Fika is a verb and a noun, mostly in Sweden but now in
Kansas City, too. It’s pronounced
fee-kuh.
The easiest explanation is that it’s a coffee break, but not
the kind of hurried, stand up and gulp one like we have. Instead, it means to take a real moment and
enjoy your life. With cookies and sweets.
With friends or alone. It’s
basically what we are now calling “mindfulness,” with coffee or tea.
It’s available at the Krokstrom
Klub and Market at 3601 Broadway. It
is, at this restaurant, unequivocally delicious – who knew a plate of four
different small cookies and treats could be so good? In fact, so much so, that my portly companion
and I, rather than doing the leisurely thing, started right in on it. The plate varies from day to day and ours came
with apple butter for the almost biscuit which was better than any apple butter
I’ve had. After initial nibbles, we
began to savor, slowing our pace a bit.
We tried their church basement coffee, also known as Swedish
egg coffee – but rather than 40 cups made in a big canister which needed better
flavor, theirs was Broadway Roasting Company coffee made in a French press. We also, I must admit, tried their kaffeekask,
which is rye, Frangelico, coffee liqueur, toddy, with a header of stout on
top.
We proceeded on to wonderful brunch dishes and finished off
with their much requested Æbleskiver (able-skeever) which is a somehow fluffy pancake
ball, this time made with small apple chunks and served with apple butter, sour
cream, and a mapley syrup lightly drizzled.
As a tribute to our taste buds and despite being so full already, we
devoured the four of those, too.
Krokstrom Klubb is an excellent dinner choice and has a terrific
happy hour from 4 – 6 p.m., during which the aforementioned fika is served. And,
not so important but somehow personally satisfying because it’s such a nice
custom, I’ve finally found a word besides Topeka that rhymes with my last name!
So Becicka is again going to fika, that’s for sure.
Krokstrom Klubb and Market
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