Aug. 7, 2014 By Michael Florio
OK Café, an independent coffee house located just off of Ditmars Blvd, opened Saturday offering gourmet coffee, hot chocolate and a range of baked goods.
The café, which is located at 22-04 33rd St., is owned by Giselle Grncarski, a 15-year Astoria resident who lives within walking distance of the café.
Grncarski had been looking to operate a café for years and the opening was a dream come true, she said.
“It is something I have always wanted to do… and after helping some friends open their cafe a few years back, it was something I wanted [even more],” she said.
Grncarski’s café has a full espresso bar and offers all the traditional trappings– such as lattes, cappuccinos, espressos and mochas.
However, she said, it does have a few unique twists.
For instance, the café offers Mexican Mocha (hot chocolate), where she uses chili-infused chocolate to give it a little kick.
Furthermore, the ice coffee is produced by a Japanese Kyoto cold brewer.
The brewer passes individual drops of water from a glass reservoir over a bed of coffee grounds, with no heat used, producing the ice coffee one drip at a time.
“It makes a very concentrated and aromatic coffee that is very different from any other kind of brewing,” Grncarski said.
The café also offers a combination of New Orleans and French Press brewed coffee, she said. French Press creates a dense and heavy coffee, while the New Orleans style infuses chicory into it.
Grncarki is currently selling French pastries and other baked goods. Many baked items are gluten and vegan free.
The café is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week.
Grncarki said she came up with the name because it was low key.
“We take our coffee seriously, but we don’t want to give the impression that we are too stuffy,” she said.
2 Comments
wow calm down Mike. Maybe it was supposed to be written vegan and gluten free
It’s gluten free and vegan.
“Vegan free” is the opposite of vegan. Maybe if you looked up the word vegan you would understand.