There is nothing more breathtaking than sitting in a Starbucks nursing one's Grande Latte and watching 5 or 6 English majors at the next table over trying snottily to outdo one another at irony...

I've observed this. In Barrie, Ontario. They have a Starbucks there right next door to the Chapters giant bookstore. The drinks are way overpriced and not all that exceptionally good either, but it's worth it just to be able to eavesdrop on the local intelligentsia.