Starting next month, Starbucks has announced that in addition to grinding beans to order for each brewed pot of coffee it'll also brew coffee more frequently: The magic will happen every 24 minutes, down from the previous 30. And in a bid for health-related transparency, the coffee chain will eliminate artificial colors, fats, and high fructose corn syrup from its menus entirely, along with some preservatives. This will change the taste of some Starbucks mixed drinks, and "will affect about 90 percent of the baked goods" (don't worry—Starbucks has new baked goods on the way!). Fruity drink chain Jamba Juice is also feeling the corn syrup squeeze: Besides pushing a new menu consisting largely of sandwiches, wraps, and baked goods, the chain is beginning to take the HFCS away from its locations. It's already happening in California, and the change will go into effect nationwide within the year, reports Nation's Restaurant News. High fructose corn syrup is thought to be the phantom menace of the modern diet, the proverbial second gunman on the grassy knoll of obesity and heart disease. more ›

Someone’s wind-chill related prayers have been answered, and now it has come to pass: through the end of March, hand over one dollar to the Jamba Juice folks, and in return they’ll hand you some hot, steel-cut oatmeal that comes with brown sugar and choice of fruit on top. The cheap breakfast is just one of the many current promotional deals riding the coattails of the economic stimulus nomenclature. In exchange for oatmeal, Jamba Juice requires you to conspire with tree-killers to get their oatmeal deal by printing out a coupon. In the meantime, in an effort just to get customers through the front door, earlier today Starbucks delivered on its promise to introduce a new “value meal” consisting of coffee and an egg sandwich, with oatmeal or coffee cake, all for a low-priced $3.95. more ›

The Jamba Juice at 5th Avenue and 42nd Street was robbed at gunpoint yesterday morning. The robbery was a case of (peach) perfection with cops arriving in time to spot the assailant, but not able to capture him when he fled as swiftly as a (strawberry) surf rider. During the robbery, two employees on duty were given a (protein berry) workout as the robber, described as a six-foot tall black man, (chocolate) moo'd them to the back room. He then cleared out the cash register and safe while he likely achieved a state of (strawberry) nirvana. Despite being armed, no (wheatgrass) shots were fired and the thief can now only hope for some form of immunity (boost) if he is caught. more ›

To celebrate their first anniversary today, decadent 12th Street carb emporium S’mac is offering portions of its floor model macaroni and cheese for just $1. The “nosh” size of the All-American (nothing fancy, just domestic cheddar) at the special anniversary price will be available until 11 PM. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery on Lenox Ave. in Manhattan, a shooting on Farragut Rd. in Brooklyn, and a home invasion robbery on 84th St. in Queens.
• The City honored Jay-Z's mom, Gloria Carter, today for her work overseeing the Shawn Carter Scholarship Fund, a college-oriented educational charity that helps disadvantaged and non-traditional students.
• A Queens man, already under arrest for threatening a police officer with a gun in front of the officer's children, multiplied his troubles by attempting to hire a hitman to kill that cop before he could testify. The would-be hitman is now also under arrest.
• After robbing a bishop of $1,500 at gunpoint in his Queens church, one of three thieves returned to the neighborhood to target the pizza place next door to the church, where he proceeded to rob an old lady while beating her with her own cane. He was stopped by an off-duty cop and held for arrest.
• Stock up on or increase the use of those subway-themed condoms while you have the chance, because the city's health commissioner will stop distributing them unless New Yorkers pick up the pace and start justifying the program. Get busy people; those condoms aren't going to use themselves.
• Former NYSE chairman Dick Grasso got four counts closer to winning his court case to keep his full compensation package, after a judge ruled in his favor on technical issues.
• Organizers of PrideFest and the city are fighting over which gay-friendly neighborhood should host the post-parade bash. The city wants to keep the event in the West Village and organizers want to move to Chelsea.
• The Dept. of Education found a temporary home for the Khalil Gibran International Academy next year. The school will be split between existing schools approximately 12 blocks apart in Park Slope.

So... wham! It's hot, humid, and not even officially summer yet. The forecast shows temps hitting 90 for the next couple of days before dropping to the 80s for the end of the week. The humidity might subside a bit but the sun will remain with us throughout. more ›

When Jamba Juice first moseyed into town, New Yorkers were thrilled. Like most out-of-town drinks (the margarita, a Starbucks coffee), Jamba Juice was welcomed with a fervor equal to that of a sample sale. They even had bananas playing the bongos, to tempt us! But now, in the winter of our mothereffing cold blast, Gothamist feels Scott Heiferman's Jamba Juice thoughts might be on the money. He writes:

Over the past decade, I`d often travel to California and always pay a visit to a Jamba Juice. I`d crave Jamba Juice when home in NYC. I`d think, "Wouldn`t it be great if there were a Jamba Juice near home or work?" Now, Jamba Juice is popping up all over NYC, and they just opened one very close to my office. But something ain`t right. I`m not feeling it. The problem is: Jamba Juice is California. In California, the staff and customers are California. The California sun shines into the stores there. You get your juice and step outside into California air. Here, the people aren`t California. The staff is thinking: "I don`t know what this California shit is." The customers look baffled at the hippy menu. Take your Jamba Juice out into winter cold in your winter jacket? NYC grit makes it taste differently.

Some people are very excited about the Jamba-ization/Juicing of NYC, with the arrival of many Jamba Juice locations. Gothamist didn't believe Curbed's reports of "Live Bananas" on 42nd Street (everyone knows that bananas are inanimate, duh!), but now we are believers. Gothamist Weather's KP posted a photograph his friend, Fresh, (what a wonderful, collaborative world this is) took of, yes, live bananas on Broadway and 50th. They were even playing the bongos! All to celebrate Jamba Juice moving to Times Square; according to KP, Jamba Juice doesn't do traditional advertising, so it's mainly guerilla (ha!) tactics like dressing up as bananas, yelling, "Jamba! Jamba! Jamba! 42nd street!" Excellent. Gothamist will get our panda costumes ready.
more ›