6 minute read
Cafe Mornings: That Third Place in Arkville
By Michael Koegel
Christina Kim is paying very close attention to the details at Cafe Mornings, the new hot spot in Arkville, NY. She sat down to join me while I was having lunch and the place was buzzing. Virtually every table was filled on a Monday afternoon, a half hour before closing time, yet Christina who couldn’t possibly have known what people were ordering—because she was talking to me—gently directed her staff to drop off the right plates to the right tables from where she was sitting. How did she know?
And it’s the details that you notice immediately when you walk into Cafe Mornings. My eyes were immediately drawn to the market area, a sleek wall of shelves displaying an eclectic array of Korean spices, tea, books and housewares, even skin cream, all carefully curated by Christina. The handsome tables and chairs spread out in the bright and spacious dining room add to the crispness of the room, while a white banquette and leather sofa up against another wall are very inviting.
The atmosphere is buzzing gently with conversation and the whirr and swish of espresso machines in the background. The music playing softly on the afternoon that I was there is what you might expect to hear walking into the lobby of an expensive spa; and indeed the entire place would not be out of place as a cafe in a spa or a museum.
But that’s not to say that Cafe Mornings is sterile. There’a a wall full of enticing pastries right at the front as you enter, and the staff is scurrying about preparing food and making specialty coffee drinks. Off of the dining room is a playroom full of toys and brightly colored objects that the kids can play with while their parents ingest some much needed morning caffeine and read the paper on their phones. Indeed, sometimes families roll out of bed and head directly to Cafe Mornings, their kids still in their PJs.
It’s that sense of community that led Christina and Eric to open Cafe Mornings in October of last year. Christina, a former
Creative Director in the tech and entertainment sectors and Eric, who worked in real estate and hospitality, left New York City at the beginning of the pandemic and decamped to their summer home in Halcottsville, along with their newborn. They are here full-time now, along with Christina’s mom, whose paintings hang on the cafe’s walls.
Neither Christina nor Eric had a background in the food industry, but they wanted to create a sense of home and community in their new environment, which to Christina and Eric translated into a cafe. Christina refers to Arkville as “my village” and she wants Cafe Mornings to be “that third place” for her customers; a space that’s neither home nor work, (which these days is often the same place); a comfortable and comforting environment where locals, weekenders and tourists can escape to and relax.
When I casually referred to Cafe Mornings as a “restaurant” I was gently corrected by Christina; Cafe Mornings is cafe, she said, modeled specifically after Korean cafes which occupy a unique niche in Korean culture.
“Korea has an incredibly rich and diverse cafe culture with an estimated 100,000 cafes,” she explained. “They’re known for highly curated atmospheres going beyond the typical coffee shop, that blend all their offerings together for a unique experience.”
What kind of food a person might encounter in a Korean cafe? “You’ll find traditional coffee offerings alongside uniquely Korean items like yuja tea or black sesame lattes,” said Christina. “This carries over into the pastries and desserts which are crafted with an emphasis on presentation and seasonality.”
But it’s not just coffee and sweets. Cafes in Korea will likely also serve a full array of savory breakfast and lunch items that are uniquely Korean and unique to that cafe. “Every family, and every cafe has their own recipe for kimchi and for marinated meat,” Christina explained. The recipes are handed down through generations, and diners can seek out the flavors and traditions they prefer and become loyal to that cafe. The generational aspect of the Korean cafe applies to Cafe Mornings as well: Christina’s mother is their baker.
How does authentic Korean food translate to upstate New York? “Basically we serve Korean street food adapted to American tastes,” she explained. A quick glance at their menu bears this out. The Bacon Breakfast Burrito consists of soft scrambled corn-cheese eggs, applewood bacon, avocados, white rice, kimchi, and sriracha aioli wrapped in a flour tortilla. The K-BBQ beef rice bowl is sliced sirloin steak, with fried onions and a yuzu vinaigrette, butter lettuce salad, served with broccoli and kimchi over rice.
“Our family’s table always consists of rice, a few side dishes including kimchi, a main dish such as Bulgogi (Korean BBQ Beef) and a salad or vegetable dish,” says Christina. “I wanted to make our food accessible to all and the Chipotle/Sweetgreen model of a bowl really appealed to me. It allows us to bring our normal family meal into one easy to understand bowl.”
There are also dozens of specialty coffee and tea drinks that I can guarantee you won’t find anywhere else in the area: the Vi- enna Einspanner is an espresso drink with house-made whipped cream topped with Clark’s cocoa powder. Their Yuja Tea is made from marmalade from the yuzu fruit, a popular Japanese citrus fruit. Lychee Iced Tea is a delicious clear tea, sweet and refreshing. Korean Cereal Milk lattes and Black Sesame lattes are their latest concoctions.
Their pastries and desserts are made using fruit they hand pick at local farms and their selections change seasonally. Definitely try their milk bread and matcha cookies which uses handsifted, ceremonial grade matcha.
Cafe Mornings also offers a Saturday night five-course dinner, the most recent featured Spicy Chicken Skewers, a 12 hour Udon Soup and Korean Braised Pork. There is also a full bar for these events where they serve craft cocktails. These dinners always sell out in advance so definitely make a reservation.
When Christina and Eric were opening the cafe and trying to define exactly what they wanted to become, one of the questions Christine asked herself was ‘Who’s out there that needs us?” You can sense her desire to be a welcoming space as soon as you walk in the door.
“We love the Catskills,” she exclaims, “and nothing thrills us more than watching a new customer enjoy something unexpected or see friends and families sharing meals here. We have always wanted to start a business in the area and everyday motivates us to keep trying something new!”
Cafe Mornings is at 43270 Rt. 28, Arkville, NY 12406. They are open for breakfast and lunch and for specialty coffees and home-made pastries, Thursdays-Mondays 7:00 am to 2:00 pm (closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays) and for dinners on Saturday nights at 7:00 pm (reservations required). For more information, visit cafemornings.com.
Michael Koegel is a writer, director and producer. He owns Mama’s Boy Burgers in Tannersville, NY.