I’m Obsessed With is a new, semi-regular series about writers’ hyper-specific Hudson Valley obsessions.
When it comes to breakfast, I am a hard-core savory gal: toasted everything bagels, spicy burritos and oh-so-basic avocado toast. It’s not diet culture that deters me from snagging a sugary scone or a breakfast cookie in the morning, it’s just the simple fact that sugar in the morning usually makes me feel sluggish and grumpy the rest of the day.
So when my friend and I walked into Kitchen & Coffee in Beacon to snag a snack one morning last year, I studiously avoided their tempting pastry case.
Kitchen & Coffee offers vegan and gluten-free everything, and though I’m not a vegan or exclusively gluten-free, like most millennials I feel a buzz that I’m making a healthier choice when the food I’m eating has any kind of restriction thrust upon the recipe.
My gluten-free friend, however, had an actual medical reason for choosing this cafe. Once we entered, I watched him drool over the colorful pastry case, poking a finger at each glorious treat behind the glass.
“Will you split a blueberry muffin with me?” he asked.
And before I could counter that I don’t like sweets in the morning, the barista behind the counter chirped “the muffins aren’t very sweet, actually.” That was enough for me to insist I’d have a nibble.
As a serial nibbler, I’ve sampled my share of muffins around the Hudson Valley — and been left mostly unimpressed. But as I popped a muffin-top morsel with a juicy blueberry into my mouth, I was left speechless. All I could think was how is this so moist, so juicy, and so not sugary? My friend and I sat there, eyes wide and mouths full, cartoonishly nodding at each other in silence.
We split the remaining part of the muffin stump and my friend, still chewing, stood up without a word and headed back to the counter to order another one. Pumpkin chocolate chip, this time. We split that one too and spent the next few minutes pontificating on how they managed to pack so much moisture and flavor into fist-sized treats, not to mention vegan and gluten-free.
Later that morning, I begrudgingly waited for the sugar crash to hit me. But it never came. I felt full, but not sickeningly so. Come dinner time, I was reconfiguring my work schedule the next day, to include a quick stop at Kitchen & Coffee where I decided I would grab my own muffin. This time, it was the oat banana berry flavor. Paired with my unsweetened Americano, the soft and oaty treat gave me a one-two moisture knockout with every bite — and, to my relief, still no sugar crash later.
That weekend, I was hosting some friends for brunch. I bought a box of muffins to complement the spread I made. Though I secretly hoped the moist baked goods wouldn’t be touched — I’d have muffins for a whole week! — they were the first to go. Moans and groans of gustatory pleasure could be heard coming from five adults, huddled around my tiny kitchen table.
When I went out of town weeks later to visit the same friends, I asked what I could bring to contribute. Immediately my phone blew up with multiple requests for what they dubbed the “crack muffins.”
Soon it was Thanksgiving, and instead of my mom making her famous cornbread, I offered to bring Kitchen & Coffee’s newest savory flavor, corn cheddar. I walked in on my father the night before our big holiday meal, standing over the open muffin box, polishing off a whole one. “Don’t tell your mother!”
Here’s what I’ve come to believe: Whether you have a sweet tooth or opt for more savory options, whether or not you’re gluten-free or vegan, Kitchen & Coffee has perfected the muffin.