“Did you see that?” I asked Suzen. She was fifteen feet in front of me, as usual. She strolls faster than I do and there can be a gap between us on one of our city walks. Long walks, like 13-20 mile walks along the streets and in the parks of New York City.
Walk that far and you discover things. I was standing in front of a signboard outside a place called Konditori. I’d read something very interesting and I was betting Suzen had missed it.
“No,” she had stopped. “What? I was looking up like you told me.” That was said in a do-not-criticize me tone. Criticism was far, far from my mind. I’m the one who taught her to look up as we walk, beyond the first floor to see the details of windows, walls, signs, and rooftops. There’s a wealth of architectural detail there making each walk a living museum tour.
But, now she looks up all the time and, I must admit, there is detail at the ground level too that she needs to see and absorb. Like this sign at Konditori, which is a Swedish word meaning “confectionary.” In New York, Konditori is a Brooklyn-chain of coffee shops that offers rich baked treats and coffee beverages of all orders.
That signboard announced one of the coffee ideas: straight from Stockholm you can now drink an expresso and tonic water combo.
Suzen walked back towards me and read the sign. Then she looked at me. She’s a gin and tonic girl and I really could not predict how she’d react. She’s very protective of both the gin and the tonic water.
“Sure, I’ll try it.” She sat down in a plastic chair perched on the sidewalk, right next to the sign and pointed to the entrance to Konditori. “Go get one.”
I watched the preparation carefully. One of those tall pint cups was filled with ice, then almost topped off with tonic water [about 12 ounces]. Two shots of espresso were poured on top. The black liquid floated atop the tonic. The barista flicked twice with a spoon and the cup was now uniformly colored in a dense mahogany brown.
I give Suzen the first taste. She sat way back in her plastic chair. The chair squeaked and she took a second and deeper sip. “Who would have thought?” she asked me. Her smile was broad and she extended the cup towards me.
Now, I hate iced coffee. I just don’t like it all. That will never change. But I drank my half of this tonic water and espresso delight with enthusiasm. How can I describe it? It’s surely different, maybe on the verge of being peculiar, and certain to be a staple for us.
Our walk was on a Sunday. Two days later, we had a tall bottle of tonic water in our refrigerator and Suzen has been “doing the Konditori” ever since.
Strange as it might seem, it’s a great beverage idea. Just don’t ask for it at Starbucks, at least not yet. But you can hit them up for two shots and then pour your own tonic water into an ice filled cup. It won’t get you arrested, but you’ll probably get some attention.
Gin is optional.