Mar 22 2007
Bandwagoneer (Pic of the Week)
Does this locally owned restaurant remind you of anything you might see in just about any city in America? The brown and tan, the coffee. Come on. You know this one.
After scarfing down my lunch Thursday, I finally took a picture, thanks to an overcast sky (Nature’s light box). Harsh sun at noon ruined the shot the first time I saw it.
This time, I got it and had just enough time to go to photograph one more place (hint: one of the fastest-growing businesses of the past decade) before returning to work. The results surprised me.
At first glance, there’s not much resemblance. Still, there’s a reason my mind conjured up Starbucks each time I saw Escapé. The letters are very similar, and the imitator utilizes a circular logo. Oh, and they serve coffee. It’s reminiscent of the McDowell’s/McDonald’s rivalry in Coming to America, even though it’s not quite as uncanny. I’ll have to step inside some day to see whether the similarities continue.
One question looms high above all others: Is there really only one donut at Escapé, and if so, is there some sort of contest or a random drawing? In my previous donut quests (here or here), searching for white instead of custard filling, I have found that every donut shop in this area is owned and operated by folks of Asian descent who do not have a good handle on the English language. I suspect that was at work when this sign was ordered.
Please, nobody make a crack about the deeper roots of my preferring white over yellow. I already thought of it and decided to avoid it. Wait a minute… crap!
Coincidentally, as I sat eating before running off to geek out on these pictures, I overheard a man at the table next to me.
“I just can’t believe some people. They come into the donut shop and tell me they don’t have any money, so can they just come back and pay me later? They’re driving a fancy Mercedes and they expect me to believe they don’t have money for donuts?” (side note: I have had hair stylists and others allow me to come back and pay later when I forgot my checkbook, before the days of debit cards.)
The man spoke in clear, perfectly intelligible English, his only accent a slight Texan twang. So, my question is, where is this guy hiding his donut shop? Maybe I’ll walk into Escapé one day and see him behind the counter.
And, of course, I’ll order a few white creme-filled donuts, a coffee, and then ask him if I can pay later. Because if he doesn’t, I’m telling Starbucks he copied their look.
Update
I sit typing this while enjoying a cappucino at Escapé.
Earth tones abound.
The interior furnishings include plush sectional couches; barstool height chairs at round top tables; a heavy wood piece resembling a conference table, with power outlets mounted in the side of a trough filled with coffee beans; and traditional cafe tables surrounded by four chairs.
Like Goldilocks (except with more gray hair and a less feminine gait), I tried two and found them not quite right, but on the third try found just the right fit — the boring old tables one can find at any restaurant.
On the floor, large stone tiles sculpted to look like cobblestones run wall-to-wall. A 30-foot long wall sports a mural of a Rocky Mountain scene. Brush strokes makes me suspect it’s an original painting.
“Is that an original?” I ask an employee as I point to the wall.
“Yes.”
“Local artist?”
“The manager’s husband, with some help.”
On the opposite wall, coffee beans are pressed into three glass frames spaced about three feet apart. The beans obviously were arranged with their four different shades of brown in mind, forming patterns that look like either muddy ocean waves or craggy mountains trimmed in brown-leaved trees. Oddly, I expect to see movement any moment, like in a museum’s cross-section of an ant colony.
It is much more inviting than the average Starbucks, represented just one mile down the road. Obviously, somebody spent a lot of money making it so.
I like Escapé, but I have mixed feelings on its proximity to my workplace. It’s only a four-minute drive away (if I catch the green lights).
“They have the golden arches, we have the golden arcs!”
*LOL* I loved Coming to America!!!!
And yeah, looks way too similar if I were Starbucks… but hey.
Have a great weekend bud..
Guilty admission: it took me a couple months of reading here before I finally clued in to your habit of posting Pics of the Week only on Fridays. I thought it was just once a week, the specific day be damned. It’s taken me as many months again to gain the courage to fess up.
What makes me curious (given the horrific flexibility of the English language in the south) is how the name of that place is pronounced. You know, with the accent over the E like that.
My years of French instruction tell me it should probably be “ess-kah-PAY”. But then the sheer number of times I’ve watched the movie Finding Nemo with my son forces me to want to say it “ess-KAH!-pay”. Yes, with the exclamation in the middle there. If you’ve seen Dori the fish in that movie, you know what I mean. She’s ruined the word for me. Every time I see a Ford Escape driving in town, I have to say out loud, “Ford Es-KAH!-pay.”
Also, every time I go into a doughnut shop (Timmy Ho’s!), I always look out for a white-filled doughnut, but they’re always creme. If I ever do find one Mark, I’ll wrap it up real good in a couple of Ziploc bags and courier it overnight to Texas. You probably think I’m joking. (Then again, you probably know better than to think that.)
