Coffee Direct

I was looking for a coffee place in midtown east that was cheap and no nonsense. Because I am unfamiliar with that part of town I went to www.nymag.com for a recommendation. I narrowed my search by neighborhood, type of restaurant and cost; the third of the criteria shortened the list from five options to four. I had to choose between a kosher, non-dairy, meat free restaurant (I need milk in my coffee), a salad place I vaguely remember someone called a yuppie scum lunch time pick up spot, a place where "Conde-Nasties" pretend to digest whole foods and a place run by an investment house. I went with the lesser of the four evils.

So, today I am meeting a friend for coffee at the ING Direct cafe. That's right they have a cafe... in Manhattan... and they proudly serve Peets coffee and advice on investment strategies. When I called to find out if it were in fact a true cafe they tried to give me advice on banking right upfront. I am imagining barristas with their Series 7s and waiters who leave you tips... on the stock market that is. I hope the theme of the decor is fat dividends. ING even offers free coffee coupons to new customers, although I am not sure if they mean new banking customers or new cafe customers. Free coffee is free coffee, I just hope I can get out of there without being convinced to switch my accounts from Fidelity , who by the way don't even offer bagels in the office. Maybe I can get a copy of the WSJ since my delivery guy seems to be on strike.