Art Of Food: 3rd Annual Culinary Competition

MODE’s: Tour de Café

Java. Cappuccino. Latte. Mocha. Joe … Coffee. There’s just something about the word — any incarnation of it — that immediately conjures the image of a steaming hot mug and the aroma of freshly roasted beans. To be sure, coffee is the drink of choice at the coffeeshops that have sprung up all around the Harrisburg area, but — more than a mere place to buy coffee — these cafés have become the place to meet, relax, and, more often than not, communicate in more ways than traditional conversation allows.

North Street on Third In the Greater Harrisburg area alone, more than twenty coffeeshops have staked their claim in the java market. Providing menus ranging from light sandwiches and soups to decadent desserts and pastries, the variety of coffeehouses in the region have become an essential to their patrons, providing the relaxing duo of drink and entertainment and offering everything from poetry nights and play readings to open mic sessions and Internet access.

A far cry from the 24-hour diners that served as coffeshops in days gone by, the coffee houses of today have just as easily become a staple of this era, serving as the inspiration of TV shows such as “Friends” and making a home for themselves in every downtown or suburban district the world over. In the matter of a few short years, the idea of a coffeeshop evolved from a place to get a warm cup of coffee — regular or decaf, of course — to a trendy, even hip, establishment boasting coffee beans from exotic places and enough selections of flavorings and syrups to seemingly taste a different java everyday.

So, why the recent popularity of coffeehouses? Why the need for a quaint, comfy spot to relax in the midst of a bustling city? And when did poetry magazines, and oversized couches become the perfect accessory to coffee? One may never know, but it is definite that the combination has proved successful — for whatever reason — time and time again.

City Grind “It’s a completely different atmosphere than a chain restaurant and I think it’s an alternative to a bar at night,” explains Missy Krieser, owner of City Grind in downtown Harrisburg, adding that the interior design and ambiance of establishments like her own — be it couches or tables — provide the mood that most coffeeshop-goers seek. “We have couches here that they can relax on and have conversation. It’s not loud here,” she says, emphasizing the fact that her clientele enjoy the fact that they can “relax, have conversation and maybe a cappuccino and a snack” all under one roof.

In fact, the resurgence of coffeeshops in general has prompted the expansion of two of the area’s most successful sites — the previously mentioned City Grind, 210 North Third Street, which is now open Monday – Thursday nights til 9, Friday and Saturday nights til 11, and the grand re-opening of the former Java House complex, now known as North Street on Third, at 1006 North Third Street.

In addition to the downtown venues, coffeeshops have also been popping up from Carisle to Hershey and all points in between, including MJ’s Coffeehouse at the Allen Theatre in Annville. Like some of the other coffeeshops in the area, owner Skip Hicks makes it a priority to provide laid back entertainment for the patrons, offering a complete schedule of play readings, poetry nights, and the coffeehouse tradition, acoustic music.

To be sure, coffeeshops in the area have come to provide much more than a caffeine fix — they’ve become a creative outlet, a site for conversation, and a relaxing, comfortable atmosphere that can only be equaled at home. At the coffeehouses of today, you can eat, drink, converse and communicate on level completely different than the standard coffeeshop query of days gone by, that is: “with or without cream?”

If you’re a local coffeeshop owner and you’d like your establishment to be featured in MODE’s upcoming “Tour de Café” section, a listing of local coffeeshops, call MODE at 703-5000 and we’ll fill you in on the details.