When I go to Starbucks I order coffee and nothing else. I avoid the pastries because, well, they suck. Even the rice krispie squares, which are one of my favorite treats, just aren’t very good at Starbucks. I’d definitely be willing to try one of their new breakfast sandwiches though (via Starbucks Gossip):

In the frenzy of grab-and-go breakfast that seizes the nation each morning, the trek from Starbucks (for coffee) to McDonald’s or another destination (for food) has become a familiar one. Even as Starbucks has developed a mass following for its dark, super-roasted coffee and its iced, frothed, blended and flavored offspring, the company has struggled to get its food up to par.

Thus, the latest move by Starbucks is a big one: challenging McDonald’s by introducing hot egg-and-cheese sandwiches on English muffins, just as McDonald’s is promoting its new higher quality coffee.

And from the sounds of things there is more food on the way. They don’t have kitchens in the stores, but instead have invested in “high-speed, high-heat” ovens. It appears as though lots of effort has gone into solving the no-kitchen-problem, and even McDonald’s is impressed with the solution Starbucks has come up with:

“It’s a fine technology,” admitted Mr. Thompson of McDonald’s. “We won’t use it, but it’s surprisingly good.”

I’m a big fan of the Egg McMuffin, but who knows, maybe the Starbucks ovens can really produce something good. Hopefully some of the Canadian Starbucks stores get updated soon so I can find out!

Read: NY Times