In a bid to make quick-service restaurant writers blare the "predictable" alarm, Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) has again moved into McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) territory with what Howard Schulz calls "breakfast pairings at attractive prices." I'm pretty sure that when I turn to our desk reference guide of corporate sayings, that is the definition for "value menu."

Perhaps they don't invite me to press briefings any more, because they knew that when Howard said this in a talk to investors last week, I would have shouted something about "differentiation" and "McDonald's" and "not." Starbucks is apparently revealing more details about its value menu this week, when we will learn if the meal deals -- I mean, "breakfast pairings" -- are about the same price as a McDonald's McCafe coffee drink matched up with, say, a sausage McMuffin or something.

This couldn't be a more obvious ploy to attract customers who have been wooed away from Starbucks by McDonald's lower prices and less pretension, not to mention what one customer called the "richer-tasting" drinks. Which is, I believe, a euphemism for "more like a milkshake and less like a cup of coffee." While it's admirable to target customers with better prices in this economy, the clear struggle for McDonald's customers has me scratching my head. Were these really ever the appropriate customer base for Starbucks in the first place? I believe this is what had Starbucks pointed in the wrong direction for the past few years: the endless and meaningless struggle to be all beverages and foods to all people.