Food (but more importantly, coffee) Therapy

You never know when, in search of good coffee, you might get far more than you hoped for . . .

I was in New Zealand, driving my mother around on the wrong side of the road. It is quite the experience driving on the left side when you are used to the right side (and vice versa, I would imagine.) It’s been many years since I’ve driven on the left and it felt like it (and it was my very first day!) But we got around quite well, because I am a good driver and my mother is an excellent navigator. Plus, once she realized I am basically left-right dyslexic, she added some exaggerated arm motions that were fantastically helpful to my already confused “what side of the road are we on” brain.

On this day (every day!) I was interested in a good flat white (“microfoam” steamed milk and espresso.) Truly, this is not a difficult thing to find in New Zealand. The availability of coffee is beyond compare. You can get excellent coffee just about anywhere, with espresso shots pulled from La Marzocco machines by real baristas, never one of those fully automated box-shaped devices that have proliferated in the US. (Espresso from those machines tends to lack quality and taste, in my experience.)

Am I a purist? Yes. Am I old school? Yes indeed. There’s a reason they coined the term “handcrafted.”

We drove into the small main street of Silverdale so my mom could show me a store she particularly enjoyed (Bin Inn, mostly bulk items, get it? Bin . . . Inn . . . it is rather clever, right?) and I said, let’s walk down the street and find coffee. There was one place in particular that caught my eye, and I mean, why wouldn’t it? Don’t you think it’s adorable? Wouldn’t you want to go in here?

Let’s just start with the name, shall we? Food Therapy. Right then, you had me!

Who can resist a place that says “Come in, come in!” Image: Pritam Potts

I mean, you know you are getting a good coffee here.

They love the Daily Grind. And we love them! Image: Pritam Potts

The food looked amazing!

Scrumdiddlyumptious, indeed! They make all their own food. Image: Pritam Potts

The employee who rang us up was so nice and so was every other employee we encountered. My mother being my mother, decided she was best friends with all of them after five minutes (for the record, it was Heather who rang us up and it turned out she and my mother have at least one mutual friend.) My mother is very good at connecting with people and she truly thrives on it. I couldn’t help but be carried along by her enthusiasm, not that I wasn’t feeling my own enthusiasm about this place.

But back to my flat white.

The perfect flat white with expert microfoam! Image: Pritam Potts

It was delivered to my table by the smiling barista and it was gorgeous, delicious and absolutely the perfect temperature. Not that every other flat white I’d enjoyed during my time in New Zealand wasn’t good, but this was really good. The ambience here was special. The employees were so caring. The experience was, well, it felt like an Experience. It felt like we’d stumbled upon a surprise special unexpected treasure.

I was on a mission to experience flat whites from as many different places as possible during my time in New Zealand, just because it felt like such a luxury to have good coffee be so readily available. That meant we didn’t go out of our way to head back to Food Therapy. But yet there we were again, two days later, this time speaking with a different nice gal at the register. Who also became our new best friend, according to my mother!

It was also my mother who said, “My daughter is a writer, do you want to be on her email list?” Of course I was absolutely mortified! Clare, her name was, seemed perfectly willing to subscribe to my Substack despite knowing nothing about my writing, and it was truly agreeable of her. She was so nice and we were so happy to be there for the second time, and it was all great, again.

We meandered by Silverdale again on Saturday, but were unable to revisit Food Therapy because they are CLOSED ON THE WEEKENDS! I felt two things about this, one, good for them. Quality of life! Even if it’s due to staffing issues (which is also a problem in New Zealand) it allows balance for the current staff. Two, this makes a good thing even less accessible, and as I wrote in my recent Fitness Corner column, you can gain great appreciation through the absence of something you love.

By the time we ended up back at Food Therapy for the last time before I left New Zealand, I had been looking forward to it for days. This time, we went to meet with a good friend of my parents. We were amazed when Clare, again at the register, said, “Oh, how do you know Matt?” Turns out he is a regular there!

The register where we made friends. Notice the stack of eggs for sale? They don’t refrigerate fresh eggs in New Zealand because it’s not necessary. Image: Pritam Potts

Coincidence? When it comes to a good gathering place, maybe not. Even Clare seemed quite surprised when I said that we had walked in on a whim and had no idea that Matt visited there often and had not sent us. Suddenly, I was a part of a tiny community with Food Therapy at the epicenter. I’m all about feeling like a part of a community.

And then Clare and I maybe did become friends because she gave me her phone number and wants to chat about writing and we shall be walking together when I visit again (oh yes, I shall be visiting my mother again . . . and again . . . and again . . .)

This is one of those establishments that are best encountered randomly, something about the look and feel enticing you in from the street, beckoning you toward not just great coffee and food, but a special experience and maybe, if you are really lucky, a community.

You never know when, in search of coffee, you might get far more than you hoped for.

You never know when you might get Therapy.

The B side of Food Therapy’s business card.

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