The Saturday Selection, Vol. 31

On Blank Street Coffee, gift guides, and The Points Guy.

Every day, WITI’s group chats buzz with fresh links. As part of our Saturday send for paid readers, we typically round up 11 of the best. Today, there are 12!

It’s WITI, on the weekend.

Why are these interesting?

How’s Blank Street Coffee Doing? (Residual Thoughts)

Notes on the grind, and Starbucks’ NYC struggles.

Transportation Engineer Tries to Solve America’s Worst Bottleneck (WSJ / YouTube)

Clue: It’s in New Jersey, where sixteen lanes have to quickly become seven as New York City nears.

The Tribulations of Being An American Diner In London (Financial Times)

“I’m just an American, standing in front of a maître d’, asking for not the worst table in the house.”