(Hey Shannon, look! No naughty thoughts anywhere in that comment!)
If you ever go into EsKAHpay, Mark, be sure to order a Venti Frapaccino. When they explain that that’s a Starbucks drink, act confused. Turn around and look at the front door, scratch your head before saying, “Oh, sorry.” Then leave.
Repeat the next day with friends.
Si - Are you saying Mark posts a picture every Friday? Can’t say as I noticed ;)
I wonder how much extra it cost them to not use just a plain old E on the sign.
Starbucks has probably saved millions over the years leaving off the apostrophe.
Dave - That movie is not appreciated enough these days.
Simon - Yes, Pic of the Week is only Friday. I sometimes use pictures other days, but only Friday gets the official moniker.
I know the propensity toward French language instruction in your native country has skewed your vision of Romance languages, so I’ll help.
Dori was right in pronouncing it esKAHpay, if we’re talking about Spanish. Without an accent, the general rule is to stress the second-to-last syllable. Therefore, you are right that the sign above should be pronounced eskahPAY. If we’re talking Spanish. Which, around these parts, one can pretty much assume.
Thanks for keeping it clean. I’m afraid what might happen when I try to take part in a school-related activity and a parent finds my blog. I might be banned. Kind of exciting, but nevertheless embarrassing for the Benster.
We do have white-creme doughnuts here, but only at Krispy Kreme. It’s not very convenient to our home, so we just go without. Ben and I have sharply curtailed our trips to doughnut shops.
Moksha - I might try that. I am curious to see what they name their various sizes. I’ve never like that the “small” at Starbucks is called a “tall.”
Blitz - I wondered the same thing. But, since they have only one location (as far as I know), it probably had minimal overall impact.
I drove to Escapé today while wolfing down two of the cheaper Taco Bell selections (I inadvertently left behind the homemade lunch I so carefully prepared at midnight).
For details on my visit, see the update on this post, under the italicized word Update.
Yeah, but what SIZE was your cappuccino? Was it aggravatingly ‘tall’? Or was it a more pleasant ‘medium’?
Sounds like a very pleasant place; more so than its ubiquitous doppleganger. (Two four-syllable words in a row! Score!) What came to my mind was a renewed sense of envy at the wireless freedom you enjoy. I’m tied to my LAN at work and my cable at home. WiFi, set me free!
Yeah yeah yeah, Mark. But what’d they do when you ordered the Venti Frappacinno?
Oh, and I can’t help but notice that the fonts are not exactly the same. The Escape “C” closes slightly more than the Starbucks “C.” So, I think they’re safe from any potential lawsuit.
Oh, one more thing I figured I’d ask since it’s vaguely related to the topic at hand. How was the coffee?
Simon - Weird thing — the sizes weren’t named at all. There were three columns to the right of the item, with varying increments of increase, but nothing naming the columns.
I did ask for a small, though, and she didn’t correct me or even flinch.
Go to newegg.com and set yourself and those wires free!
Moksha - Dang it, I forgot to try that. Oh well.
The cappucino was good — indistinguishable from their much better-known competitor down the street, but with so much foam on top I had to tilt the cup at least 30 degrees before the beverage hit my lips. For more than I paid for the chicken quesadilla at Taco Bell, I expect a little more actual drink. The froth doesn’t interest me, so next time I’ll order something else.
I grabbed an 5 oz cupper at Tres’ BP. Mmmmm….almost like it was made last week…yeah….I don’t drink coffee. Love the smell, can’t stand the taste. A fine hot cup of Tetley and I’m good to go. :)
Hey, I had a timmy ho’s lunch with a girlfriend on Thursday AND you will never guess what she had. YEP! the white filling. It is funny how things just happed ’cause I have never really payed attention to the donuts with filling. I don’t like them. I prefer the plain honey glazed ones YUMMY!!!!! So wierd that you are talking about this. So wierd I have never cared but noticed only Thursday. So strangely wierd.
mal - Convenience store coffee? Yikes! No wonder you don’t like coffee.
too tired to - Yeah, it seems the major chain down here (Krispy Kreme) is the only one that makes these. Donuts are fatty and sugary enough — but no, let’s add filling made from fat and sugar. Yippee!
Thanks for reading, and for contributing.
In El Paso, Arkansas (yes, there is such a place) between Conway and Beebe, there is a restaurant that has the name “Sawbucks.” I think it is a new fish house and other such stuff.
Where is this town? It is just north of the U.S. 64 and Arkansas State Highway 5 in central Arkansas. The “Sawbucks” in this town is an old convenience store and gas station that was converted into a restaurant at the southeast corner of the previously mentioned intersection.
In Conway, there was a local pizza joint that originally opened with the name “Don Ameche.” It was not long after that I noticed the name changed to “Due Ameche.” I wonder if someone with connections with the late actor had something to do with it.