n the Kitchen Not long after Gittan Lehman married her American husband and arrived in Boston, she longed for the foods and traditions of her native Stockholm. A job at the Swedish consulate put her into frequent contact with fellow Swedes living in the Boston area. Soon she began to think about opening a kaffestugan, a coffee house that would serve the sweet, delicate pastries and traditional open-faced sandwiches she remembered in her home country.
What she wanted was a place for fika, the Swedish word that she said means taking a break for coffee with friends. She never opened a cafe, but the expansion of the Scandinavian Living Center in West Newton has provided space for the long-sought kaffestugan. The informal cafe attracts Scandinavians living in suburban Boston as well as the wider public. It is common to hear multiple languages. “This is part of the charm, to speak your native language,’’ Lehman said. “You go there and you hope you’re going to see some friends and speak some Swedish.’’
The Locale Kaffestugan is a seasonal cafe, operating from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays, from September through June. It’s in a quiet alcove of the Scandinavian center, which includes senior living as well as a cultural center. The cafe is near the center’s Scandinavian Library, which has books, magazines, and newspapers in Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, and other languages. Depending on whether an event is being held at the center’s Nordic Hall, Kaffestugan can be crowded and animated, or library-quiet, but when people fill its six tables it is boisterous. On a recent visit, I sat near a table of 5-year-olds who spoke Russian, while other tables conversed in English and Swedish.
On the Menu The cafe holds a Danish Day on the first Saturday of the month, featuring the breads and pastries of the Danish Pastry House in Watertown, as well as open-faced salmon and shrimp sandwiches. Swedish foods take up the remaining Saturdays, with the baked goods come from Crown Bakery in Worcester, a traditional Swedish bakery. “It tastes just like home,’’ Lehman said. The homemade waffles are made on-site by volunteers. Hot coffee, from New England Coffee in both decaf and regular, is available as well. The waffle ($3) is intended to be a light snack, not a hearty breakfast. It is served simply, with strawberry jam and whipped cream. The open-faced sandwiches are served over a thick slice of hearty Danish bread. The choices include smoked salmon and egg ($7), shrimp and egg ($7), and meatball over the three-grain Danish bread ($4). The pastries I sampled, with the help of my Swedish sister-in-law, included the delicate rulltarta, a jelly roll with raspberry filling and a delicate almond sponge cake ($1.25 per slice); slices of kardemummakrans, ($7.50), a soft, moist coffee ring topped with almonds; and the dramatic-looking dammsugare ($2 each), a green marzipan-filled roll with chocolate ends. Other options for purchase include a soft vanilla heart-shaped pastry, vaniljhjartan ($2); and the almond-flavored milanostanger ($1.25), shaped into small sticks. All proceeds from sales at Kaffestugan are directed to the Scandinavian Cultural Center. Cash, checks, and credit cards are accepted, and larger pastry orders can be reserved in advance. Parking is available at the center, including near its main entrance, although spaces can be limited during events.
Kaffestugan at The Scandinavian Cultural Center, 206 Waltham St., West Newton, 617-527-6566, scandicenter.org/event/kaffestugan.
Mary MacDonald can be reached at marymacdonald3@aol.com.
