

Just for a fun twist on this thread, check out an old article from "The Onion" at http://www.theonion.com/onion3709/starbucks_phase_two.html

Tara

I think it is nice to have options. If someone doesn't like Spanish coffe now they can get American coffee in Spain.
But I think that the coffee won't be the same than in America. I have tried many American things in Spain (donuts, coca-cola, Burger King...) and they don't taste the same than here. I guess that they "adapt" the product to the country's taste.
Nuria

La que se ha montado sólo por una cafetería

By the way, as I have always said, it surprise me how protective americans are with us but it is charming.

I think there is nothing wrong in general to expand a business in a forgein country. For me that enrichs that country though variety and investments, and also the company which owns the business.

Something different is what (for example) McDonald's did. This company opened its first "restaurant" in Spain 25 years ago (or so). At that time, Spain awaken from a closed dictatorship, and was almost without external influence in food customes. Burgers were something alien to us, who were used to typical spanish bocadillos (a spanish/french bread filled with cheese, chorizo, salchichón, ham, cured ham, tomato, omelette, bacon, lomo, or, yes MadridMan, calamares).

At first McDonald's have no success, cause it was very difficult to sell bad-quality food in an environment filled of home-style fast food (apart from bocadillos, tapas, croquetas, empanadillas, spanish omelettes,...). What they did? Well, we are not in hurry, let's invest lots of money in publicity and change the peoples' customes. And for sure they did it.

My generation grew celebrating birthdays in McDonald's, eating this cheap fast-food and getting used to it. To the point that in big cities now is typical to have dinner in this american fast-food restaurants (Pizza hut, McDonald's, Burger King,...) and other spanish equivalents (TelePizza mainly). However not every chain has had success here. Wendy closed all it's restaurants ten years ago when they couldn't afford a court when it was demonstrated the low standards of cleansing they had, Kentucky Fried Chicken has had a very limited success, Big Boy tried once and it didn't last one whole year, and others, for example Taco Bell, have not even tried to launch their business here.

My friends and I decided some weeks ago that we have had enough of bad service, poor quality fast food for our whole life (we ordered weekly a pizza). So we are now trying to go to better restaurants no matter they are somewhat more expensive.

I thing Starbucks has nothing to do here. There are lots of places to drink a coffee, and even some (spanish?) chains as Jamaica Coffee Shop and others.

By the way (and to finish this post) I would want to ask you forgeiners, what would you thing if a spanish company (Zara, Loewe, Telepizza,...) launched a business in your countries? Would it be an attack to american culture?

Let people decide what they want. We can't be conserved in formol and without the influence of the rest of the world

Fernando

Zara is already in America...at the Short Hills Mall in New Jersey, I think, and maybe also in NYC. Hooray for Zara!

And as for Telepizza, ICK! (Though this has nothing to do with Spanish business, but rather with bad pizza!!).

Tara

I like Zara, I wish that they had more stores in the states. Yeah, I agree with taravb, telepizza sucks. Their new pizza with cheese in the crust is a little better. I think that the biggest kick, if telepizza opened up in the US, would be seeing all of their delivery people on mopeds like they do here.

Hey Fernando:

Zara is here in the good ole USA (Nnew York City). My girlfriend, of course, wants to go shopping there, and she would be equally delighted to have a Loewe's here.

As for TelePizza, though, y'all can keep it. I couldn't figure out if what I was eating was poison, rubber, or both. The very sight of their mopeds is now enough to send me into convulsions.