There’s a quiet revolution happening in American coffee shops. Once a bastion of subpar pastries and cellophane wrapped snacks, a new wave of cafés are giving food the same care and attention as their coffee. It’s hard to find a better example of a coffee shop with a next level baked goods than Columbus, Ohio’s Fox in the Snow Café.
The first thing you’ll notice at Fox in the Snow, other than the Belle and Sebastian allusion, is the bakery. In the same way many coffee companies display their roasters, Fox in the Snow’s kitchen is in full view. Its simple but refined menu features American classics such as pecan sticky buns and buttermilk biscuits and more continental fair, such as the hand pies and egg tart. My wife opted for the souffléd egg sandwich, which she described as “well constructed” and “perfect.” It’s been some months since we visited and she still talks about it.
For coffee, we both ordered cappuccinos, which were made with espresso from Portland, Maine’s Tandem Coffee and Ohio’s own Snowville Creamery Milk. The latte art and milk texture was not exactly the best we’ve seem, but the espresso and milk paired beautifully and we enjoyed each sip. Had we had a little more time I would have ordered a filter coffee, which Fox in the Snow brews by the cup with Hario V60s.
Although there was no shortage of the laptop crowd, we felt Fox in the Snow Cafe was more conducive for a lunch date with a friend than a remote working station. Big garage door windows and the stark white walls make for an elegant, upscale atmosphere. Either way, Columbians are lucky they don’t have to chose between good coffee and baked goods. We can only hope more cities follow suite.